Politely, this is not a new problem. Nor is it untypical for the upper crust to have issues with their kids, if myths and tales from earlier times are to be believed.
I can confidently say that screen addiction is kind of a thing for many kids. They can't bear to be without it. I notice my baby stares at the glowing screens, the phones, the computers. He also stares at fires. Brightness is attractive, apparently.
But something my wife and I are very set about: Mr. Baby will have to be able to bear being without a phone. Not that we'll be hovering or super limiting, but we expect Mr. Baby to be able to psychologically handle not having a phone glued to himself at all waking hours, and we will adjust our own phone usage if it becomes apparent we have issues.
Most entertainment and many non-entertainment phone apps are designed to be attention-grabbing machines, and that's worrisome. Kids don't have that armor to be able to drop out into a focus world. It is a very hot media, by McLuhan's classification, and I think that's worrisome.
Anyway. Unexpected effects happen, we're spinning faster than we ever have, and we have to ride the wave.
The lack of awe is what surprises me. Just how quickly we take each breakthrough for granted.
Sure, we're spinning faster and faster, as you say. But sometimes I think it's actually the FOMO mechanism built into social media that is keeping us unimpressed by the amazing technology powering it. Kind of a cruel joke really.
> The lack of awe is what surprises me. Just how quickly we take each breakthrough for granted.
That's just your perspective and the people you deal with. Many people I know over 40 are amazed. Perspective....
A lot of the technology is respun other technology, and that does take the luster off.
Personally I think a lot of the social media stuff is bunk, particularly the bits that prioritize zero-content fluff. But things like Mastodon, Hacker News, or Wordpress (remember twitter was microblogging) have spawned deep and thoughtful engagement with the world and others.
I can confidently say that screen addiction is kind of a thing for many kids. They can't bear to be without it. I notice my baby stares at the glowing screens, the phones, the computers. He also stares at fires. Brightness is attractive, apparently.
But something my wife and I are very set about: Mr. Baby will have to be able to bear being without a phone. Not that we'll be hovering or super limiting, but we expect Mr. Baby to be able to psychologically handle not having a phone glued to himself at all waking hours, and we will adjust our own phone usage if it becomes apparent we have issues.
Most entertainment and many non-entertainment phone apps are designed to be attention-grabbing machines, and that's worrisome. Kids don't have that armor to be able to drop out into a focus world. It is a very hot media, by McLuhan's classification, and I think that's worrisome.
Anyway. Unexpected effects happen, we're spinning faster than we ever have, and we have to ride the wave.