Must Watch Video: Working with Millennials

 

Wherever you are, Simon Sinek's video on millennials in the workplace is a video you all need to watch! Seriously— take 20 minutes to sit and watch this because it could literally change the way you parent your kids, your expectations out of your adult children, it can even save a relationship or make you better at your job.

 

This video can help people at any age - It changed my outlook on technology, parenting, and hiring by the end of the video. I urge you to put your phone down and at the end of the video you’ll know why I said that. Just sit and listen. Take it to heart. 

 

A friend of my husband's, who happens to be a school teacher, sent this video to my husband. He watched it and was so impacted that when I came to the dinner table last night, he had it up and ready to play on his laptop. My two sets of twins (ages 13 and 11) were at the table and we all watched this video while we eat dinner. No one spoke, everyone just listened.

 

Afterward, we asked our kids what they thought. My 13 year old daughter was very defensive and said "Well you heard what he said... it's not our fault! It's your parenting and the universe imposing technology! We would be considered total social losers if we put our phone down." My 11 year old daughter and my 13 year old son both commented "We're not on it that much.” I was alarmed because they didn't seem to have any concept for how often they are using their devices. And my 11 year old son said "I don’t have anything to do and I’m bored, so I use my phone to watch sports clips." (I told him that when I was 11 I played outside, but hey... times are different, right?) 

 

This made me think back to the last time we were out to dinner. As we looked around the restaurant, there were several couples sitting having dinner and either one or both people were on their cell phones - I know we watched this video during dinner, but what's the point of going out to dinner together if you are just going to be on your phone? As a family, we all discussed how much each of us uses our phone during our time together at home. (My husband quickly pointing out that I read on my Kindle in bed... only because he's watching sports or the news on TV... LOL) 

 

But seriously, technology poses an interesting dilemma for parents:

What is technology doing to my child's brain?

How are they learning social skills that will prepare them for college and the working world if they communicate with their friends only using Snapchat?

Is technology affecting my child's self esteem, or their ability to problem solve and think critically?

How do we rein it in?  

How much do we limit them?

What is the right thing for a parent to do?

 

Raising my three older girls in the 80s and 90s without technology and raising my two sets of twins now is a totally different experience.

 

By far, the most striking comment in this video is that when we use technology and post to social media apps, dopamine is released in the brain. That's why when you get a text or your photo gets a like, it feels good. This is the same chemical that is released and makes us feel good when we smoke, drink, and gamble, yet these activities have age restrictions.

 

Should technology use have an age restriction?