Been thinking... idk if the older generations fully understand the sentiment of the younger generations pertaining to online culture and digital addiction.
Observing the process of the transition is interesting, however.
Discussion
What is their sentiment? Aren't they all addicted?
Most addicts don't know they're addicted, or they just don't care.
Younger generations don't know anything else.
Back in the day mom's would sit their kids in front of a television where they had limited options, but didn't have to think for themselves. The purpose was to entertain, distract and subdue. Now kids are sat in front of tablets where they have control. It's not total control, but they don't know the difference.
It's a normalized behavior to be constantly connected.
What can we do about this?
That's a good question. On the individual level, you can have your kids read, be creative (without tech) and give them mandatory outside time without actually demanding. (Trick them into thinking they want it) You can minimize the amount of time they're around technology. However, it's so deeply ingrained in society, there will be times where they will need to understand how devices work and how to use them professionally.
The only thing to do really is to make them understand the effects it has on their brains and the emotional responses it will trigger in the future... and come up with a way to help them balance the two worlds effectively and hope that they can help others.
Explain why it's bad and explain what it can be good for and emphasize that there's ways to not overindulge.
I think it's called persuaded discipline (lol) but yeah... basically.