Smartphone parenting
I was at the city center the other day and I was sitting on a bench minding my own business when I saw a small kid running on the pedestrian street. This approximately 4 year old was laughing and screaming, jumping and bursting to every possible direction, just like little kids do. Then I heard a calm voice calling the kid's name and telling him to stop. I looked up to a man who was walking forward barely raising his eyes of his smartphone. The kid slowed down a bit, but soon kept messing around with the same energy. There were traffic lights nearby and the kid was approaching them much faster than his dad, who was slowed by his other interests. Was it social media, email, or breaking news, I don't know. Whatever it was, It must have been super important as his screen was drawing his attention like a magnet. The father fidgeted his phone a couple of times more, and then he repeated his gentle command. His son, who was now maybe 10 meters ahead didn't listen and the he was ...