Ever wonder what might happen if smartphones suddenly disappeared?
What would you do? What would your kids do?
Take a moment. Think what your life would look like without a phone in your pocket….
[put your phone down for a sec, and let your imagination show you]
What came to mind? Your calendar? Maps? Music? Your connections on social media? Texting? Notes? Reminders? Email? Or maybe the camera, and your 3,158 photos no longer in sight?
There are so many plusses to having a smartphone and it’s easy to defend why they are important in our lives.
But the point of this post is to get you to stop for a moment and imagine, you–and your kids–with no smartphones.
[if you didn’t put your phone down before, I challenge you again to take a moment and let your imagination show you]
What came to mind? More eye contact? A little more patience? Less anxiety? More projects done around the house? Games played together at a table? Spending time outside? Writing down a grocery list? Arts and crafts?
Or, maybe fighting for the computer, iPad, or Xbox, or watching family members carrying around their laptops at all times? (anyone think about their Apple Watch?)
Try this exercise with your kids. I’d love to hear how it went, or if it led to an interesting family conversation.
Note: At Smart Digital Kids, part of “taming your tech” is the process of thinking about how we use technology, with the ultimate goal of parents teaching their kids to be more aware of how they are using technology.