Home > Health > MOMania > Archives > 2009 > March > 01 > Entry
I don’t want to be a 3G family
The new Sprint cell phone ad shows us what is wrong with American family life.
The Atlanta Journal-Constitution
Have you seen the latest Sprint cell phone ad?
A family is visiting a natural history museum - all with their new Sprint phones connected to the 3G network - whatever the heck that is. The ad tells us they are a 3G family - implying they are the family of the future. A family that is busy doing everything but being focused on each other and enjoying spending time together.
The opening line of the ad is that families can post their trip on You Tube before they even get home. Why? Why would they want to do that? Unless they have footage of a Woolly Mammoth coming back to life, they really don’t need to post their visit to the museum on You Tube and definitely not before they get home. Why can’t they just enjoy spending time together in the museum?
Meanwhile the commercial tells us that Dad is busy ordering tickets to the latest, greatest Broadway show. First off shouldn’t Dad be looking at the exhibit with his kids, not hiding off around a corner ordering things online. Secondly, I’m suspicious that Dad’s not actually ordering show tickets, instead he’s secretly “sex texting” with his girlfriend.
And then the ad tells us that the kids can email pictures of the T-Rex to Grandma.
Poor Grandma. She’s just happy to make her simple big-buttoned Jitterbug cell phone dial out. Does she really need to see immediate photographic evidence of the Tyrannosaurus Rex?
Do Grandma a favor and pay for some prints and GO and Visit Her! Sit on her porch, drink some lemonade and tell her about your trip to the museum. God forbid, modern-day families should communicate in person and not instantaneously!
The final scene in the ad is mom and dad looking at some prehistoric exhibit while their teen daughter is texting to her friends. I think she’s texting: “This is the lamest exhibit ever. I just want to leave. I hate my parents, and I think my dad is cheating on my mom.”
You know what? I want my kids present and interacting with me when we’re off some place. There will be plenty of time to complain to their friends about our outing when they get home.
I’m not trying to pick on Sprint, but the commercial, which is running ad nauseam right now, happens to epitomize everything that is wrong with American families. It shows what it claims to be a better tomorrow, but I think it actually illustrates the destruction of family life.
Families don’t spend enough time together and when they do, they aren’t focused on the present moment. They are still communicating with the outside world instead of just with their family members.
It’s so annoying to me to watch children play on Nintendo DSs at soccer games instead of cheering on their siblings. I hate to watch husbands and wives twittering away on BlackBerries at restaurants or in church. And I get unbelievably aggravated by parents talking on their cell phones instead of playing with the kids at the playground. I’m outraged by companies saying that’s how life should be.
Earlier this week I spent almost the entire hour I was on the playground with my baby listening to someone else’s 4-year-old tell me all about her family’s life. (They’re expecting a fifth baby. She sleeps in a bed with another child. They’re staying at a relative’s house. Their fish died.) All the while, the young mother talked on her cell phone the entire time her daughter was talking a stranger’s ear off. Clearly this child needed some adult interaction.
Our school has some public service ads on the entry way walls. They show a mom and child in the car not talking but using their individual phones. The copy in the ad is something about “Be present.” I thought this ad was cheesy the first couple of times I walked by it, but now I think about it all the time. I think about listening more to my children. I think about turning off the TV and not talking on the phone.
I also think about that “Coraline” movie ad. The parents are working on the computers at home when Coraline wants to interact with them. They both tell her not now, I’m working.
I know I am guilty of saying that to my kids, and I’m trying to either work when they’re not at home or at the very least stop what I’m doing to talk to them.
I know that our family life is not perfect (I will admit to sometimes talking on my cell phone while strolling the baby because it makes the four miles go faster), but I absolutely refuse to become a 3G family. I won’t have my kids texting and photographing to the outside world and not engaging with us. I don’t want my husband typing on his Treo when he’s with the family, and I don’t want to be concentrating on other things instead of listening to my children.
The family of the future needs to revert to the past and spend time with their children actually being there - physically and mentally. No one needs to be a 3G family.
Have you seen this ad? Did it strike you as odd? Do you want to be a 3G family? Do you feel like you are in the moment when you are with your kids?
