Addicted

I watched an interesting but frightening documentary yesterday about the dangers of the younger generation becoming addicted to their cell phones and games.  I've watched how many teens will be together but not interacting, just all doing whatever in their own little world on their cell phones and predicted this would lead to a generation with no social skills.  And this is what is happening.

The documentary was partly about a young man becoming suicidal when his parents took away his cell phone and he had to have intensive therapy.  How did this happen??

I wonder if parents who work all day and are too tired to interact with their children when they come home at night don't mind a quiet child mentally attached to their cell phone.  Dinnertime used to be a time to eat and talk to each other about our day but too often now it's a fast food dinner watched in front of the T.V.  

There are so many dangers on the internet, too, with predators searching for neglected or naive children.  These "cell phone/internet" babies are already isolated and easy prey.

I commented a while back about how we seniors go out for lunch and everybody is laughing and talking.  Next to us is way too often a group of teens who are not talking to each other but silently staring at their cell phones.  There is a greater loss here than anyone ever imagined and it won't change any time soon.  Parents are giving even their pre-teens cell phones "so they can keep track of them".  Bull crap!  Those kids need more personal interaction and attention from their parents!

Isolation is a very bad thing if it isn't counterbalanced with face to face social interaction.  That is needed for a teen to develop into a mature adult.  It's foolish to think we can now just take the cell phones away because they have become a way of life for most people.  I've actually been told that a person's "whole life" is on their cell phone.  They have become an essential part of them.

I see no quick solution here except to attempt to minimize cell phone and game usage.  And we'll need pro-active parents to do that.