Moms and dads who would prefer that their teens’ faces were buried in books might suspect the cause of this phenomenon is technology addiction.
This sentence in itself is in relation with the technological divide between the generations. What difference does it make if I get my knowledge from a computer or a book? There isn't one, this is a stupid desire; moms and dads should educate themselves some on this matter, esp. in regards to the idea that the only purpose of a computer is to be entertained. I was once denied, in my teens, of using the family PC to write an essay, never given a real reason why I couldn't, and was instructed instead to go to the library instead to write it. The power cord to the PC was even hidden to ensure I couldn't use it (though I did find another cord elsewhere in the house, not like they're apple products or anything.) So I used the fucking computers at the library to write my essay lol it's like, why did my time need to be wasted like this? With all the time I spent in getting from and to the library, I could've spent in writing a better essay.
And it's not like the older generations were safe from the phenomenon either; vehicles revolutionized the world when they came about, fucking everyone owns a car nowadays, it's considered a staple of human life: no car, no transportation, you're fucked. Not to mention all the other vehicles which make life easier. Were they writing articles back then about how that technology was taking over that generation? Were they writing articles about the machines making work infinitely easier and "oh no, how are all these people going to find work now that the piston has taken over the labor of twenty men?" Now that I think about it, I'm sure this did happen, and I'm sure it will be ignored because "wow, new contemporary world that man's never experienced before never ever ever!!"
And I'm sure the responses were the same: people freaking out, saying "what would happen if the world as we know it ends and there's no more cars, how will you get by then, that's why everyone should keep a horse and buggy just in case." Nobody thinks this anymore, esp. not after being raised around cars and being very much used to their existence. So why do they say it about computers? Simply put, because it's new, because the later generations weren't raised around it and the younger generations were, so while the younger generations see and exploit the incredible potential for a computer to ease one's life, the older generations will perpetually prefer the methods which they understand and are comfortable with than to put in the effort to use something which can make their lives potentially worse (if you've ever known someone who has a hard time figuring out how to copy and paste a file, you know what I mean.) It's a dichotomy as old as civilization itself.
In a hundred years there will be some new technology that makes it so you never need to move a single muscle to get anything done, and the older generation will complain about it, claim it will lead to muscle dysfunction, claim it's taking over the lives of our younger folk and how can we get them to use the old trusted technologies again like good ol' brawn, and think about all the jobs we'll lose when we don't need to exert much effort to accomplish the same task, how are we going to feed and house all these people who can't find work; meanwhile, the younger generations will find ways to use it to their advantage, for their minds are still fresh, not bogged down by experience--of course, the downside being, lack of experience, and the more of that they get the more they turn into the older generation. Anyway, point is, there's nothing new under the sun and certainly nothing new in this article. The day someone comes up with a way to fix our "addiction" with plumbing, refrigerators, chairs, cars & planes & trains, comfortable clothing and phones, that's when you ought to listen to what they have to say about contemporary technology: just make sure their "solution" doesn't involve leaving your "earthly incarnation" to meet some celestial god-turtle on a distant planet.
