Dear Society, I am writing this letter not to society as a whole, but to each individual, and yes primarily YOU. Imagine the scene: a couple is out on a date night and one of them is on his/her laptop. A mother is putting her kid to bed with the TV screen on for her in the room. Two friends are chatting, but one is just as much in Thailand as on the bench with her friend. That’s extreme, right? Who would do that? Not me! Not in our community! But that’s literally what a phone is. A mini laptop and TV screen. Which means it takes away just as much of your attention. My heart breaks when I pass the playground and see a parent pushing their child on the swing with eyes on the phone. This all also applies even if the phone is not a smart phone. Children are the greatest blessing, so why ignore them?? Look, I’m still a teen. I don’t know anything yet, especially not about world problems. Only the adults are wise, only they do everything right. Nevertheless, I want to share something, something that was realized mostly by young minds. Yes, by me and my immature friends. When our parents were growing up, they had their parents at their side. When their parents were home, they were available to their children. That was life and it was taken for granted. Fast forward 40 years. Our world was granted a gift. A large gift, with so many benefits. Yet, we live in a world that’s a mix of good and bad. And so the gift of technology has its downsides as well. The younger children around me were born with their parents’ devices in the room. It’s the only life they know. A life of trying to get their parents’ attention and love as their parents’ eyes are glued to a screen. In the best of families as well. I feel so lucky to have been born before that age, to have a clearer perspective on this matter. I for one cannot converse or connect with someone who is clearly showing me that there is something they find more important than me. The little lit up thing in in front of their face. I don’t blame parents for not realizing the damage; after all they weren’t damaged by technology in their youth. But in truth the damage is happening to them now, and will forever haunt them, because all parents love their children and damaging your children and your relationship with them is damaging yourself. And that’s besides the damage from spending too much time on technology, which they may or may not realize. If a parent is wondering why their child is acting up and what to do about it, ask me. I have advice: get off your phone. Acting up can be in many ways, I’ll list a few. A parent may be wondering why their kid is always on his/her device, or the opposite, doesn’t want to even look at a screen. Maybe their child doesn’t want to open up to a parent, is clingy, spends so much time out of the house, or simply complains about everything. These are normal difficulties kids face, you might say. I beg to […]

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