Put down your phones

Dear Editor,

When we have so much happening in this world – with news at your fingertip we become overwhelmed. It is good that we can see our families on Skype or Facetime that we could never see before or have a conference call.

But we have to stop this nonsense of the electronic wonders and take an update to our social communication. The social impact it has on society becomes an anti-social behaviour because of these so called electronic miracles.
I saw this happening in McDonalds the other day.
A mother and daughter with a middle aged lady and a very alert blond boy about one year old and a young daughter. The mother went into the playroom with her daughter, keeping an eye on her while her presumed grandparent was sitting with the very alert one-year old.

She was gone for about half an hour.
As soon as she had left to go into the playroom, the middle-aged lady started watching her iPod or iPhone, oblivious to the alert little boy who was aching for her attention. He kept looking and swinging his arms at her trying to get her attention. She never once took her eye off that electronic gadget and the little fellow became agitated. He began to look around for other people’s attention. Some people would wave at him and he was delighted that these strangers would notice him. Meanwhile, the lady would pay no attention to him whatsoever and kept looking at her time-stealing gadget.

I felt like going over to her and giving her a big shake! So sad that children and people are being ignored because of these so called electronic gadgets. It has become a curse to society!

Herman van der Veen