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Device ban only scratches surface of problem

It's a sad day in society when government has to step in, grab our shoulders and try to shake us out of our technologically-induced stupor.

The handheld device ban currently in effect is a great start but it only scratches the surface of a much larger issue plaguing us.

Using handheld devices while driving is an obvious danger but what is also quite apparent is that the use of all these gadgets are a danger to our social development.

How many of us could sit still for 10 minutes with our cell phones turned off, no access to MP3 players, TVs, computers, or radios? How many of our children could do the same for two minutes?

While we were all promised that these devices would only enhance our lives, most of us failed to stop and think about the possible negative repercussions.

Our insatiable yearning for convenience is likely the main cause for our failure to see what is right in front of us.

We seemed to have survived the inevitable social catastrophe in the late 1990s when cell phones became a huge fad, but we had already developed socially.

Now, our children are using cell phones and all sorts of devices of which we really have no idea how it will affect them later in life.

The British MailOnline reported last summer about a study involving predictive texting and how it changes the way children's brains function.

Scientists involved in the study say the system, which involves pressing one key per letter before the phone works out what word the user wants to type, trains young people to be fast but not accurate.

The scientists concluded that predictive texting makes them prone to impulsive and thoughtless behaviour in everyday life.

Use this same reasoning and apply it to the many other devices children use on a daily basis: highly advanced and super involved video games and social networking internet sites for example, and it's no wonder parents are so often complaining of a lack of creativity, ambition, and social behaviour in their children.

If you think Baby Boomers and Gen Xers are pushy and multi-tasking rushaholics, imagine what the youth will grow up to be like.

I really admire my elders who make a point of rarely using the phone, but instead meeting people face-to-face for social encounters. Many of them don't even know how to use email but their lives seemed to have been enhanced by avoiding the lure of modern communication technology.

Setting a greater example for the youth is much needed and it starts in our own day-to-day lives by leaving our cell phones off (only using them for emergencies), limiting our time online, reading a book, or doing something recreational instead of spending endless hours in front of the TV.
-- John O'Connor

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