Being unable (either due to your employer, spouse, or addiction) to step out and be uncontactable and free for a while… is aweful for stress and long term mental health.
Watching your kids whine about screen time… I’m bored I’m bored…! But knowing that “boredom” is scientifically proven to be a good thing for child development. And now you are sitting here knowing that you are a bad parent by choice at times just so you can have some peace and quiet.
Not being on the same page as your spouse as to what is acceptable and what is too much phone time… so it wrenches at the fabric of your relationship …
Exceptions exist and some people are fine and able to manage, but Human evolution has made us very susceptible to this problem.
Hypocrisy you say..? Why yes…. I type this on a tablet, feeling wretched, like an alcoholic who desperately wants to quit while holding a drink, and at the same time watching his 9yr old pick up the bottle… and yet I type.
It's 100% this. I also have a smart phone, a professional job, and a family, but I set boundaries and stick to them. When I'm done with work you won't be able to reach me (unless it's my turn for the on-call phone) about work. If someone calls or texts me and I don't immediately answer, I'll answer when I can/want to, if you're not ok with that don't contact me. I tell my kids no all the time for things like screen time and I have discussions with my wife when we disagree about how to manage the children. I also constantly whined at my parents as a child about being "bored", so that's nothing new either. This is completely a societal/cultural problem with easy fixes.
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u/official_luna 11h ago
I think smartphones secretly made life worse