Technology is often demonized in the lives of kids.

Too many phones. Too many screens. Kids need to pick up a book. Kids need to try to use their brains instead of relying on a device. Kids have too much technology and not enough creativity.

But technology is as creative as a paintbrush or a lump of clay. Kids just need to be taught how to use it that way, instead of letting it be a babysitter or a pacifier.

So kids need places like the Best Buy Teen Tech Center at Phase 4 Learning Center in East Liberty/Shadyside. They need people like Aaron McKinnon.

They need them because technology is a thing we use reflexively every day. Swipe this. Tap that. Open, download, enter, click.

But it needs to be something kids learn the same way they read a book or solve a math problem, and while computers are a key part of every school today, not every kid is exposed to the depth of possibility and potential that technology can represent.

It’s not just about games. It’s about jobs. It’s not just about watching videos. It’s about communicating messages. It’s not just about what they do today. It’s about what they can do tomorrow.

The tech center can supply the hardware — the technology and the tools. It’s McKinnon and those like him who provide the software. Not the computer operating systems. They help program a different kind of intelligence, leading by example and showing a kid that creativity and innovation are things they can carry through their lives.

“It’s about making this time here the best part of their day. I wish there was a safe place like this when I was growing up. It’s such a wonderful opportunity for youth to learn, and I enjoy working here. You can wake up every day and just get a paycheck, or you can enjoy what you are doing and get that check because you are making a difference,” McKinnon said.

Technology is everywhere, from our cars to our televisions to those hand-held devices that seem to run our lives.

But the right lessons from technology? And the right teachers? We have to encourage and support those whenever we can.

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