How tech took over Father’s Day

What did you buy your dad for Father’s Day this year? Did you purchase a tie or fishing rod? Or did you look to the tech industry to fulfill your needs? According to Time, some of 2017’s most popular Father’s Day gifts are items like drones and gaming chairs. This is a huge turn from the more traditional items like tools and clothing, which don’t show up on the list. Clearly, we have entered a new era in which we know that our fathers are more technologically advanced and want to enjoy themselves. This is an active shift in masculinity among our immediate preceding generation.

When I was young, I can vividly recall my dad having no idea how to set up our Nintendo 64 that my brother and I begged him for. I’m pretty sure we ended up doing it ourselves. My dad, an avid craftsman whose military background prompts him to wake up at 5 a.m. every day, couldn’t understand why we would want to sit inside and play video games instead of going fishing with him at the crack of dawn. He would lecture us about how when he was a kid, he would leave his house at 7 in the morning and come back at 7 at night. He was a survivor, an outdoorsman, a total badass. It made no sense to him that we were more interested in playing video games like Mario Kart and Donkey Kong than playing with sticks in the woods.