I’m fortunate enough to be the father of two sons, both of them teenagers. You might think that as the old bloke in the house it would be me that’s in need of a blockchain and crypto education but it turns out I’m way ahead of the game by comparison with my two boys and this got me to thinking about the options I have for getting them more interested. After all, this is the future and the better informed they are of the opportunities the blockchain is bringing to us all then the better equipped they will be to benefit from these.
The trouble was, how the hell was I going to get them to take an interest? After all, as far as they are concerned pretty much anything that I take an interest in is, by default, mega untrendy and not, under any circumstances, to be touched with the proverbial barge-pole. Was I taking on mission impossible? Perhaps. But there again, perhaps not. It was time to get creative and to work out ways of linking things to their existing interests.
It’s early days yet, but I thought it worthwhile sharing with you an update on how things have gone so far and what further steps I’ve got lined up for the future, especially if you’ve got children of your own and are looking for ways to encourage them to take an interest in all things blockchain and crypto related.
Horses for Courses
My boys get on very well together but they are very different to each other, be that in terms of temperament, interests and hobbies, favourite foods, indeed pretty much anything you care to name. This presented me with an initial problem because it quickly became clear I wouldn’t be able to adopt the same approach with the two of them. No, I was going to need to come up with something different for each of them; something tailored to their own particular interests. Twice the work, of course, but unavoidable. So, off I went, thinking hat on, to come up with some ideas. Time passed…
Money, Money, Money
My eldest son has been entrepreneurial from a very young age and has already tried numerous little ventures to help him obtain some of this favourite commodity, money. Along with several other valuable lessons he’s learned, he has already reached two important conclusions. Firstly, as so many of us have found, there never seems to be enough money to go round. Secondly, for most people most of the time the only way to get more money is to give more of their time, which is not an ideal solution because it leaves you little bandwidth for doing those things you’d rather be doing.
This was, I decided, the perfect opportunity to introduce my eldest son to the wonders of DEFI, which is exactly what I did one rainy Sunday afternoon, in between football matched on the TV. I didn’t beat about the bush here, jumping straight in with some numbers from my own rewarding experience, showing him what coins I’d bought, what I’d done with them to help make them multiply and, the best part from his point of view, how much I’d made as a result. The outcome? His eyes lit up as I chatted away and it wasn’t long before he was asking how he could get involved.
We’ve already come a fair old way since that first conversation. My son now has a crypto wallet and a small though growing portfolio of coins. He’s also started to learn about the joys of staking, claiming rewards and, with a little more encouragement from me, why it’s worth taking the trouble to vote on protocol proposals. Little by little he’s getting more and more involved.
I even ventured to bring up the subject of NFTs again the other day. There was still an initial lack of interest but once I started to explain that these can be about much, much more than just images, he started to open up to the possibilities, especially when I mentioned it is possible to drop interest-bearing assets into an NFT.
All in all, I’m really pleased with the progress I’ve made with my eldest son. I’d even go so far as to say I could leave him to it and he’d continue exploring and taking an active part, though I won’t actually do that just yet. This progress has also had another benefit. It means there’s now someone else in the house who will happily talk to me about the blockchain and crypto. I am no longer alone.
But what about son number two?
I’d Rather Eat Vegetables
Buoyed by my success with son number one, I turned my attentions to son number two and promptly fell flat on my face. I tried everything I could think of, but he has been so unimpressed he would rather watch paint dry or, horror of horrors, he’d rather eat vegetables than have anything to do with the blockchain and crypto. Even an offer of a bribe in the form of pizza didn’t work.
If you have kids of your own, you will know that there comes a point in these sorts of situations where if you continue to push then it becomes counter-productive and, sensing we were approaching that point, I decided to make a tactical withdrawal and leave son number two to his Xbox while I regrouped.
And then I came across Craft Economy, a blockchain enabled Minecraft server owned by the Craft DAO. My eyes lit up because one of the games my youngest son plays on his Xbox is Minecraft. Could this, I wondered, be the means by which I get him to show an interest in blockchain? It might be but as this project is still very new and yet to launch I can’t be certain. I will need to continue monitoring for further developments and information, then see if there’s some way I can present this in an enticing way to my son. But perhaps my mission is still achievable.
The World in Microcosm
This has been an interesting learning experience for me and all-in-all I’m pleased with how things have gone, since a 50% success rate isn’t too bad. I suppose there is a part of me that’s been surprised my two boys weren’t already more blockchain literate and had some sort of understanding of the opportunities it is bringing, but then again this is still a very new space and one that is changing at a remarkable speed.
My experience has, in it’s own way, also been a very small example of the challenges ahead when it comes to spreading the word more widely amongst the world’s population. It’s going to impact everyone sooner or later and it seems reasonable to expect that not all are going to be receptive, which will leave them poorly positioned to partake in the benefits. Creative and flexibility are going to be the order of the day when it comes to reaching out to the many.
Have you had a go at bringing a family member or friend up to speed with the emerging possibilities open to them in the world of the blockchain? If you have it would be great to hear how you got on and especially any tips you have to aid my own efforts.
Until next time…
Renaissance Man
Earnathon – get paid to learn about crypto
The Usual Disclaimer
Please don’t take any of the above as financial or investment advice. It is intended to be nothing other than a little entertainment and information sharing. Always, but always, do your own research before committing your money to anything.