Is Progress Moving Too Fast

This last year, I had the opportunity to visit a number of friends and colleagues with whom I have been involved in education and business, as well as many personal friends who have been with me for over 50 years or more. Inevitably, during a dinner or just a casual social event it never fails that our conversations drift into the subject regarding what we are using for phones, tablets, or computers at home.

I can be completely honest with you when I tell you that those conversations never arose when my parents had friends over while we were growing up. My dad was more interested in sharing what he had heard at the barber shop that day from his clients, or what they had shot on the golf course that morning, as my mother was pleased to share the experiences she had with her sister and mother when they had gone shopping that day. I can tell you honestly though, the subject never drifted to whether my mom had a Princess phone or one of the new wall phones that were so sleek.

I think if we kids had cellphones and were caught looking at them during dinner they would have found their way into a water glass, and you can bet we would not have thrown a tantrum at the table, but instead would have found our way to bed exceedingly early that evening and not made that mistake again. 

While we are speaking on the subject of discipline, I want to be very straightforward when I say my dad was a barber and he had a barber’s straight razor strap hanging on the basement door; it never had to come off its hook. The idea of respect for our parents was paramount in our home. That strap could be found on a barber’s chair in every barbershop in the old days. Its purpose was to keep a barber’s razor sharp for use when a barber would give a man a shave that would last for several days or to shave the backside of his neck to give a detailed look for a haircut, something we rarely see today. We knew where it hung, but believe me, it never had to be used.

In a survey of internet users in 2022, nearly half of the respondents considered themselves addicted or somewhat addicted to digital devices. Whether classified as an addiction or not, heavy usage of digital devices and technology can be detrimental to users. It has also been found that this type of excessive internet consumption can also be found to be detrimental to an individual’s ability to communicate on a normal basis with others and to regulate their emotions and affects their ability to maintain relationships.

Next time you walk into a restaurant, look around you and observe the number of individuals gazing into the screen on a cellphone or tablet. No one talks to each other, but instead are constantly staring into the screen of their device.

Adults are not the only ones who suffer from these addictions. Our children today are also extremely at risk for an over immersion into the world of digital fantasy. Many parents of these young children can relate to this problem and the problems that arise when these devices are taken away and the tantrums which result when the devices are removed.

Another issue results in the desensitization of children to violence in today’s society. Some parents are astonished at the level of violence in some of these video games which they thought were harmless until they looked further into the content. I am not condemning all digital offerings, as some have real educational value. However, studies have shown that the more realistic and repeated the exposure to violence, the greater the impact on children, as they become overly involved and even obsessed with the games and reject any attempt to reduce their “screen time.”

Parents need to become more involved in the purchase of these games. Read the labeling of the game, if it is labeled Mature, it certainly is not for an eight or nine-year-old for sure. Maybe play the game with your youngster and see for yourself and always expect the pushback you are sure to experience, but be firm; your child understands the boundaries if they are fair and enforced. 

I’ve also been surprised recently to find some children can no longer tell time when looking at an analog clock and can only read time from a digital device. I confirmed that fact by speaking to several local teachers with whom I am friendly. It equaled the shock I had when I found out cursive handwriting is no longer taught in public schools, a standard within our schools for over two hundred years.