My dad made a comment about "phone zombies" and it actually stuck with me

I was over at my parents' house last Sunday and my dad just goes "you know, I've been watching people at the grocery store and everyone's just staring at their phones like they're missing something." He's 68 and barely uses his own phone. But it hit different because he wasn't being a jerk about it, he was just observing. I started paying attention this week and yeah, I counted 12 people in one 10 minute line at the bank glued to their screens. Even I was checking my phone while waiting for my coffee. Makes me wonder if I'm missing the stuff happening right in front of me. Has anyone else had a random comment from a parent or older person that actually made you stop and think?

3 comments

3 Comments

jamief671mo ago

...and the thing is, I've been noticing it with my own kids too, but not in the way you'd expect. My teenage daughter came home from school last week and told me her friend was walking home looking at her phone the whole time, didn't even see a car almost back out of a driveway. Like, that's real danger stuff. But then I caught myself doing the SAME thing at a red light yesterday, just scrolling through nothing important. My mom once told me "you're gonna miss your whole life if you keep looking down" and I brushed it off, but now I'm starting to think she was right. It's not about being old fashioned, it's about noticing that the world happens whether we look up or not, and we're choosing to miss it for a screen. That grocery story observation your dad made is honestly kind of genius.

price.ben1mo ago

Oh, you're right on the money with all of that. That moment when you catch yourself doing the very thing you warned your kid about is a real wake-up call, isn't it?

reese_lee91mo ago

counterpoint: some of us just like being alone with our thoughts and a screen lol.