Time was, I sniffed at folks who spent the majority of their
non-working hours in front of screens.
I felt I was better than the potato couches (a.k.a couch-potatoes) planted in front
of televisions.
I looked down at generation Z-ers who sat next to each other
all the while staring at their phones.
Okay, I still bristle at that last one. If there’s a live
human to look in the eye and talk to, the screen, no matter its size, is better
left in the back pocket, and the device’s pingings are better ignored.
But as to the rest, I’ve joined the minions who start and
end their days in front of a screen.
Even before the blasted pandemic, screen time kept growing exponentially.
The lockdowns cemented it as the hangout place outside of which there’s a vast silent
desert.
Writing is already a keyboard and screen activity. Add Zooming,
Facetiming, virtual touring and video chatting, and the real world where
barometric pressures manifest as actual breezes becomes downright exotic.
I have to do something about that. But where do I reach out
to find new living breathing friends? Online, of course.
I couldn’t beat the screen-starers, so I joined them.
