This is by no means a new topic. Technology is here to stay, well, here to advance and develop and take us along for the ride. We're not likely to get off this magical mystery tour any time soon, so best just get with the program, right? I'm not sure that works for me.
If you know me, you know I do not have a smartphone. If you don't know me, you're probably about ready to close this webpage because, "what on earth? No smartphone?" One reason has to do with money - yeah, likely I'm on the cheap side here, but also because I'm not sure it's worth the money. It's a treadmill I'm not looking to get on because the only thing one loses is money each time around.
It's also because I think they are damaging to us, to relationships, to the personal connectedness that we all need. Information is too readily available to us that we have to know it all and now. We have lost our sense of patience and adventure – who knows how to read a map anymore? We are letting our memories take it easy – who can remember phone numbers or addresses when we can just look them up. We are overloading our senses when we have to read each and every article that pops up in our Facebook feed, as great as they all are, there just isn’t enough time. And we are detracting from the importance of memory and photographs because we can take a million photographs without care and at no cost. So we are always behind the camera and not so often “in the picture” and experiencing life. (the upside of digital cameras, though, was watching my youngest take pictures all over the house and then when she put it down to go to the bathroom allowed her older brother to use it by telling him to only take “pictures of beautiful things”! I could never have allowed such freedom if I had to pay to develop the pictures!) Who picks up the phone to call and talk about important issues or just chat? If it can’t be condensed into a text or tweet, no need to say it. And forget about grammar and punctuation.
For me, standing on the sidelines of technology (ironically blogging about it!), I find myself quite content not to be able to access the internet every waking moment of the day courtesy of the device in my pocket or purse. I like making plans and having to research them in advance and know where I am going by looking at maps. I like picking up the phone to call old friends and family members to chat. I see the damage that happens to my kids after they have time on screens - it's the only thing they want to do, even with a house full of toys, crafts, and potential. I deal with their outbursts and outright anger when screen time comes to an end. We're certainly trying to reframe the screen time within other activities for the afternoon. Some days it works better than others.
And then, Shabbat arrives. Those 25 hours from sundown Friday night to sundown Saturday night when screens and all things electronic are forbidden unless they are on a timer. Amazingly, my children all survive! Sure there are bouts of boredom; that's good for them. And there are fights over toys or games to play; also things that are good for kids!
I find myself looping back to what I wrote in the third paragraph. It came from an email I wrote to my great aunt who is now 94 years old when she commented she didn't have a smartphone and both saw the absurdity of trying to learn a complicated and unnecessary device at her age and also the slight sadness at not being able to pull up pictures of my kids through her pocket! For parents the issue with technology obviously revolves around our children and what the screen time does to their brains. After writing to my great aunt I was reminded of all the other things our kids are missing out on, that we're missing out on because so many of us are smartphone dependent.
What will happen when my beloved "simple phone" passes on and I'm not left any other options? Time will tell. And likely internet research will help!
If you know me, you know I do not have a smartphone. If you don't know me, you're probably about ready to close this webpage because, "what on earth? No smartphone?" One reason has to do with money - yeah, likely I'm on the cheap side here, but also because I'm not sure it's worth the money. It's a treadmill I'm not looking to get on because the only thing one loses is money each time around.
It's also because I think they are damaging to us, to relationships, to the personal connectedness that we all need. Information is too readily available to us that we have to know it all and now. We have lost our sense of patience and adventure – who knows how to read a map anymore? We are letting our memories take it easy – who can remember phone numbers or addresses when we can just look them up. We are overloading our senses when we have to read each and every article that pops up in our Facebook feed, as great as they all are, there just isn’t enough time. And we are detracting from the importance of memory and photographs because we can take a million photographs without care and at no cost. So we are always behind the camera and not so often “in the picture” and experiencing life. (the upside of digital cameras, though, was watching my youngest take pictures all over the house and then when she put it down to go to the bathroom allowed her older brother to use it by telling him to only take “pictures of beautiful things”! I could never have allowed such freedom if I had to pay to develop the pictures!) Who picks up the phone to call and talk about important issues or just chat? If it can’t be condensed into a text or tweet, no need to say it. And forget about grammar and punctuation.
For me, standing on the sidelines of technology (ironically blogging about it!), I find myself quite content not to be able to access the internet every waking moment of the day courtesy of the device in my pocket or purse. I like making plans and having to research them in advance and know where I am going by looking at maps. I like picking up the phone to call old friends and family members to chat. I see the damage that happens to my kids after they have time on screens - it's the only thing they want to do, even with a house full of toys, crafts, and potential. I deal with their outbursts and outright anger when screen time comes to an end. We're certainly trying to reframe the screen time within other activities for the afternoon. Some days it works better than others.
And then, Shabbat arrives. Those 25 hours from sundown Friday night to sundown Saturday night when screens and all things electronic are forbidden unless they are on a timer. Amazingly, my children all survive! Sure there are bouts of boredom; that's good for them. And there are fights over toys or games to play; also things that are good for kids!
I find myself looping back to what I wrote in the third paragraph. It came from an email I wrote to my great aunt who is now 94 years old when she commented she didn't have a smartphone and both saw the absurdity of trying to learn a complicated and unnecessary device at her age and also the slight sadness at not being able to pull up pictures of my kids through her pocket! For parents the issue with technology obviously revolves around our children and what the screen time does to their brains. After writing to my great aunt I was reminded of all the other things our kids are missing out on, that we're missing out on because so many of us are smartphone dependent.
What will happen when my beloved "simple phone" passes on and I'm not left any other options? Time will tell. And likely internet research will help!
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