What I Miss Most From My Childhood
Ah, childhood. A simpler time. Nothing to worry about besides whose house to go to and what mom was cooking for dinner. I frequently find myself reminiscing about it. In the last few years especially, I get especially nostalgic for life before the technology controlled society we live in now.
A few weeks ago I was scrolling quora and came across a question that grabbed my attention. It asked, “What’s something you enjoyed as a child/teen that your kids will never appreciate, or know anything about?” and I started thinking. My answer? The main thing I had that my kids never will? Not having a cell phone. Yes, I really do miss the days before iPhones. I envy the freedom and control I had back then.
I’m constantly engulfed in my phone. At work I’m looking up recipes for dinner, checking how quickly amazon can get me the paper towels I keep forgetting to buy, and browsing social media. At home I’m checking work emails and reading obscure blogs when I should be spending time with my husband and kids. I rarely feel like I’m actually living in the present moment.
Of course phones help make our daily lives easier, but they can take away a lot, too. Having genuine and consistent contact with others is rare, and our phones constantly occupy our thoughts, hands, eyes, and time.
I get nostalgic about the land before phones most when I see how they control my children’s lives. It could be a beautiful summer day, but they won’t be ditching their phones for the outdoors unless I quite literally force them to. Cell phones have caused my children to stay up way later than they should, procrastinate their homework, substitute time with their friends for artificial contact, and miss out on experiencing the world (the real world).
They also face this weird societal pressure to constantly be logged on and tuning in. Even when I force them off their devices for an afternoon, their phones are constantly on their minds. They can’t stop worrying about the friends trying to reach them or new updates on twitter. I constantly hear, “Wait, okay, I want a photo like this for Instagram,” or, “No I can’t take one in this outfit, I won’t get any likes!” It always gives me a mixed feeling of confusion and sadness. Social media controls so much of their lives.
My kids aren’t the only teens like this, either. Research shows that cell phones reduce children’s academic performance, sleep, and social skills. I can’t count how many times my kids are groggy in the morning, and when I ask why, the response I get is something along the lines of “Well, Alex and I were texting until 2 am.” Their phones act as a distraction from their homework, and I have no idea how they get anything done with them constantly going off. Sometimes I feel like a bad parent for letting these things happen, but keeping them away from technology would put them at a disadvantage, too (and would be near impossible). It’s definitely a tough job finding the balance between screen time and “real” time.
They certainly have their advantages, but sometimes I wish I could take a vacation from being “on call” for my cell 24/7.
