Some folks even go as far as to say that they can’t “survive” without it. How did we get to this place? And how do we get back home?
Oh sure, they’re handy little devices for helping us form
some sort of order out of the chaos that is our lives, but really, how did we get to this place?
Many young people have isolated themselves to the point
where they can’t talk to strangers on the bus, or the commuter train without
their Smartphone in their hands. Why is
that? Well, it’s simple, really. They require some sort of security, something
that makes them feel safe.
Has the world really
gotten that bad? Well, yes, in some areas it has.
It saddens me greatly when I see young people in their 20s
and 30s standing together in a group of what appears to be their friends, and
they’re all looking down at their devices.
Not talking, not sharing a laugh, not enjoying the blue sky, the
flowers, the trees, nope, none of that.
What are they
doing? Punching the keys and internal
keyboards and number pads of their devices, send text messages to one
another. Not a word, not a sound
uttered.
And again, how did we get to this point? Mommy and Daddy never, not once talked to
these kids when the kids were very young, therefore, the kids (now adults,
well, in theory) don’t know how to talk to other adults. It’s that simple.
Does a finger need to be pointed? Yes, in fact, it does. If a young person has earbuds in his ears and
a smartphone in his hands, that doesn’t necessarily mean he’s multitasking and
listening to music and texting at the same time. Usually, it means he doesn’t want to talk to
anyone, but rather just text his friends.
Mindless? Well, yes, obviously.
Why not put the smartphone down at talk? Because it means interaction with another,
unknown adult, the ones that Mommy and Daddy told him not to talk to. Again, big mistake. Is this true 100% of the time for 100% of the
young people? No, only 95%.
See, when he was very young, his Mommy and Daddy wanted to
bring him up “right”, not the way
they were raised. That means, Mommy and
Daddy wouldn’t allow him or make him
do anything he didn’t want to do because they didn’t want to deal with
tantrums, crying, sobbing, cleaning under his fingernails if he happened to get
in the mud, and so on. Therefore, Junior
didn’t really get to be a kid and live. Hmm, do
you see a pattern here??
I don’t own a
smartphone; never have, and never will.
That’s by my own design.
Is it too late for this generation? No, there’s still hope, but they need to
retrain themselves to actually put down their devices and make an effort to
engage other adults.
Are the devices to blame?
No, the kids just need to use some discretion, some self-restraint, some
will-power. Otherwise, the next
generation will be born completely mute and be unable to talk. Well,
maybe not the next generation, but it will happen in time.
