I’ve Seen the Effects of Technoference!

I have just read an article from The Conversation, an Australian blog for academic and research contributors, entitled Technoference:a habit parents should ditch during 2019. 

Sheri Madigan describes the contemporary family placing face - to - face interaction as secondary to our obsession with mobile devices. Sheri quotes research which indicates this results in sad kids whose bad behaviour is aimed at gaining their parent’s attention. 

She gives some suggestions on  to increase family connection time. 

I have witnessed this time and again st the park and at shopping centres, even at the doctor’s surgery. One particular example was a boy aged5 or 6 who was eating at the food court at the shopping centre with Mum and Dad one night. Each had their device. They ate together, but there was no conversation, no eye contact, just the regular tapping on the device and the shovelling if food to the mouth. The child became bored and attempted several times to speak to one parent or another with a monosyllabic response. The child grew more and more restless u til the sad little family picked up their devices and  left the table.