I’ve been thinking about my addiction to the internet and social media. I need both for writing and blogging. I do work for some websites that requires me to be online. Aside from that, I’m nosy and social media feeds directly into my quest for information about friends, family and strangers alike!
I wonder sometimes, how my addiction affects my boys. Do they feel like I’m not giving them enough attention because I’m always behind the screen of my laptop? Do I have to be ‘on’ for them every minute of the day?
This made me think about my childhood and whether or not my parents were ‘on’ for me all the time. The answer is, no. They weren’t. They may not have had internet to take their attention away from us, but they had television. TV, telephone, books, chores, errands. All of these things conspired to take our parents’ attention away from us, as children. The difference is, no one gave it a second thought.
Parents had their lives and their children fit into those lives in so much as they were fed and cared for, entertained some of the time, loved, for sure. They didn’t, however, live every moment of their lives for their children. Children entertained themselves with toys, friends, games, outdoor play and didn’t rely on their parents to entertain them every second of every day.
I don’t watch much television. My favorite pastime is reading. I devour multiple books a week and hope to inspire my boys to be voracious readers as well. I write, blog and research online, which for now, is my job.
What is the difference if our noses are buried in our phones and laptops or tablets while our parents watched television or spoke on the telephone with friends?
Children should learn to entertain themselves and not rely on adults to spoon-feed them activities. Imaginative play is so important for a child’s development. Learning through play allows children to develop social and cognitive skills and gain self-confidence. Outdoor play is important for children to learn about the world around them, exercise their muscles as well as their minds.
It might sound like I’m trying to defend my internet addiction, and to a certain degree, I am. But more, I wanted to explore the topic. What do you think about it?
