• Skip to primary navigation
  • Skip to main content
  • Skip to primary sidebar
City Dads Group

City Dads Group

Navigating Fatherhood Together

  • About
  • Cities
  • Boot Camps
  • Press
  • Podcast
  • Blog
  • Contact

Will My Kids Ever Learn to Drive?

May 27, 2018 by Trevor Mulligan

teen driver driving adjusting rearview mirror
Photo credit: State Farm via Foter.com / CC BY

I should ask, “Will my kids ever need to drive?”

Technology has been advancing at such a rapid pace that in 10 years instead of getting a driver’s license or having a casual conversation with the Uber or Lyft driver, my boys will probably call an automated car through an AI device installed in everyone’s house.

I know there are many people that haven’t ever driven nor ever will need to. In certain cities, such as New York, it is not a big deal. In other cities, such as Los Angeles, it is necessary to be able to cross town (as the song goes, nobody walks in Los Angeles). By the way, LA is doing a great job of improving our public transportation.

Last summer we spent some time at Mike Heenan’s (SF Dads Group) cabin. We all had different technology with us, and it was fun exchanging and playing with new equipment. Then Mike said something that I find myself thinking about a lot: “Do you remember who was at your sixth birthday party?”

I replied, “No way, that was like forty years ago!”

“Any pictures from any of your birthdays?” he asked.

“A few I suppose.”

He puts his VR goggles on me and said, “This is how our kids are going to remember their birthdays.”

There it was – his six-year-old daughter’s birthday party in full immersive virtual reality.

What is the technology going to be like in another 40 years, 20 … even five?

My kids will have plenty of pictures and videos from their childhood. I wonder what their own kids will say about a history they can actually experience? The sheer difference is mind-boggling. You remember the non-digital age – we would all gather around the slide carousel fidgeting while our grandparents flipped through the pictures from their trip to the Canary Islands that were too dark or out of focus to really see, and anyways the contraption inevitably jammed every fifth slide.

One of the things I dislike most is driving and so I am fascinated by all these new options for getting around.  New technology is changing our world, every day, right before our eyes!

But at what point does technology surpass science fiction and imagination, consuming all of our time and focus? Or has that happened already?

Technology is where dreams and/or nightmares can arise from. I am both excited and scared for my kids future. Regardless of what comes, I still believe driving a stick shift is a good life skill so I’ll be imparting my old school ways on them.

I can just hear me now, “In my day …”.

You might also enjoy:

Filed Under: LA, travel Tagged With: driving, technology, teens / tweens, video games

About Trevor Mulligan

Trevor Mulligan quit his job as an interactive art director in 2010 to be an at-home dad. He has frequently spoken about his new job on local, national and international TV. The L.A. sunshine gives him ample time to swim and spend time at the beach with his two boys when he is not working on his blog OneSAHD. Find him on Twitter as @oneSAHD or on Instagram as oneSAHD.

Reader Interactions

Leave a Reply Cancel reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *

Primary Sidebar

Join Your Local Group

Your local City Dads Group is a welcoming and diverse community of engaged fathers sharing parenting perspectives, knowledge and experiences.

Join Join your local group

Subscribe to our Newsletter

Find us on Social

  • About City Dads
  • Press
  • Media Kit
  • Privacy Policy
  • Contact

© 2023 City Dads Group All Rights Reserved.