A very well meaning woman asked me if my four and five year old sons have cell phones yet. I laughed, thinking that she was joking. Why would my children need a cell phone? Does someone who still needs help going potty and can't reach the sink really have a need for a cell phone? She asked again and stated that most children have cell phones by first grade. After researching her stance, I found that (depending on who you listen to) the average child gets a cell phone by 8-11 years old.
The advances in technology have benefited our society greatly. However, there are many ways in which we might have been better off without it. Social media has allowed us to keep in contact with people from all over the world. We can maintain friendships with the click of a button. We can FaceTime, Skype, PM, text, call, and generally keep up with the lives of friends through multiple social media platforms. Our social circles have expanded across countries and continents. Yet, how is this affecting our face to face relationships? How can we maintain our relationships with real people when we are always attached to a device? I spend too much time on my phone. I care too much about Facebook. My children are more important than my stupid phone. I downloaded a usage app on my phone to track just how much time I spend on my phone. I estimated like 20-30 minutes. I just check it quickly a few time a day, right? Wrong! Over the course of the day, I logged 2 hours. Two freaking hours looking at my phone. WTH?!? I hate it when people answer their phone or text in the middle of a conversation. I hate it when I am trying to talk to someone who is looking at a screen and not my eyes. Yet, I also know that I have done that to my children. I explain that Mommy needs a minute. But does that mean Mommy needs to get out her phone? My five year old is obsessed with texting. He tells me that he can't wait to get a phone of his own. I tell him that he does not need a phone, yet he cannot wait until he can text emojis to Grandpa and Grandma from his own phone. I know he gets that from me. I know that he sees Mommy on his phone. And it makes me sick. I have a goal. I am going to spend less time looking at my phone and more time looking at my children. I am going to show them that they are more important than people on facebook that I haven't seen in person for 5-10 years. I am going to put my stupid phone down. I am going to unplug.
0 Comments
|
Details
AuthorI am a writer, a crafter, a DIYer, a mom, wife, a daughter, a professional, and whatever I decide to be tomorrow. While I spend most of the day being called mama, I am much more than that. Archives
June 2018
Categories |