You can reach Theresa at ajcmomania@gmail.com. Ideas and comments are welcome.
Permalink | Comments (86) | Post your comment | Categories: Ethics of rearing kids today
Comments
By derek
March 2, 2009 7:21 AM | Link to this
uhhhh what a waste of a newspaper
By marc
March 2, 2009 7:45 AM | Link to this
I agree totally as a first time mother ; with a young child my husband and I are always trying to find ways to spend time; and for the most part we try to turn off all cell phones when together!
By mike
March 2, 2009 7:46 AM | Link to this
beautiful article. Nice, well-thought out response to a very cynical marketing ploy by Sprint to get kids to bug their parents for more phones. Ugh! Hope you’ll continue the column.
By JATL
March 2, 2009 7:53 AM | Link to this
I agree! I’m so sick of everyone having their ears and eyes glued to some electronic device as if they can’t live without a continuous stream of info from everyone they know. This used to be particular to teenage girls -now it’s everyone! I was at the playground recently and got the “lowdown” on a family from the three kids while Dad stood away from the playground loudly talking on his cell phone -purely social call -football scores and getting together for drinks type of conversation -not important business that couldn’t wait. He was turned away from the kids for so long I could’ve left with them if I wanted to! The youngest child was climbing precariously high on a piece of equipment and I kept telling him to be careful as I looked in Dad’s direction. I’ve also seen kids injured at the playground because the parent was too busy on some device to properly supervise.
I’ll be damned if either of my kids or one of us parents are on some device during family outings or sibling/child games! They can gripe till they puke, but that won’t fly.
By momtoAlex&Max
March 2, 2009 7:53 AM | Link to this
Yesterday at church I saw 2 tweens (around 9 to 10 years old) with freaking cell phones. I cannot tell you how beyond outraged I was. Can anyone tell me what possible need a 4th grader has with a cell phone?????????
My husband has resisted his boss’ nudging for him to get a blackberry. She is even willing to pay for it. Can you say HELL NO???
By jess
March 2, 2009 7:58 AM | Link to this
derek must work for Sprint.
By Patrick
March 2, 2009 8:01 AM | Link to this
Yikes! Talk about bitter! Who cares? Is this really a pressing issue worth wasting newspaper resources over? I guess since you also cover these asinine dog shows and incessant useless babble like that this is worth your time. Get over it. Find something worth writing about or resign to save your newspaper some cash.
By Eben
March 2, 2009 8:05 AM | Link to this
faster, faster, faster…
By Clay
March 2, 2009 8:06 AM | Link to this
That’s okay—one day folks like Theresa and momtoAlex&Max will join the 21st Century. The cheap, readily available cell phone is the greatest thing to happen to families in a long time. All 3 of my children (8, 10 & 12) have phones and they don’t leave the house without them. Well, the 8 & 10 year olds do not take them to school, but the 12 year old does. I can always find them and they can always get in touch with me. School function end early? Call me. Practice or Scout function running long? Call me. Ready to come home from a friend’s house? Call me. I’m wondering when they’ll be done shopping with Grandma? I call them. They need to go to the bathroom in Target? I don’t have to hold their hand. I don’t have to say “Meet me in front of Macy’s at 3:00. Do you have your watch? Why not? Okay, find the clock in the food court to keep up with the time…” None of that. We’re always connected. We are a 3G family, for sure.
By Clay
March 2, 2009 8:09 AM | Link to this
That’s okay—one day folks like Theresa and momtoAlex&Max will join the 21st Century. The cheap, readily available cell phone is the greatest thing to happen to families in a long time. All 3 of my children (8, 10 & 12) have phones and they don’t leave the house without them. Well, the 8 & 10 year olds do not take them to school, but the 12 year old does. I can always find them and they can always get in touch with me. School function end early? Call me. Practice or Scout function running long? Call me. Ready to come home from a friend’s house? Call me. I’m wondering when they’ll be done shopping with Grandma? I call them. They need to go to the bathroom in Target? I don’t have to hold their hand. I don’t have to say “Meet me in front of Macy’s at 3:00. Do you have your watch? Why not? Okay, find the clock in the food court to keep up with the time…” None of that. We’re always connected. We are a 3G family, for sure.
