It used to be that young mothers coo-cooed at their babies as they pushed them along or tucked their blankets in or squeezed their little cheeks as those small children carefully observed their mothers' expressions, learning things faster than at any other time in their coming lives, appreciating the immeasurable value of eye contact.
It used to be that workmates talked to each other on their breaks - perhaps joking or solving work problems together or talking about family, sport or popular films or simply the weather.
It used to be that people kept moving on public staircases or when simply walking down the street and when people crossed those streets they put safety first, looking this way and that, paying heed.
It used to be that elected representatives in political chambers paid attention to what was being said in the here and now, perhaps responding with questions or points of their own, fully engaged.
It used to be that in restaurants, couples conversed between courses, confiding in each other and perhaps making remarks about the service or other diners. And it was the same in pubs - it was the socialising that mattered most.
It used to be that people read books and magazines and letters they had received in the post and sought pub quiz answers in their heads
But now - what are people doing instead?
They are looking down at their smartphones.
Never up, always down.
Americans spend 30-35 hours on their Smartphone.
ReplyDeleteAn American lady on YouTube switches off the colour for the last hour.
Colour provides the dopamine hit.
AJP Taylor said Len Deighton was one of the few people he knew who really
liked machines and devices.
Deighton was the first novelist in the world to write a novel (Bomber) on a
computer. He hired a crane and had the huge IBM computer winched up to
the first floor study of his flat in Elephant & Castle in London. 1966.
A Smartphone has more vastly gigabytes and memory than the computer
inside the first Apollo spacecraft. 1969.
I've never had a Smartphone but I appreciate my cordless landline telephone.
My father was an engineer. He always said people conceived and built machines.
machines. Washing machines, fridges, vacuum cleaners were an aid to women.
It's maddening to witness but difficult not to succumb to unless, like you, not a drop will ever pass our lips.
ReplyDeleteI guess you hanker for the good old days.
It took a long time for you to get to the point. You said what many people are thinking.
ReplyDeleteApart from the rest which is all true, I never knew a single mother who coo-cooed at her baby. We talked to them with real words and real smiles.
ReplyDeleteOf course I realise that your meaning is that mothers back then paid attention to their babies.
ReplyDelete