Let’s be smarter!

Picture of David Ahern

David Ahern

David is the editor of The Majellan

We’ve all seen it! Young people glued to their smartphones on trains, trams and buses. It is like they can’t function without having the phone in their hand: playing games, texting friends or watching videos on TikTok.

For many, having a conversation with a friend or fellow commuter is passé and not the done thing. When I was growing up smartphones and iPads were the stuff of science fiction. Dick Tracey talked on his wristwatch phone and George Jetson flew to work in his space-age aerocar, but they were just cartoons.

 

 

We had fun riding our bicycles around the neighbourhood and playing games with our friends in the back yard. As long as we were home for dinner my parents were not fussed. Exercise was important and the more we played the better.

 

But fast forward fifty years and it’s a different world. There are now all sorts of modern technologies to keep our minds occupied.

 

Research has shown that interacting with new technology for too long each day is not necessarily healthy, leading to sleep disorders, anxiety, depression, social isolation, addiction, eye strain and vision problems, neck and back pain, increased risk of accidents and cyber bullying.

 

As we near the longer, warmer summer months, children should spend more time outdoors and, preferably, without their phones. Many parents moderate their children’s use of new technologies which is reasonable and sensible.

At a time when childhood obesity is also on the rise, the importance of getting enough exercise cannot be overstated.

 

The upside of smartphones and the like are well documented. I love the fact I can do all my banking on my phone and not physically have to go into the local branch. But we don’t want future generations to lack good communication and social skills. What sort of world would that be?

 

As the old idiom goes, everything in moderation. So, put your phones away, play outside and soak up the sunshine.

 

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