At what point did we all just quietly agree to let tablets raise our kids in public?
By @jaredtbh · Culture
My wife and I went out for a nice dinner, and it felt more like an electronics store. We were surrounded by three different families who just plopped an iPad in front of their kids with the sound on.
The full story
My wife and I have been going to the same local Italian place for probably 20 years. It's not fancy, but it's nice; the kind of place you go for a quiet anniversary dinner. Or at least, it used to be quiet. We went last Saturday and it was a whole different world. To our left, a family with a toddler watching some cartoon with incredibly loud music. To our right, two kids, maybe 7 and 9, not speaking a word to their parents or each other, just staring at their own screens with headphones on. The glow from the screens lit up the whole corner of the restaurant. I just found it so... melancholy. I was telling my wife, I remember road trips with our own kids back in the 90s. We'd have books on tape from the library, we'd play 'I Spy' for hours until everyone was sick of it, we'd actually have to talk to each other. If we took them to a restaurant, we brought coloring books and crayons. It wasn't always perfect, and sure, they probably got bored and whined sometimes, but it was time we spent together, engaging their minds and imaginations. These kids weren't misbehaving. They were silent. The parents seemed perfectly happy to just scroll on their own phones while the tablets did the babysitting. I get that parenting is hard, I really do. But it felt like we've collectively traded in the hard work of connecting with our kids in public for the convenience of a digital pacifier. I almost wanted to lean over and ask the parents if they realized they hadn't said a word to their kids in 30 minutes, but my wife gave me the 'don't you dare' look. Am I just an old man yelling at a cloud or has something valuable been lost here?
How people voted
- Facts — 28% (39 votes)
- Depends — 43% (59 votes)
- No Way — 29% (40 votes)
Readers say “Depends” (43%) — 138 votes and 5 comments so far.
What people are saying
@oliviak — Those parents are in survival mode and you're judging them for getting a moment of peace.
@tateactually — The future of human interaction is looking bright.
@niayy — let the ipads cook
@willalol — I would 'accidentally' ask the waiter to turn up the restaurant music to compete with the iPad.
@ehhokay — If you can't handle your own kids for an hour at dinner then you shouldn't go out.
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