A Tech Father’s Day Update
The relationship between our dad’s and tech has always been a funny one. After all, some dads are buying big on Bitcoin while others are still trying to figure out how to send a Snapchat. Regardless on where your dad fits along that spectrum, we thought we’d fill you in on the latest and greatest for our Tech Father’s Day update. Check it out below:
What To Get
In the electronic consumer goods industry, Father’s Day is comparable to Christmas concerning what to buy. IoT devices, drones, smart TVs, and virtually any other tech product could be found in guides devoted to buying gifts for Dad.
CNet’s comprehensive Father’s Day Gift Guide includes gadgets such as the Orbit B-hyve Faucet Timer (for dads whose green thumbs need a little help), the highly stylish V-Moda Crossfade 2 Wireless headphones (for audiophile fathers), and the affordably priced Amazon Fire HD 8 2 (for bookworms). Men’s Health recommends the newest Fitbit for athletic dads and the Coravin Wine Preservation Kit for oenophiles. PCMag focuses on kids with limited budgets in their list of best tech gifts under $100, which includes gifts like the Philips Hue Starter Kit.
A Changing Relationship Between Tech And Our Children
Many parents are looking to the tech world to figure out how to monitor their kids’ screen and technology time. This can be a fine balance, for as much as technology provides educational resources, it can also be toxic. This is especially tricky considering how much we’re naturally exposed to tech, which causes a significant amount of concern.
Many parents worry, rightfully, about over-exposing their children to computer, TV, tablet, and phone screens. Recent studies have connected overexposure to TV and the internet with brain connectivity issues, mental health risks, and lack of adequate exercise. News that Silicon Valley parents themselves severely restrict their children’s tech and screen time have not reassured other parents.
Luckily, tech leaders seem interested in helping out concerned dads. Apple just announced that their iOS 12 coming this fall will include parental controls that let parents set time limits for specific apps, track how their kids use the device daily, and turn off social media notifications for fixed periods. They’re falling in line with other tech companies, such as Google and Microsoft, who understand that parents worry about over-exposing their kids to screens and under-exposing them to the real world.
How To Talk To Dad About Blockchain
While a lot of us have tried to explain Bitcoin, blockchain, or crypto in general to our parents, it’s rare for us to feud over if this is just a fad or the wave of the future. However, that’s exactly what happened in a semi-public, lighthearted feud between JP Morgan CEO Jamie Dimon and his daughter.
Dimon famously called Bitcoin a “fraud” at a September 2017 event and said any JPMorgan employees caught trading it would be fired for being “stupid.” His statement earned the ire of blockchain enthusiasts from all over the world, including his daughter, as he revealed at a finance conference in October 2017:
When I made that ‘stupid statement’ [calling bitcoin a] fraud, my daughter sent me an email saying, ‘Dad, I own two bitcoins.’ My formerly smart daughter.
Jamie Dimon expressed regret for calling Bitcoin a fraud in a January 2018 interview, while acknowledging the genuine potential of blockchain and, possibly, the cryptocurrencies built on top of it. But he also couldn’t resist another potshot at his crypto-loving offspring, joking that “[my daughter] now thinks she’s a genius because it went way up.” News recently emerged that JP Morgan had applied for a blockchain patent in October 2017, but in a June 2018 interview Dimon advised Bitcoin owners to “just beware.” Clearly, the father/daughter Bitcoin feud is far from over.
Some blockchain entrepreneurs are spinning the generational disconnect into a tribute to their supportive, albeit confused parents. Fr8 Network, a blockchain platform that uses blockchain to establish a single truth source in the complex and inefficient logistics industry, released a video of staff members’ fathers reminiscing about raising their children and trying to describe the crypto world they now inhabit. Check out the video here:
Almost everyone in tech had a father to thank this Father’s Day. This time next year, expect to see even more dad-related tech news.