How to Battle Technological Addiction in Modern Life
The fight for your soul is happening whether you like it or not
I write this on a Sunday afternoon. The weak September sun battles through the clouds as the twin boys in their upstairs bedroom argue loudly about whose turn it is on the Xbox. Their 12 year old brains are wild with dopamine and addled by over-stimulation as they bark instructions at each other.
The summer break has just ended and apart from the occasional trip to town or the enforced family meals, they have both sat glued to their gaming console for six weeks solid.
Downstairs, our youngest two sit with the television on, each holding an iPad. Netflix runs on the big screen, YouTube or a video game runs on the small screens.
My 3-year-old tears himself away from his devices more frequently than the rest, finding joy in making Play-Doh shapes with me or his mother, or being out in the garden as we mow the lawn or dig a flower bed.
Yet, all in all, like most households, we are a family driven by technology.
I’d judge this picture of modern life more harshly if I too wasn’t part of it, reaching into my pocket for my phone to check social media apps two or three times an hour, for what reason or benefit I do not know.
