Sep 24 2009
Revenge of the Zombies
Do kids honestly need cell phones? And is it really necessary for every kid over the age of five to have one?
Whenever I see kids these days, they’re all staring at their cell phones—bus stops, malls, parks, walking to and from school—they stare at their cell phones like a bunch of zombies. It’s as if they can’t concentrate on anything else; the world around them morphs into one big blur. And I have to wonder, what is so important that it can’t wait?
Because of cell phones, kids can never be in the moment and that is clearly the learned behavior passed down to them from adults. I think it used to be called multi-tasking, a skill whose effectiveness was highly over-rated. Everybody now, it seems, is always talking or texting with somebody else, never talking or engaging with the people they’re with. And I think that’s the epitome of rudeness. Or maybe it’s cluelessness.
A friend told me recently, “I got my daughter a cell phone to keep her safe.”
Safe? I wondered.
The kids I see are crossing busy streets with their heads buried in the text messages on their cell phones. Will they still be safe when they get hit by a car? Or walk inadvertently in front of their school bus? Or fall down the escalator steps at the mall because their eyes are glued to their cell phones? That’s some kind of safe.
And I’ve written several MOST ANNOYING posts about clueless parents, the ones who are always yakking on their cell phones at restaurants, in stores, at the mall, at the park, when they could be spending time with their children—you know, doing old-fashioned stuff like having an actual face-to-face conversation.
Many parents, like their children, are never in the moment either. So, I guess it’s no wonder that their kids grow up to be as equally clueless and rude.
My fear is that kids are growing up to be these brain-dead, zombie-like creatures with absolutely no social skills, their brains completely controlled by cell phones. But their thumbs will be damn good at texting. I suppose that’s something.
::Writer X also writes at The 100 Most Annoying Things::
Related TOE posts:
- Answer Your Phone, Already
- It Takes a Village
- Moms in Minivans
- Downgrade Your iPhone With zweiPhone
- Waste Not, Want Not
| 2 responses so far |
2 Responses to “Revenge of the Zombies”
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#1 herociouson 25 Sep 2009 at 2:15 pm
Seems like technology is making everything easier except for living in the moment. -
#2 WriterXon 26 Sep 2009 at 7:58 am
When it complicates even the simplest of things, you have to wonder if it’s really worth it sometimes.
