Simultaneously, a friend from Brisbane holidaying in Canada sent me snaps of her arrival, via the same app. Between chats, I took the obligatory video, using an iPhone, of the kids wrestling tiny waves only metres away.

With this column due, and the same-sex debate dominating political discussion, I flicked through Twitter regularly, and sent notes to my laptop, back in the apartment.

A day later, with a little one waking screaming of a stiff neck and a slightly elevated temperature, I Googled the difference between crinkly neck and meningitis - before making a doctor's appointment to ensure it was the former, not the latter.

This is now our world; one where technology makes so many decisions so much easier.

Too often, we talk about the negatives. And there's no doubt, there are many - from our teen girls sending half-naked selfies, to cyberbullying, to a laziness brought on by our ability to book a holiday, check a medical diagnosis and change television channels with the push of a couple of buttons.

Travelling Australia recently, talking to high school students, the innovation in bullying is startling - from false accounts, to identities, to photoshopped images that are sending teens into a world of anxiety and isolation.

And there is no doubt developments in technology also present a huge challenge, with their ability to tap into those who are more likely to walk into the arms of terror activity.

But perhaps the biggest drawback is the lack of anticipation our children now have to grapple with, because of what technology allows us to do, with the click of a button.

Remember the joy of seeing your photographs, after a film was developed days or weeks after the moments were captured?

Remember the suspense in being told a letter had arrived in the mail, and you had to wait to get home to devour its contents?

Remember your first love letter? I still have mine, hidden away somewhere. My daughters are unlikely to ever receive one, at least in that form. It's more likely to be a misspelt garble of words, sent via SMS.

This is the downside of technology that we talk about so often.

But even Jon Rouse, who heads Taskforce Argos, the crack team of police investigators who track down online predator, says the way technology is used is usually the problem.

His advice is that parents should embrace it more, and understand how our children are using it. Or put more bluntly, to get our heads out of the sand and know the parameters with which it can be used.

And the upside, if it is used properly, is a boon for of us, from almost every angle.

Our schoolchildren are building and programming robots. They can read a book on their phone, travel the world online, and stay connected to their friends, wherever and whenever.

Our young adults are only ever a Facebook chat away. Our parents are able to stay connected, in nursing homes, or living by themselves, with the click of a button.

On Facebook this week, one Townsville-based friend explained how her friend in Florida used social media to ask her - from a supermarket - what she should buy in preparation for the looming hurricane because she knew she had been through several cyclones.

Another said that he would soon tell us his new grandchild had arrived, via a few proud photographs on social media. Indeed, this friend is a teacher who taught me maths almost 30 years ago in a country town. We now talk regularly, via social media.

But one of the biggest advances, through using the technology available, has come in policing.

Each day now, police ask for evidence we might have captured on dash cam. Cyclists are able to show, via a camera on their helmet, any tomfoolery by a driver, and even those fighting online crime are using enormous advances in their own favour.

Last week, before Brendan Bennetts was found guilty of the murder of 16-year-old Jayde Kendall, the court was told he searched "best way to dispose of a body'' on YouTube the day before her death.

It was just one piece of evidence used, among text messages, a video-recorded police interview, Google Maps data, ATM records and CCTV footage that allowed police to establish their case.

So yes, technology presents enormous challenges. But it can also deliver a conviction, and closure, to a family who should never be suffering in the way they are.

And for that I am truly grateful.