As a person who remembers one "Harvest Yellow" phone on the kitchen wall with a 35 ft (extra cost) cord that always got tangled, never knowing what or who the ring meant, I am not sure that "ignoring things" is the correct alternative. I've come to realize that most of what happens in the world is beyond my ability to properly understand, always beyond my ability to change, and usually turns out to be insignificant in the scheme of life. So...yes, I have a "smart" phone and can recieve texts (very few) from my grandchildren, and if necessary can access the Internet on it, but I rarely do. I use Facebook to keep track of what my grandchildren are doing and never post anything on it. I've given up twitter because is contains only lies. I've even given up listening to the evening news, since I can;t change it, don;t believed 90% of what is said and know they care even less about me than I care about them. There are a very few friends whose friendship I cherish and enjoy talking about when civilization used to exist. When I visit my grandchildren for 2 or 3 days, I collect their smart phones and announce "for the short time I am here, we are going to talk face to face, use full sentences well constructed and have conversations of more than 30 seconds." By the time I leave, they can concentrate on one thing for more than `15 minutes, which is more than tlheir friends seem able to do. "Ignore" things? No...I just have come to understand what is important to me and to limit myself to those things and interests. The country would benefit if 5 high Altitude EMPs went off and we lost all communication for 6 monts...we'd have to learn to get along face to face, re-learn how to write on paper (legibly) and stop judging people by one set of criteria. Alternatively, all electronic media should cease to operate on alternate weeks...and we all would learn again how to get along.
I have no social media accounts, no newsfeeds, but it seems I am just as addicted as those who do. This comment is a case in point: I know exactly no one cares, nor should they, yet here I am...
As a person who remembers one "Harvest Yellow" phone on the kitchen wall with a 35 ft (extra cost) cord that always got tangled, never knowing what or who the ring meant, I am not sure that "ignoring things" is the correct alternative. I've come to realize that most of what happens in the world is beyond my ability to properly understand, always beyond my ability to change, and usually turns out to be insignificant in the scheme of life. So...yes, I have a "smart" phone and can recieve texts (very few) from my grandchildren, and if necessary can access the Internet on it, but I rarely do. I use Facebook to keep track of what my grandchildren are doing and never post anything on it. I've given up twitter because is contains only lies. I've even given up listening to the evening news, since I can;t change it, don;t believed 90% of what is said and know they care even less about me than I care about them. There are a very few friends whose friendship I cherish and enjoy talking about when civilization used to exist. When I visit my grandchildren for 2 or 3 days, I collect their smart phones and announce "for the short time I am here, we are going to talk face to face, use full sentences well constructed and have conversations of more than 30 seconds." By the time I leave, they can concentrate on one thing for more than `15 minutes, which is more than tlheir friends seem able to do. "Ignore" things? No...I just have come to understand what is important to me and to limit myself to those things and interests. The country would benefit if 5 high Altitude EMPs went off and we lost all communication for 6 monts...we'd have to learn to get along face to face, re-learn how to write on paper (legibly) and stop judging people by one set of criteria. Alternatively, all electronic media should cease to operate on alternate weeks...and we all would learn again how to get along.
THIS is why I read American Mindset and listen to the American Mind podcast. Keep it up fellas :)
I have no social media accounts, no newsfeeds, but it seems I am just as addicted as those who do. This comment is a case in point: I know exactly no one cares, nor should they, yet here I am...
If only you weren't so compelling Spencer, I'd be able to take a few days off. Can we coordinate?
Amen.