From the slow, easy days of written letters, talking face to face, and playing outside to the fast paced “touch-of-a-button” text messaging, e-mail and Myspace profiling era, indeed many changes have been made to the childhood experiences and social interactions of young Alabamian citizens. Some of these changes have had positive effects, and some have caused negative effects as well. Undoubtedly, the invention of such things as the personal computer, the mobile phone, and social networking sites have astronomically altered the lifestyle and communication of today’s youth as compared to the 1930’s, the time frame of Harper Lee’s To Kill a Mockingbird.

          As a young Alabamian today, social interactions are more fraught with technology than ever before. Cell phones, laptops, and bluetooth earpieces are no longer unusual or uncommon. However, in the 1930’s, none of these luxuries existed, making communications much more personal and emotional. For example, in To Kill a Mockingbird, Scout and Jem are subjected to verbal abuse from friends and even family because Atticus agrees to defend a black man. If Scout and Jem were brought into modern time they may not have heard a single spoken word about the subject but instead seen blogs on Myspace, heated text messages, or angry “wall” posts made by faceless enemies or “blocked” callers. The primary difference lies in the delivery of the abuse. In the time frame of To Kill a Mockingbird the verbal attacks were made face to face and details like facial expressions and tone of voice were taken into account. In modern communications, however, these variables are void. This allows the message recipient to interpret any tone that they perceive the message to carry. Whether it’s sarcasm, making the message a bit more lighthearted and not as hurtful, or complete malice, making the message just as hurtful or more, the temper in which the message was intended remains indiscernible. However, a positive effect of this new availability of technology may be the promptness in which information may be sent and received. Therefore, technology has radically changed the social interactions of young Alabamians in a blatantly noticeable fashion.

          Also, childhood experiences have been altered drastically since the 1930’s. Scout was forced to play outside, coming up with her own ways to have fun and socialize with other children and adults. Activities such as writing and acting out plays, wrestling with her brother, or getting into the occasional fight at school were Scout’s forms of entertainment. In the present, however, a child may alternatively play the newest video game or instant message someone online instead of ever making the journey outside. The benefits of the new lifestyle of children may be that today’s youth is generally more “tech-smart” and multi-task oriented than previous generations. However, negative effects, such as the elimination of a child’s use of imagination and creativity as well as critical thinking to have fun, have produced a less active, lethargic, and lazy youth. Today’s children will be deprived of memories brought about by life experiences, stolen from them by the desire to “level up” on an online game or spend hours sending unimportant, if not completely meaningless, messages with their thumbs.

In retrospect, one may conclude that children, teenagers, and adults of the 1930’s had a higher standard of character, morals, and respect for each other. They shared time together: growing and learning, laughing and crying, playing and working. In modern day Alabama, teenagers are expected to determine the meaning of hollow words in text messages, socialize online where the depravity of a self-centered populus is overflowing, and still somehow grow up to be mature and responsible adults that contribute to society. In the 1930’s, children learned character traits such as creativity, responsibility, and humility from playing outside and talking to older adults. Today, however, such role models are few and far between. Without the technological bells and whistles of today, Alabama had a bored but moral population; however, with these devices, Alabama has a well-entertained but soulless future generation. In 1850 Senator John C. Calhoun spoke prophetic words addressing the oncoming problems of racism and slavery. The South, though, has slowly but surely emerged from this plague. However, if Senator Calhoun was alive today analyzing the future that lies ahead of Alabama’s youth, he may restate himself, “The South! The poor South!” only to realize these words are an understatement.