Just as I was about to scream at the maddening younger folks who seem to live in their phones that “LIFE IS NOT INSIDE YOUR PHONES, people!” I had a vision of my (much) younger self.
In it, I was curled up with a book, more books resting on the floor to be read later, oblivious to the sounds and scents wafting through the
window. ’Twas my mother who burst through my bedroom door and yelled to “GET UP
AND DO SOMETHING USEFUL.”
I’m not inventing this scene. It is an actual memory, or
memories (plural) of just such at our home from long ago.
My mother told me she was admonished to “GET YOUR EAR AWAY
FROM THE RADIO, YOUNG LADY.”
So, kids are living inside their phones, and I lived inside books
and their fictional stories. Far back in cavemen days, listening to stories by
the fire was a real thing, also. Humans always seem to reside in some form of
retreat. At least, as much as the demands of earning a livelihood would allow.
TikTok shorts are not novels, but they are stories in their summary
way. What all the above testifies to is the human addictive need for stories.
Which, as a storyteller, makes me happy. I don’t feel like
yelling anymore.
At least, not until the next time I’m on a train or in a
waiting room full of people and every one of them is staring at the little
rectangular device in their hand.
4 comments:
Still, how many people are on their phones instead of giving each other their presence?
Indeed. But I remember being admonished to leave my book in my room when I came to the dinner table because family meals were for eating and also conversation, not the time to read... Also, repeatedly told that it was impolite to sit with a book on my lap when company came and read instead of being present.📖
lol, I can relate. But the difference is that books and music engaged the imagination and intellect in ways that the phones don't. Although there was the solitary reading and singing, it was not always so--it was a communal activity. It brought family and friends closer. When we got our kids phones when they started driving, it changed our relationship with them--they were less engaged in family life. Now with babies of their own, they are conscious of what it means to be fully present. They are deliberately limiting screens in their lives.
Well. I definitely think people are more important than stories, but I think there's a place for stories in our lives. They bring us joy and enrich our lives.
Post a Comment