I mean, you're asking the questions which I think about now ALL THE TIME, both as a parent and as a human with fairly divided attentions myself. I look forward to seeing what folks share here. I'll say that one thing I find really helpful is having one day each week where all devices are off. Now this is a part of our religious observance of Shabbat, but a direct by-product is 25 hours without tech. Believe, my 14 year old hates it with a capital H, but I think even he would acknowledge there's something pretty cool that comes out of it -- for attention, for hanging out, for catching up on sleep and feeling bored. I think there's a lesson in this somewhere.
Yes! The tradition of a day of rest is something I’ve been thinking about too! How as you note, it’s related to attention. Because when we build in rest, we build in paying attention to the parts of ourselves and our lives that are missed when we are in the midst of activity. The tradition also integrates rest as a part of the natural order vs. hustle and consumer culture’s framing of rest as personal weakness, or a luxury to be purchased.
My kids are now in their 20s but I am a high school teacher who worries about this all the time and see this inattentiveness and inability to think deeply accelerating. My two sons are 24 and 27 and have often reflected on their "luck" in not being given a smart phone until they were in college. They had internet access, of course, and access to movies and television (which I sometimes wonder if I should have limited more), but I think the key is engaging them in discussion about what's happening onscreen and in the world around them. Don't allow them to just passively consume. Analyze with them and encourage them to develop a critical stance. When my students have a writing assignment, I encourage them to talk it out with each other and anyone who will listen and those who take this advice report that it's very helpful. Found your article through Mark Isero's article club BTW.
Martha, first of all, great to meet a fellow ArticleClubber! Second, thank you for taking the time to read the essay. I'm glad it resonated with you.
What I'm really appreciating about your comment is your encouragement to involve one's children in examining screen time and media consumption, their relationship to it, and helping them to develop self-awareness and criticality. To date, I've focused more on boundary setting, but I haven't earnestly engaged my sons in stepping back and thinking about this together. I'm going to try this and see where it might take us.
Lovely reflection, Christian. Thanks for sharing!
Thank you for taking the time to read it, Josh!
I mean, you're asking the questions which I think about now ALL THE TIME, both as a parent and as a human with fairly divided attentions myself. I look forward to seeing what folks share here. I'll say that one thing I find really helpful is having one day each week where all devices are off. Now this is a part of our religious observance of Shabbat, but a direct by-product is 25 hours without tech. Believe, my 14 year old hates it with a capital H, but I think even he would acknowledge there's something pretty cool that comes out of it -- for attention, for hanging out, for catching up on sleep and feeling bored. I think there's a lesson in this somewhere.
Yes! The tradition of a day of rest is something I’ve been thinking about too! How as you note, it’s related to attention. Because when we build in rest, we build in paying attention to the parts of ourselves and our lives that are missed when we are in the midst of activity. The tradition also integrates rest as a part of the natural order vs. hustle and consumer culture’s framing of rest as personal weakness, or a luxury to be purchased.
My kids are now in their 20s but I am a high school teacher who worries about this all the time and see this inattentiveness and inability to think deeply accelerating. My two sons are 24 and 27 and have often reflected on their "luck" in not being given a smart phone until they were in college. They had internet access, of course, and access to movies and television (which I sometimes wonder if I should have limited more), but I think the key is engaging them in discussion about what's happening onscreen and in the world around them. Don't allow them to just passively consume. Analyze with them and encourage them to develop a critical stance. When my students have a writing assignment, I encourage them to talk it out with each other and anyone who will listen and those who take this advice report that it's very helpful. Found your article through Mark Isero's article club BTW.
Martha, first of all, great to meet a fellow ArticleClubber! Second, thank you for taking the time to read the essay. I'm glad it resonated with you.
What I'm really appreciating about your comment is your encouragement to involve one's children in examining screen time and media consumption, their relationship to it, and helping them to develop self-awareness and criticality. To date, I've focused more on boundary setting, but I haven't earnestly engaged my sons in stepping back and thinking about this together. I'm going to try this and see where it might take us.
Christian- Attention is so underrated these days and I'm so glad you mentioned this. Hope you're well this week. Cheers, -Thalia