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I agree with some of the comments that it's not necessarily phones themselves, but I disagree that the culprit is simply social media. Any app on their phone is
by danielvaughn 3y ago
I agree with some of the comments that it's not necessarily phones themselves, but I disagree that the culprit is simply social media. Any app on their phone is going to be geared towards keeping them locked into the experience, because that's how apps are built.
Full stop, I don't want anything manipulating my child's attention. Because as I'm getting older, I'm realizing that the most powerful tool you have as a human being is your ability to focus on a task and see it through to completion. Digital media of any kind has a perverse effect on that ability.
Parents of the 50's were too simplistic with their mistrust of televisions, but they had the right intuition. Digital screens are avatars for daydreams, and to dream too often is to drain your life of its most precious resource - time.
- ethanbond 3y agoStrong endorse! Something that really stuck with me from David Foster Wallace’s The Pale King, and has been repeatedly borne out in my experience: “To be, in a word, unborable.... It is the key to modern life. If you are immune to boredom, there is literally nothing you cannot accomplish.” Our devices are a 24/7 anti-unborable medication. They’re other things too, which is what makes them especially challenging to get rid of.
- irishloop 3y agoI don't agree with the notion that time spent dreaming is wasted. There is more to life than being productive and focused. There's no prize at the end of life. There is a balance, of course. We can't just laze around all day for both psychological and survival reasons. In the end, though, time spent enjoying yourself is rarely a waste.
- ethanbond 3y agoGP said “too often.” Time spent enjoying yourself is frequently a waste — not because enjoyment is bad or immoral, but because there are so many easily attainable and shallow pleasures available today. Many of the richest pleasures in life sit on the other side of intense bouts of boredom or tedium or even pain.
- kelsey9876543 3y agoIs time spent recovered from a torn ACL a waste? No, we do not tell athletes to play with injuries without rehab. What do you think relaxation is for the mind? I hope you're not a parent
- ethanbond 3y agoWhat on earth are you on about? You took away from my comment that I would make my child continue to run on a torn ACL?
- danielvaughn 3y agoFor sure, totally agree. And I think "downtime" or "boredom" is an important part of life that shouldn't always be avoided (another reason I dislike phones). My wording was too subtle - the "too often" was meant to be significant, as daydreaming is also an important part of your life. Much of my productive work is actually a result of that daydream mode, though it's more active daydreaming, rather than what happens when I'm on my phone, where my brain is primarily in a passive state.
- kelsey9876543 3y agoReflection is a critical component of growth