The Ipod and Social Darwinism

The theory of social Darwinism as I understand it, is that the strong and intelligent have a better chance to survive while the weak and stupid tend to get culled out of the population due to an assortment of life's mishaps. To this point, I say that the Ipod will end up subtracting more than a few children from our ranks due to parental stupidity which hardly seems fair at all.

Two years ago, my eldest daughter, who I'll call Loni, asked for a cellphone at the age of nine.

"Who does a 9 year old need to call?", I inquired.

"My friends, you and mom", she rebutted.

"You can talk to your friends all day at school and me and mom anytime after school", I volleyed back.

"I can use it if there is an emergency", she returned.

Aha! That was the excuse people used for getting cellphones in the first place before they started ringing up $400 monthly bills abusing them. As an adult, I finally relented 3 years ago and replaced my land line when cellphones became cheaper to use then home phones. I told my daughter that the odd emergency wasn't a strong enough reason for me to buy her a cellphone. I told her that my worry was that her use of the cellphone would be more distracting to her and liable to cause more emergencies than it solved. Just looking at adults using cellphones in cars makes me shudder. Kids seem to be in their own world when talking on cellphones to their friends. Of course the cost factor is also a primary issue as well as a child being responsible for a cellphone.

Now two years later, she's asking for an Ipod. A $300 walkman as far as I see it. Now I don't discount that the Ipods are pretty neat and convenient. Take your music wherever you go. But the cost is out of whack for a music player and I won't even buy one for myself.

But the real reason I won't buy one for my daughter is due to Social Darwinism. I have a motto that states, "Never send your kid out into the world with something that they could be killed for". In the past, this included items such as $90 Air Jordans. What parent would send their kid out of the house with $300 in their pocket and a sign on their back that read "Kick Me, and by the way, I have $300 in my pocket, please kill me for it"? That's exactly what you do when you buy a kid an Ipod that they take everywhere with them (which is what they are for, this is not an accessory meant exclusively for home use). When I told Loni that I had no plans on digging a hole in the backyard for her body and that she'd have to go without an Ipod, she was okay with that but still was disappointed.

Three of her friends have Ipods and more are getting them this Christmas. That is truly amazing to me. It's not that I can't afford Ipods for my kids. It just seems so inherently stupid to have them carrying around something worth so much. I remember growing up as a kid and being shaken down by older kids for my baseball cards or wacky packs. Is the world that much of a safer place these days for kids? I guess that's what these parents are banking on.

Call me a pessimist and I'll keep my shovel where it belongs...in a shed.