GorillaOffTopic, Everything But Gorilla Trades

The Gorilla had the distinct pleasure of having lunch with his family and some of his kids’ friends today. It was a rare treat to get everyone together at the end of a very long school year. It doesn’t happen very often, so the Gorilla was thrilled by the idea–at first that is. Everyone was sitting around chatting to one another and the vibe was good. Things seemed to be going well and the food was ordered, but then…it all went downhill.  Parents, pay attention to this familiar scene; suddenly, every person at the table had an electronic device of some kind in hand and was either texting, playing a game, or talking on the phone. It all happened so quickly that before the Gorilla knew it, all of them were preoccupied with something other than having lunch. It was a depressing scene that left the Gorilla wondering….are people losing their social skills because of technology? Studies have shown that in fact, they are.  By social skills, we mean the ability to sit and talk with others comfortably, normally, and with no outside entertainment or stimulation. Some scientists and psychologists are quite concerned about the effects of so much wired time, much of it spent multi-tasking. Aside from the more visible consequences of so much screen time — lots of children who don’t get enough exercise and higher obesity rates — they believe there may be troubling developmental, learning, and social ramifications. But what can we do when it’s just the society they (and we) live in?  As adults we argue about it, we worry about it, but our kids don’t because they are already in it, and it’s perfectly normal for them, so they don’t think to question it. It’s a perfect example of one generation questioning the next. It’s exactly what was done to us, and we didn’t suffer any harm from the Walkmans we had, or the Atari games we played for hours on end. So why then do we worry so heavily about our kids’ computer time, video game playing, texting, or cell phone use? Have we ourselves suddenly morphed into one of those same nay sayers who used to question us? Or do we have a legitimate concern with our youth always being so connected?  Like many psychologists, the Gorilla believes that having great well-rounded kids involves making boundaries, plain and simple. Set your kids’ phones to only allow a certain amount of texts per day (yes, you can). Set their phones to only allow calls or use during certain times as well. Limit computer times and websites they can visit (if they are younger). Limit the amount of play time with video games. Besides, having limits on just about everything they do, it  

will teach them self-control in the process. Now, you may be asking what the outcome of the lunch was, and here is the where the happy ending comes in. It was quite simple really; the Gorilla made everyone at the table shut off their electronic devices until lunch was over. Yes, they hemmed and hawed at first and then they all had a great time sharing stories, personalities, and good times over a meal- minus the outside stimulus- and guess what? They all survived! Surprising isn’t it?