This an interesting article. It touches on seniors but also delves into educational system.
“The rich do not live like this. The rich have grown afraid of screens. They want their children to play with blocks, and tech-free private schools are booming. Humans are more expensive, and rich people are willing and able to pay for them. Conspicuous human interaction — living without a phone for a day, quitting social networks and not answering email — has become a status symbol.”
The sleepaway camp my son went to doesn’t allow any campers to have any electronics. So for 7 weeks they have to do without. I loved that they had/have that policy. They weren’t even allowed to call home. Parents could call on certain days but not until after the second week of camp.
I’ve stopped posting on FB. I do check it about twice a week for birthdays. And I’ve started calling them to wish them happy b’day again. I’m not on twitter or Instagram and have no desire to be on them either.
I don’t know. I don’t doubt there is a larger societal issue. But it isn’t one that is having a large impact on my life. I’m in a mixed middle class and working class neighborhood. I do spend a fair bit of time on FB keeping up with far flung family and friends. But I talk with immediate family, neighbors, local friends, or coworkers in person everyday. I am almost never alone.
It hasn’t been a big issue for the older generation in my family either. My mom is retired and my dad has passed away. She lives in senior housing and has a daily card game and weekly dinner club. She probably stops by a friends apartment most days to say hello. She lives far from me, so we check in on FB most days and call at least once a week. My siblings live near her and drop in regularly for a quick visit.
My daughter is a bit more introverted, but has been traveling some lately and has enjoyed talking to people she meets. She hasn’t relied solely on social media or cut her self off from getting out and experiencing people. My son is a social butterfly and meets up with at least one friend and often a whole group of teens most days. They talk, toss a football, play a board game, go to karaoke, make disgusting smoothies they try to get the others to taste, etc.
I worry most about the over-pervasiveness of screens in schools. Especially at young ages, where tactile and communal interaction is so important. And I do think it’s most common now, ironically, in lower income schools, supposedly to counter the digital divide, but I think that what that divide is has changed.
I see a difference in my three children the 26 year old doesn’t do social media, he closed his FB account, the 23 year old loves IG, and Twitter, the 20 year old spends WAY too much time online. I’m always talking to her about it. I think it contributes to so many young people being depressed these days.
My 23 year old D is expecting her first child in June, and she and her DH are so leery of screens in the classroom at such a young age that they are considering homeschooling. Like @partyof5 , I think my youngest spends too much time on a screen and that this has contributed to his depression.
It’s not only isolating (while preserving the illusion of connection), but it also makes every day life seem that much more tedious because it’s pretty darn hard to compete with the amazing graphics and larger than life story lines in some of these games.
It’s very telling to me that the Silicon Valley has such a high percentage of parents sending their kids to Waldorf schools. It’s as if they know what they’re making is poison and they want to shield their own kids from it.
@emilybee , my kids’ camps had the same rule. No electronics the entire time, and they had to write their parents pen and ink letters once a week. We were allowed to email, not call, and the office would print out the emails and put them in the kids’ mailboxes. I saw a real difference when they came home.
My D went to an all-girls camp with a no cell phone/electronics rule. When she was a counselor there was a campet who brought 2 cell phones. When counselors discovered her phone, she went to her backup. When the counselor discovered her second cell phone, she didn’t talk to anyone for two days. She finally came around at the end of her time at camp.
@Massmomm --my D and her H have a no screens around the baby rule. They won’t even put television on when she’s there. Definitely will be no screen-based toys.
My college freshman does not game and has very limited social media. It’s just not his thing. He reports that his roommates and floor friends (who he really, really likes) spend a tremendous amount of time gaming. He says they sit there for hours in front of the tv void of real social interaction. They also mix in a little pot smoking (which I gather is often the fake stuff from a vape).
My son attributes the very strict dorm rules on noise and drinking to the reason why they engage in this. He says you get in huge trouble if you are caught with a beer but pot (and gaming) are relatively quiet so the RA will never write you up for that.
Personally I’d rather have my kid socializing with a few beers than sitting in front of a screen. We’ve made alcohol taboo to the point we don’t even let these kids learn to drink socially. Is it really so awful if they make a noise getting a little loud talking, inviting other kids in their room, and playing music with (gasp) the door open? Instead socializing is now sitting in front of a screen - for hours behind closed doors.
IMO, beer and wine legal at 19, 21 for liquor.
As far as younger kids in school - I hope they will all begin to rethink the screen time. We now have a generation of elementary kids who have grown up gaming. Hours upon hours of screen time. You can already see the affects.
My oldest (28) removed himself from social media completely several years ago. He doesn’t have time for it, and does not miss it. His wife started her own business last year and uses social media for promoting and networking.
My middle (25) removed himself from social media when he graduated college. He is back on Facebook now, only because his medical school class uses several private groups for discussion and communications. That is all he uses it for. He occasionally posts on instagram.
My youngest (21) uses social media, mostly snapchap and instagram.
None of them were ever gamers once they left for college.
I enjoy facebook less and less, but I’m on it because it is a usefull tool for private groups to communicate. And I do appreciate how it has facilitated reconnections with high school and college friends.
@Massmomm The camp my son went to every summer for 12 years (ending as a counselor) was the same way. No technology, no calls, e-mail printed and delivered. He loved it and never got wrapped up in social media. He posts from time to time but only to his fraternity account as the President. He is always complemented about his social skills. I think the camps (even though pricy) are wonderful. (He also discovered his passion; now the career he is pursuing, at camp.
And the camps you speak about that are so wonderful? Generally out of the reach of the exact population discussed in the article as potentially more screen dependent. Low income people who don’t have gas $ for a car, $ for plane trips, etc. - so they rely on screens - tv and the internet - and hopefully books - to be their window to the world.
Too much screen time is not good. But really, you are being narrow minded if you think the key to success or bragging is to say that you, your offspring or whoever spends little time on social media. I mean, HERE WE ARE ON CC.
(and next let’s do a study to see the % of low income vs. not low income people have things/“screens” like:)
bluetooth in their car to stay more safely connected
iPads next to their beds or in their bag
a choice of phone, laptop, desktop, ipad to choose from when they want screen time.
My point being - mixed messages. One minute we are worried about getting more screens in the hands of everyone at work and school…the next we are worried about getting screens out of hands. I don’t fully disagree with the article but I think it’s subject to discussion.
