The Isolation Journals #110

 Your prompt for this week, from Rachel Schwartzmann:

[On the topic of slowing down and stepping back from our devices and our to-do lists]

Set your timer for five minutes and do nothing. Stare at the desk or the wall or the dust motes in a slice of sunlight. Then write about the thoughts, the questions, and the answers that came up in that moment of slowness, of stillness.

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In my brief moment of silence, I thought about the workday behind me.  It was hectic.  This morning feels like last week already.  Nonetheless, it was just this morning that I taught a virtual class of kindergarteners about the importance of balancing your time online with the time you spend in the real world.  We talked about why it's important to take breaks from technology, to ask permission before using a grown-up's devices, and why you shouldn't ignore someone who is in the room with you when you are using a device.  

I wonder how many of their parents could stand to follow the same advice.  How many of these kids have grown up with a shiny, expensive, handheld sibling standing between them and their parents, hogging the spotlight?  A perfect sibling that can be quickly silenced when it cries at inopportune moments, speaks only when spoken to, and can be easily replaced when it misbehaves.

I'm not a parent, but I know I'm guilty of getting sucked into the vortex of my phone, endlessly scrolling, hoping for a hit of dopamine, something, anything good or amusing to fill the void.  If I had kids screaming at me to wipe their butts or invest in their 529 account or make them some chicken nuggets, or whatever kids do when they're feeling spicy, I'd probably never put my phone down.  (Do not call child protective services, I have no plans of procreating.)

So, parents, I get it (do I, though?) and I'm not judging you (am I, though?).  It's just, we all need to slow our rolls.  And our scrolls.  Be present.  Get some fresh air.  Shake out your legs.  Sniff a flower.  Watch a caterpillar wiggle across the sidewalk.  Talk to your kid or your pet or your partner or your reflection (if you're that isolated, you probably need the practice before you put yourself back out there with other live humans).  Listen.

During this virtual class, I asked kids what they could do instead of spending time on their screens.  One little girl said, "Play with my cousin!"  Great, good answer.  Another said, "Pet my doggy!"  A kid after my heart.  Another said, "Play Roblox!"  And there's always one that completely misses the point.

I was like guys, it's ME you're talking to.  Remember ME, your friendly neighborhood librarian who read you stories 8,000 years ago last year in PreK?  What's one SUPER IMPORTANT, SUPER AWESOME thing you can do instead of screen time?  *Gestures behind me at the spread of books displayed on my couch, as I sit on the floor at my extremely professional ottoman desk*

"Watch Netflix!!"

We tried, y'all.  We tried.