The iPad Effect

On special occasions I get permission to use my son’s iPad.  I’ve had an iPhone for a couple of years.  And I’ve used some touch screen PCs a bit. I really appreciate the fine work Apple put into perfecting the iPad user experience and I’ve noted how my  son’s habits are changing.  Here are some interesting observations:

1. You will hate your mouse. Reaching up to a screen to manipulate the items on it seems more natural. After using the iPad for a while it becomes difficult to go back to a mouse.  I hope all PCs and laptops soon come with touch screens.  Eventually users will demand it.
2. I am a dinosaur. No, I don’t have an iPad.  But I want one real bad. My son (15) loves his iPad. I am proud to say he spent his own hard-earned money to buy it.  It is that important.  He said he will need it for high school so I bought him Keynote and Pages.  I haven’t seen him use them yet, but he loves all the other apps.  It is a status symbol among 9th graders. And with my business friends too. I try to maintain a bit of coolness with a sleek Sony Vaio and my iPhone. although my daughter (12) dismisses me since my phone is a “dinosaur 3G”. I am quickly becoming a fossil.
3. You may forget how to read on paper.  Today my son picked up one of my magazines.  After a while he said, “Dad, I was reading this magazine and I reached down and double clicked on the paper with my fingers to make the picture bigger.” 
4. Books are becoming collectors items. There is nothing like the feel of a book in your hand as you get comfy on the couch.  Before I had kids, I spent the quiet hours of Sunday morning reading most sections of the Houston Chronicle.   But the luxury of feeling paper is rapidly giving way to the quick convenience of Kindles and iPads.  Wal-Mart is discounting books heavily and Amazon sells more ebooks than paper books.  I’ve noted there are fewer book stores in the malls.  How long till books are just for collectors and archiving?
5. Who goes to the library? I saw a TV ad for the public Library.  I was thinking how the economy could be affecting library patronage.  My son scoffed, lifted his iPad and said “Why would I ever go there?” He is right. He can do research, read books, watch movies, and (theoretically at this point) collaborate on his homework from his internet connected tablet.
6. Internet 101 is mandatory. Library science was a mandatory class at LSU.  I learned how the library is organized, the Dewey decimal system, and how to find things in the card catalog.  Nowadays students in junior high school must be taught how to do online research, set up news feeds, safely enjoy social networking, and effectively collaborate online.

The iPad has been an accelerator of the trend towards tightly coupling the individual to the web. Easy online interaction and extraction of useful information is empowering and liberating. But it has its side effects.

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