The Children of the Screen

The unfortunate truth is that Hannah Baylon’s article “Children of the Screen” strikes remarkably close to the daily routines of most Americans. One of the primary reasons for this shift in our culture may be addressed with the cliché term saying that “times have changed.” The reality is that times have changed, and we cannot stand to have idle time. Instead of appreciating silence and rest for what it is we try to drown it out with noise and activity. Life nowadays has become such a blur with constant activity that we eventually become numb and apathetic to our natural surroundings, so completely immersed in our own redundant tasks.

I myself can testify to the screen-based environment overruling the other aspects of my life. Instead of having desire to go out and play in the grass or make vast cities out of mud like I once did, I find myself drifting to thoughts about movies and anything related to monitors. Even now as I write this paper, I am not really writing, instead I am typing, but because of the way the term has changed, now “writing a letter” involves moving little more than our finger tips as we tap out a message and send it without even rising out of our seats.

At this point we should not concentrate so much on promoting about the damage our current routines are inflicting with all these statistics and research projects addressing the matter, which in itself is slightly hypocritical; these are just more activities that waste more time in front of more screens. We instead need to escape. We need to break out of our perfectly partitioned schedules that choreograph every movement of our days and go explore everything else the world has to offer.

I am completely agreeing that we are addicted to repetitious work and mindless entertainment, and as with any addiction, we cannot hope to instantly break the cycle and be done with our current ways. We must instead take slow steps away from the screens, away from our full time work, and take a breath.

I know myself that I have struggled with this issue throughout my eighteen years of life. How can you escape the ease of slipping back and having to put forth no effort to watch whatever informational or mindless program you want without even moving thirty feet in your own home? Certainly many escape their televisions, but do they also escape from email? From cell phones? The cell phone is what kills me. Every so often I shut it off and hide it away, but still I wonder if someone needs to contact me for any important reason. The era of communication and networking cannot be easily broken, but it can be shaped and monitored.

One of the hardest parts of this shift in culture is watching millions of other individuals shift together and try to fit the culture they feel is expected of them. Rare are the mountain climbers, the bikers, and the runners, and even rarer are those who participate in said outdoor activities for no profitable gain. The best therapeutic program for anyone suffering from screen-ititus is to take a weekend alone or with close family and go out camping. Not just at a campground, but at a site away from any vehicles including the infamous motor homes, a chance to sit in the wilderness and have no idea you are there because of the three televisions sitting in front of you.

In conclusion: We should use a little more effort in order to save ourselves from the killer robots that are feeding on our constant use of technology until they one day strike out and the oracle’s prophecy runs true. “There is no spoon.” – The young boy of The Matrix.