No Phones Allowed

About two weeks ago I was reminiscing with a childhood friend about how exciting our childhood till adolescents years were. These were times when technology hasn't put the whole world on chokehold and take away quality family time. Now, I am well aware of the incredible advancement the human race has enjoyed because of technology. However, for everything with advantages, a couple must of disadvantages is never far away. One of the disadvantages of technological advancements and gadgets is the quietly increasing chasm showing up in relationships.

One of the things that makes life interesting and smooth is spending quality time with loved ones. In this regards, I'm not talking about speaking to someone for hours on the phone. Though that is an advantage compared to the old time when you couldn't communicate live with someone you love once they're not around. Quality time often involves meeting a person physically and spending good times together with little to no distractions. That's one of the things technology gadgets has taken away from us.

Asides the fact that phones and social media is one of the leading mode of meetups that's actively threatening marriages and relationships, phones has found its way into families and is stealing more quality time away from them. And, one of the reasons for that is the lack of education as regards the use of phones and social media.

Yesterday, an elderly neighbor and his 16 year old son nearly got into a scuffle. The man was calling out to his son to come in and help with some chores but the boy was completely unaware of his father's call. Why? He was busy playing game on his phone. By the time the man stormed outside, it took the intervention of neighbours to restraint him because he was clearly ready to inflict bodily injury on the boy to serve as a deterrent. And, he seized the phone and promised not to give it back till after two weeks. According to him, he's had enough of his boy prioritizing his phone over everyone and everything in his life.

Look, a lot of families are at breaking point because of situations similar to this. I mean, it's demeaning when you are trying to share an important message with someone only to notice that the person is busy doing something else on the phone at the same time. Funnily enough, those guilty of this will never admit faults. When you tell them they're not concentrating their immediate response will be that they have functional ears to hear what you're saying. But the reaction to the conversation says otherwise.

Honestly, banning of phones on some occasions looks to be a viable solution to the problem it's causing especially during dinner. Dinner Time is one of the very few times families have to experience togetherness and keep the intimacy. To have it bastardized by regular pressing of phones is not ideal. So, banning of phones during dinner, as long as it's well communicated and generally agreed upon, is reasonable and not an infringement of rights.

https://pixabay.com/photos/hands-phone-smartphone-electronics-1851218/