I have a child at home who lives on the edge. He constantly tests boundaries I set, getting as close to the edge as possible. On my more exasperated days I have trouble viewing this as a positive trait. However, once I get over my initial irritation, I remember that this is my adventurous, spontaneous, carefree child, who bounces up to the edge not out of disrespect but because there's just so much out there to do and see. He is the risk taker, the tenacious spirit, the explorer who may one day discover something new and exciting and necessary because he's used to testing the boundaries of "can't."
Until that day comes, though, my patience is tested every time one of my boundaries is bumped to see if it's still holding, still valid, and still in force. I have a hard tme not reverting to an old-fashioned, top-of-the-lungs test of the will. I have a very hard time remembering that probably the reason his behavior is so irritating is because I am this way myself. At least, I am a bit of a boundary bumper with God where technology is concerned. I don't want to be told, "No," "You can't," or "Wait."
I love this stuff and tend to race off along the path of technology without looking down for the inevitable pitfalls along the way. This tendency, of course, means I've fallen on my face a time or two where technology is concerned by getting too enmeshed, too enthralled, and too involved, and I've had to turn around and straighten out my priorities. It's meant I've had to reevaluate what I've given to my kids and what I've allowed them to do with technology. Boundary testing is life experience, and something more than just the boundary gets bumped and bruised in the process.
The above is excerpted from chapter 12 in #Hooked: The Pitfalls of Media, Technology, and Social Networking by Dr. Gregory Jantz.
