The Oh So Feisty One and her good friend Luvbud were having a sleepover, but there weren’t any sleeping bags in the living room or bowls of popcorn on the rug. They weren’t even in the same place. OSFO was at home and Luvbud was three blocks away in her own bedroom; they’re hanging out via iChat.
It’s so freakin’ futuristic.
Here’s how it worked: OSFO stared at a live image of Luvbud on the screen of her computer while Luvbud stared at a live image of OSFO on hers. Each computer has a tiny video camera that makes this all possible.
From their remote locations, they both watched a re-run of “Saturday Night Live,” and they had a blast.
They watched a sketch where Alec Baldwin pretends to be the fourth Jonas Brother and tries to convince the other three to rename the band The Donut Brothers. Luvbud laughed hysterically. Smartmom could hear her voice coming through the small speakers of OSFO’s iBook. When the skit was over, Smartmom heard her say, “That was great.” OSFO concurred.
During the show, Smartmom walked through the living room in her bathrobe with a towel turban on her head.
“Hi, Luvbud,” Smartmom said into the computer.
“Go away, Mom,” OSFO said. She hates it when her mother interferes with her iChats. Especially when she’s wearing her bathrobe. It’s so embarrassing.
The Jonas Brothers had just finished performing their hit single, “Tonight,” and OSFO asked, “Did you see that?” Then they both started making fun of the Jonas Brothers. They’re not big fans.
People dreamed about having a picture phone as a futuristic fantasy (or nightmare) ever since it was introduced at the 1939 World’s Fair. Smartmom remembers hearing about it at the 1964 World’s Fair at Flushing Meadows. Again, it sounded so cool. Smartmom never thought she’d live to see it in her lifetime
But now with iChat and Skype, the picture phone is real and the future is now. It’s fascinating to observe how tweens are using iChat and Skype to interact socially. For instance, OSFO will iChat with a camp friend for hours on end. She’ll walk her friend via the computer through the apartment and show her around. “Here’s my bedroom, here’s the living room. There’s my brother…”
Smartmom tries to imagine what it would have been like if she could have visited with her summer camp friends via iChat. She used to write long letters to Jessie, her best camp friend, who lived in Roslyn, Long Island. Every few months, she’d take the Long Island Railroad and visit her in her big suburban house. It was fun and exotic for a city girl like Smartmom to visit the ’burbs, where she and her friend would go shopping at malls, get fribbles at Friendly’s and play with their Labrador in the backyard.
How different it would have been if they could have had virtual dates via computer. It might have taken some of the specialness out of those trips to Long Island. Then again, it might have been really fun.
Lately, OSFO has been having playdates with school friends like Luvbud via iChat. They do homework, play games and visit Web sites together.
This, however, was OSFO’s first virtual sleepover, and Smartmom wondered how it was going to go. Were they going to keep the iChat going while they slept and then watch each other eat Cinnamon Toast Crunch in the morning? Would Smartmom have to get up in the middle of the night and tell Luvbud (via computer) to turn off her light and go to bed?
OSFO just announced that she and Luvbud are going to try to stay up all night.
There it was, the old “we’re going to stay up all night routine,” Smartmom thought to herself. It reminded her of the time she and Best and Oldest had a real sleepover and tried to stay up all night. They were 11 or 12 and they almost didn’t make it. In fact, they got so tired that they took turns sleeping. Still, they were determined to see the sunrise.
Finally, at 6 in the morning they had the crazy idea to have a picnic in Riverside Park. Smartmom’s dad, Groovy Grandpa woke up and discovered them missing. As they walked back to the apartment Smartmom saw her dad leaning out the window. “Come back,” he hollered from the ninth floor.
That was scary.
Now OSFO and Luvbud were watching the Jonas Brothers sing “Video Girl.” Smartmom didn’t hear Luvbud. Maybe she’d fallen asleep. After all, it was 12:54.
“Luvbud,” OSFO yelled into the computer. “Luvbud.”
“Did she fall asleep?” Smartmom asked, hoping that this virtual sleepover would be over before it began.
“No,” OSFO said, thoroughly annoyed.
“Luvbud,” OSFO said one more time into the computer. OSFO’s friend was definitely fading.
“Time for bed — iChat or no iChat, I’m still your mother,” Smartmom told her high-tech daughter.
Smartmom thought back to when the picture phone was just a gleam in some inventor’s eye. Now, it was happening for real in her living room and bringing with it a host of parental complications.
The next morning, Smartmom found OSFO asleep in her loft bed without a computer. Later, she asked her what happened to her “virtual sleepover party,”
“Luvbud’s battery ran out,” she said. Smartmom couldn’t help but smile.
“Well, at least you got a good night’s sleep,” she told her child.
