Friday, January 21, 2011

Many parents using technology to lull kids into submission

"Ok, here! Now watch your movie & let me talk on my cell phone

Last night, as I stopped at a red light, I happened to be right next to a brand spanking new club cab pickup truck. The parents were in front seat.  One was driving while the other (passenger) was on the cell phone. Behind them, seated in the club cab was a kid, probably about 5 years old more or less. As he sat in the back, his face was only inches away from  brightly-lit screen which was mounted on the back of the passenger seat. The kid, naturally, seemed entranced by some cartoon that was on. As they drove off ahead of me, his mom (I'm guessing it was his mom) was still on her cell phone.

I know there's a lot of people who have nothing but good things to say about our ever-evolving technology. Granted, there are indeed a lot of positive things to say about it, but it is increasingly leading to the isolation of ourselves from one another. I've seen many similar scenes like the one I just described. Lately, I have seen families or groups of friends together in a vehicle, yet each one occupying themselves with their own personal digital toy of choice. Whereas, long drives used to be full of conversations and discussions, nowadays, it's more and more likely, that less human interaction is going on because many people are more comfortable being digitally isolated. For this, we have the digital age to thank, or should I say curse?

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