"...and your hammer makes you weak because you no break rock with hand!" Tools are tools. Their application is up to the user. That being said: the article has a point. There are very clever people working on how to keep your attention at what they want. It takes knowledge and mindfullness to resist the urges pried out of you with your basic psychological needs.
I think this article would be much better if it didn't focus on the tool, but on the content. As you mention, it's attention that's so damn detrimental. I've heard the term "dopamine-hacking" more than a few time over the last year to describe what Facetwitstagram are doing to us. Our apps have trained us that we never need to be bored, if we can instead be distracted by them. Youtube's algorithms are optimised to make you watch longer. Whether that time is enjoyable, engaging, interesting or informative doesn't matter.
If you view the article through the lens of its intended audience, it isn't bad at all. the Globe and Mail is Canada's version of USA Today with some NY Post thrown in; it's basically the journal of cranky old white men. Basically, this is evidence that Turkle's research has finally trickled down to Fox News, at least up north.
FEARDistracted parents may even be putting their children at risk of physical harm, Dr. Steiner-Adair says. The U.S. Centers for Disease Control found a 12-per-cent spike in injuries to children under 5 between 2007 and 2010, after a long decline. The years coincide with the crash of the American economy, but also with the infancy of the iPhone
Ooh I like this gameThe years coincide with the infancy of the iPhone, but also with the introduction of Amazon's Kindle
The years coincide with the introduction of Amazon's Kindle, but also with Barack Obama's election and first 2 years in office
The years coincide with Barack Obama's election and first 2 years in office, but also with the 2007-2011 Belgian political crisis.
The years coincide with with the 2007-2011 Belgian political crisis, but also with the composition and release of Susan Collins' Hunger Games trilogy.
This one is reasonable.The years coincide with with the 2007-2011 Belgian political crisis, but also with the composition and release of Susan Collins' Hunger Games trilogy.
The years coincide with the airing of The Tudors, a drama about the reign and marriages of King Henry VIII but also with the phase-in period of EPA regulation 40 CFR Parts 69, 80, and 86. This game is fun.The years coincide with the composition and release of Susan Collins' Hunger Games trilogy but also with the airing of The Tudors, a drama about the reign and marriages of King Henry VIII.
I've been thinking about the bit you quoted for a couple hours, and I finally read the whole article. It kind of makes me angry, because parents have been finding ways to tune out their children long before the smartphone came along. The article tries to explain that this time it's different, but I'm not convinced. One of my mom's favorite stories is putting me in a baby walker like this: She swears the moment she turned her back zoom I went down the stairs ha ha ha. I hate that story.