Half-human, half-?

If I Was A Hybrid, I'd Be A Mermaid

Photo by Allie Smith from Pexels

 
In the last few days, multiple elders have expressed to me their fear about the ways that technology is taking over the lives of their children and grandchildren. From them, I got a sense that things are out of control, a runaway train heading for disaster.
 
“My grandson is half human, half phone,” a woman lamented at a meeting last week. “I’m not from this world,” she continued, “this world that’s so full of devices and so little eye contact.”
 
A woman sitting next to us on the plane shared her sadness about how unhappy her grown son seemed to be, even though he had everything – all the material comforts that a human could ask for. She blamed it on the phone, the lack of human connection and meaning in her son’s life.
 
“You need to come to the island,” she told him, referring to his homeland of Puerto Rico, “and see how people are suffering after the earthquakes. And yet, they find joy in helping one another, sharing what little they have.”
 
I feel the same as they do, bemoaning the direction of my fellow humans and our shared society. It makes me think about my father. He had strong opinions about many of our society’s habits: television, major league sports, binge eating on fast food that holds little nutritional value. He seemed like a zealot to me then; I just wanted to watch Dawson’s Creek and eat McDonald’s like my friends! But now I feel a deep kinship with his rebel beliefs.
 
We live in a society of excesses: food, possessions, entertainment options, digital “connection.” What does this say about our values? My father didn’t believe in Monday night football, but he did believe in building a boat from scratch, in maintaining friendships with a few dear friends, in learning about history and nature, in working like a dog and in showing up for his daughters every day of their lives.
 
I’m in my second trimester of pregnancy and I think there’s something about carrying life inside one’s body that gives us a different perspective about the world around us. My best friend is pregnant with twins and is terrified by the warm days she’s experiencing in New England. But holding life inside her body makes her want to do something about it, not just sit back and complain.
 
I want to do something, too. But what can I do to stop this runaway train? A runaway train that most people seem happy to be a passenger on?
 
I look around at the half-phone/half-human children that I see at the grocery store, at the doctor’s office, at the airport. These are my future child’s contemporaries. And it makes me wonder: How much will I have to fight to give my child a different kind of reality?

Tip of the Week

I went to a butterfly garden this weekend and everyone was viewing the butterflies through their phone screens instead of through the lens of their eyeballs. Next time you go to InstaStory or SnapChat an awesome experience, think twice and hold back. And see how you feel afterwards. 

Digital Life Around the Web

This articles argues that "the phone is just a mirror that reveals the problems a child would have even without the phone."

A hobby can cure you of social media addiction, like reading books. 

An older article about how phone-obsessed teens are safer than ever, but on the brink of a mental health crisis. 

A review of the decade that saw us become digital hoarders. 

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