By Sp Ed Teacher
March 2, 2009 8:13 AM | Link to this
This Grandmother is a technology geek. I am typing this on my iPhone.
I teach in a school that offers instruction on line for all subjects. As a teacher, I am a facilitator.
Too many students will be left behind in this technical age. Their parents and grandparents will have a hard time getting a job.
I have not printed a photo in about 5 years.
By Eric
March 2, 2009 8:16 AM | Link to this
I definitely support what you are saying, as the world is overrun by digital stimulation. I think that the ability to be connected is a great thing, but I see your overarching point as these devices make it easier for us to be connected to people who aren’t around, even as we are disconnected from people who we are with. If you text your friend incessantly, and then you all are together hanging out, why then do you start texting other people, as opposed to actually spending time together? It makes no sense. I however am as guilty as anyone else. I think we need to all ensure that there is a balance between our real life analog world and the new digital world that gets bigger everyday.
By Yankee
March 2, 2009 8:17 AM | Link to this
Yeah the writer is more than likely the same MORON that said the same thing about the COMPUTER. Get a life and get used to new technology. This is the one of the main reason the US lags behind many countries technologically and educationally. So whay you are not an early adopter but believe me you will adopter or fall behind. Ever noticed there are no rotary phones for sale anymore?
By CleverShrew
March 2, 2009 8:20 AM | Link to this
Theresa,
I agree with you. I get so annoyed when I am home trying to spend time with my 16 yr old sister. We will be sitting together, as a family playing a game of Monopoly or something, and we constantly have to remind her it’s her turn because she is too busy texting her friends during our game! Considering I live 8+ hours away, and she sees her friends every stinking day, it gets really old, really fast. I have a blackBerry for work, and I admit to checking it frequently, but I consider family time to be a no-no. If the “3G” family is supposed to be how we are, then I say, forget it, I’ll stay here in the stone age.
Also, those people critizing this column as a “waste of a newspaper”. It’s a blog entry, moron. An opinion. No one made you click the link and read it. It’s not the Headline on the front page. So quit your whining and go read something else.
By AJ
March 2, 2009 8:20 AM | Link to this
When will parents parent instead of trying to blame someone - in this case, Sprint. Yes, the mother you refer to at the playground probably doesn’t deserve to have children. But really, I can’t think of anything a Grandmother would like more than a picture of her Grandkids taken seconds before. Get off your soapbox and talk about what’s wrong with the PARENTS, not the media around them. Great article would have been entirely about the mother in the park.
By RedneckLuddites
March 2, 2009 8:25 AM | Link to this
Wahhhh we hate technology wahhhhhh. Good job stifling your kids futures. They’ll be at that museum someday….cleaning the toilets and the floors. Meanwhile the kids with technology skills will have gotten Ph.D.’s and will be getting the million dollar government grants to accurately depict those exhibits IN the museum.
By Heather
March 2, 2009 8:26 AM | Link to this
I hope my husband is having text sex with someone. Because as long as he uses his Blackberry at dinner with me, he ain’t having sex here.
By Kim L.
March 2, 2009 8:31 AM | Link to this
And how about our politicians who think it’s cool to Twitter during a Presidential speech? They looked like idiots!
By Jen
March 2, 2009 8:33 AM | Link to this
I think that those of you with negative comments are not focusing on what Theresa is saying. She’s not saying that technology is not good. There’s just a time and place for it. Family time is important and children (and spouses) need your attention. Put the Blackberry down for an hour. There’s nothing that can’t wait. If your phone rings, don’t answer it. They’ll leave a message- you can call back. You don’t have to answer it just to tell them your busy. Put the phones down and enjoy the time you can spend with your family before your kids start to hate you and your spouse has an affair.
By Nan
March 2, 2009 8:41 AM | Link to this
Totally agree with you. It’s one thing to be technologically literate and know how to use the latest devices; it’s another thing entirely to let those devices run your life — and that’s what too many people are doing.
By Eben
March 2, 2009 8:46 AM | Link to this
everything is about balance folks..even newspapers need to remember that.
