Mr.
Matt
Spangler

I’m Rush. I’m 6. This is my blog.

I guess the argument could be that kids like this existed before the internet and platforms like Tumblr.  Those cool little kids that seemed to know so much at such a young age and be “mature” beyond their years.  At the same time, I can’t help but think that this is a representation of a seismic shift for lost innocence.

At first glance it seems fake or the creation of someone older then him documenting his life.  I hope it is more of a digital scrapbook for a hip parent, but what if he controls it? He seems happy in the images, but he is just 6 years old. From this experience does he have an intimate knowledge and subtle understanding of things like “popularity” that are generally full of pain and emotional baggage. 6 is an age when you are supposed to be blissfully unaware of the social powder-keg that is race, beauty and judgement.  Tumblr (which I dearly love) puts him front and center on a system that makes him blatantly aware of the adult world. Stay young kid.

via david:

This kid is so much cooler than me.  He even has a hot girlfriend.

Re: In Praise of Lo-Fi

Came upon Jack Chang’s site through a recommendation from Hedyeh at PSFK.  I immediately went to his post from January, “In Praise of Lo-Fi” because I’ve been thinking about the human reactions to connectivity.  He has a great anecdote from a writer who isolated himself on a freighter from Seattle to Shanghai to write a script. This passage struck a personal chord.

“So what happens when the situations that once forced us to disconnect start to disappear? What happens when the entire globe is blanketed with wi-fi and iPhones don’t run out of batteries? What happens when we have to consciously decide to switch things off?

The opportunities for deep contemplation and big-picture thinking get put at risk. Personally, I rarely have big ideas while sitting in front of a computer or staring at my phone. Those types of things usually come to me when I’m walking down the street or in bed about to call it a night. Unless we start adopting the kind of habits to manage how and when we connect, will power won’t stand a chance against computing power.”

I always seem to think more powerfully when I am in places of solitude, and the shower and planes are two places where I have always come up with ideas.  I think about how this will affect our children, who will know no alternative.

Will it reduce the level of creative thinking, or will their brains simply be trained in a different way with the ability to shut out the cacophony for moments of true inspiration and deep thinking?