Screen generation

There is a phrase I recently learned: the phoneaholic generation - refers to a generation dominated by the phone screen.

By chance last week I witnessed a rather sad scene. The girl, in her early teens, was so focused on her phone that when...

The train stopped at the station and she rushed out the door and forgot her backpack. Because at that time it was not rush hour and the train was not too crowded, so if it wasn't for her luck that a black man sitting in the opposite seat saw her and quickly threw her out before the train door closed, she would have missed her. I'll still have to sweat to find my backpack.

In fact, at that time, the rest of the people on the train just looked at each other and shook their heads in frustration, wondering why it was so stupid.

But when I think back, I can't help but wonder:

Is it just that the girl is crazy?

Nowadays, it is not difficult to see young girls and boys walking while staring at their phone screens on the streets. Many kids even held the screen close to their faces, and obviously didn't pay attention to anything on the road. Even more dangerous, it will not be difficult for you to find videos on social networks of "reporters" driving and gliding down, causing heartbreaking accidents.

That is the sad phenomenon we are facing.

But here perhaps we have another question:

Are those teenagers really to blame?

Are not?

One of the most important things to become a person in society is learning how to behave. And for those teenagers, let's take a look at their main environment - their family life:

In “4000 Weeks,” author Oliver Burkeman wrote:

“By any sane logic, in a world with dishwashers, microwaves,

and jet engines, time ought to feel more expansive and abundant, thanks to all the hours freed up. But this is nobody's actual experience. Instead, life accelerates, and everyone grows more impatient. It’s somewhat more aggravating to wait two minutes for the microwave than two hours for the oven—or ten seconds for a slow-loading web page versus three days to receive the same information by mail”

That's it. It is the dizzying changes of the times that make people increasingly stressed and stressed. For parents, after a long and stressful day at work, they come home tired and bored. And obviously, with that situation, it is difficult for them to truly control their style and behavior. Being easily angry, tired, and lethargic are not uncommon. In some families I have had the opportunity to observe firsthand, evenings often go like this: the father sits alone with a laptop and headphones, playing

electronics or watching video newspapers, the mother also goes to a corner with her phone and iPad. And to avoid bothering the two children, they are fully equipped with 1 TV, 2 iPads, and even 2 old phones of their parents in case the iPads run out of battery.

And when that happens regularly, what should we expect from how those children behave in society?

The more I think, the more afraid I am of Naval Ravikant's words:

“No exceptions – all screen activities linked to less happiness, all non-screen activities linked to more happiness”

After thinking about this issue for a long time, I believe what Naval wants to imply is that we are sacrificing the colorful 3-D world out there with a 2-D simulated world on the screen. Of course, that 2-D world will certainly be more attractive (because it is programmed with algorithms that understand personal preferences very well, and what can attract each person's attention).

But no matter how attractive it is, it is just a simulated world. Attention to it will greatly influence each person's real life. Especially in the case of children, they will not be able to observe and learn the basic things that are extremely important: how to behave and be careful with their surroundings.

And, that, it's sad to see happening more and more out there...