Today I read what can only be described as an anecdote about cell phone use at home. How many times have you been yelled at for texting during dinner? Or when you're with your family? Well this Newsday article "No texting at dinner! Parenting in the digital era" by Karyn D. Collins targets this issue exactly. Texting has become so explosively popular, that it's almost strange to know someone (13 or older) that doesn't text. While this luxury is almost impossible to live without, parents are targeting it as reasons for new rules.
Holly Kopczynski, the mother interviewed in this article, states, "I grew up with rules, the 'no elbows on the table' kind of things. And I've raised my kids with that." However, lately Holly finds herself creating more and more rules to accommodate for the changes in technology. She now emphasizes more on not texting during dinner, and not using the phone during family outings.
While I was able to completely identify with this, I couldn't help but to think that with these new rules comes a lack of drive towards enforcing the others. Personally, my mom could care less about my elbows being on the table if I'm too busy texting to even pay attention at dinner. What really made me think was the fact that increases in technology are not only making our daily lives easier, but can sometimes be seen as a beast of burden. If so much emphasis goes into proper cell phone etiquette, will less time be spent on other decorum during family activities?
Aside from that, am I the only one who finds it amusing that new rules come from this technology? I know that when my mom takes away my computer it hardly phases me because I can just use my itouch to update my facebook or listen to music. Cell phones now harvest more than just phone calls or texting. With their wifi connectivity, built in mp3 players and more, I think it's becoming more difficult for parents to punish their children and cut them off from technology.
I think this article explains a lot of what most of us have already been noticing, but I still felt it was important to shine a light on it...especially when it is something that everyone can relate to.
(picture from newsday.com)
I agree, texting is taking over everyones lives. No one bothers to pick up the phone anymore and hear their friends or even their own parents voices. It also hurts because of the lingo that everyone uses. It hurts them because when they apply for a job all they know how to spell is how they would in a text.
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