Alex Hutchins, Opinions Editor
@aHutchCourant
Whether we’re texting or locked in a heated game of Words with Friends, it’s not often we sit back and take a good look at how consumed we are by the artificial glow that exudes from whatever sort of device you may use; yes, even that Game Boy Advance SP that you can’t believe has lasted through all those hours of Super Mario Bros or Pokémon you logged during long car rides or while waiting for your sister’s violin concert to end. More recently, smartphones seem to be responsible for expanding the phenomenon of the open-mouthed screen staring that consumed the majority of our time and eye energy as kids playing videogames. Now, seemingly everyone with a phone and a palm to hold said phone gets temporarily blinded from everything going around them simply because they’re checking the score of the Giant’s game or tirelessly editing a post for Instagram. This seeming addiction to our phones has even caused problems with our ability to drive from point A to point B. Countless cases of car accidents that were caused by people’s failure to recognize that staying alive may be more of a pressing issue than that text to your friends telling them you’re running late.
But that’s not the focus of this story. The most concerning case of distraction because of phones takes place at home. How many times has the dinner table turned into a frenzy of e-mails being checked, online orders of clothing, and Facebook feed scrolling? The answer may vary from house to house but the consensus among most families is sadly, “too often”. When did phones suddenly become such a pervasive distraction in our lives that it becomes a rarity for a family to sit in the same room without staring at a screen in front of them?
The truth of the matter is that the effect new technology has on our lives at home may not be as new an experience as we originally thought. Maybe before the introduction of addicting devices there were other ways in which families distracted themselves from communicating with each other every single moment of every single day. Before the age of mobile devices, families might use prolonged landline phone calls with friends, dig their noses into a book not assigned from school (as unlikely as that may be today), or even locking themselves in a room that had a stereo and listen to music away from the rest of the family. Whatever the case may be, there’s a certain value that time spent not under the lense of our parents and vice versa has in the context of a healthy family relationship. By detaching ourselves from constant inter-familial communication, we are able to delve deeper into those things that make us happy or give us a release from the stress that we may encounter on a day-to-day basis.
In the long run, our obsession with technology can only be detrimental to our relationships with other people only if we let it run out of proportion. Like any addiction, the short-term benefits of using our phones are almost endless. However, if not consumed in moderation it can get to the point where it starts to eat away at our bonds with friends and family. What to take away from all of this is that while at the end of the day everyone needs some way to find solace away from the occasional bombardment of college essay nagging, and any number of questions that make up the Parental Inquisition, checking back in with parents and family will certainly be well worth your while.