By jan
March 2, 2009 8:47 AM | Link to this
I have finally got my mother trained to not talk on her cell phone while I am having dinner with them. A while ago someone called as we were walking into the restaurant and I heard her say “well gotta go, Jan doesn’t like me talking on the phone in the restaurant”. (I’m 45 , it’s not just young kids you need to be “present” with.)
By DB
March 2, 2009 8:47 AM | Link to this
Interestingly enough, cell phone manners haven’t fully devleoped, yet. Cell phone etiquette, just like any other etiquette, is first of all based on respect for other people. Unfortunately, that kind of respect has gotten loss in this “me, me, me” world, where “self-actualization” and “self-esteem” is the overriding goal.
Children do what parents allow them to do — and copy what their parents do. If parents can model appropriate behavior and enforce it on their children, then their children learn that texting someone while you are with someone else is rude. Turn the phones off during dinner — OFF, not just on silent! Confiscate phones before church, if necessary, and if one is used during a service, the penalty is the same as talking during the service — in this case, loss of phone.
Let’s not make the mistake of blaming technology for our problems — it’s the way we USE technology is the problem.
By lovelyliz
March 2, 2009 8:52 AM | Link to this
It’s all about $$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$. My sister, her daughter and I have prepaid phones that work wonders. People know to call us at home or at work first before they try the cell. When we are at home, the cell phones are turn off.
By What?
March 2, 2009 8:52 AM | Link to this
Clay…what’s the deal with letting 8, 10, and 12 year olds roam free in a mall? What I read was “These phones are great…as long as my kids have them I don’t have to pay attention to them and I can do what I want and when I start to get concerened all I have to do is call them.” I am not a perfect dad and don’t take my kids shopping often, but when I do I know I would never leave them alone in the mall at that age.
By CD
March 2, 2009 8:55 AM | Link to this
This article hit the nail on the head! Technology is not the problem but how we use/abuse it.
By Miss Ogynist
March 2, 2009 8:58 AM | Link to this
Actually, the mother is the one cheating on the husband. But you wouldn’t know that because you are bitter and biased towards men.
By clyde
March 2, 2009 9:02 AM | Link to this
The day before my boss awarded me a cell phone was the last day of freedom I ever had until I retired.These are tools of control freaks.That’s all they are.The people who are calling and texting on these instruments are doing it to control someone’s life.That’s their only purpose as far as I can see.I’ve seen husbands lay out their wife’s entire day via cell phone while on the way to work.I ‘ve heard wives say that they keep their husbands on the cell so they’ll know where they’re at all the time.My cell phone is in the river.Dial it if you want.
By Ashley
March 2, 2009 9:11 AM | Link to this
Miss Ogynist- your really a man pretending to be a woman on this blog. Put your phone down and talk to your wife!
By JATL
March 2, 2009 9:12 AM | Link to this
Some of you folks are REALLY bitter! No one is saying we shouldn’t have the technology -we’re saying it doesn’t need to be used EVERY SINGLE MINUTE OF EVERY SINGLE DAY! There are lots of great times and memories to be had with family and friends that don’t belong on a phone, Iphone, Blackberry -whatever! Get over yourselves.
My kids won’t be the ones cleaning museum toilets -they’ll be the curators or anthropologists because they actually LEARNED something and discussed it while we were there instead of texting with their friends about who kissed who or got grounded or whatever the entire time we’re there!
By jam
March 2, 2009 9:20 AM | Link to this
yaddayadda shush ur poop hole u sensitive human
By DoctorAtlantis
March 2, 2009 9:23 AM | Link to this
Wow - did you type this or write it with a quill pen? Technology is changing, and the newspapers around the country are failing because the luddites who run them aren’t embracing the new tech. I hope you’re able to find the gears of the Internet to throw your sabot into - otherwise you’re just going to be disappointed when you find that your kids are in college and they never send you a hand written letter or a developed photo to show how things are going. But seriously - 3G lets people stay in touch in more ways than ever before, and get ready because 4G is faster than broadband and is coming to a town near you soon. And the next generation of phones are more like computers than phones. Thankfully the world won’t wait for you to get ready - you’ll have to do what man has always done: Adapt.
By get ready for more
March 2, 2009 9:24 AM | Link to this
15 years from now:
we will all be wearing helmets that:
So - I’m wrestling with how to prepare my 1 and 3 year olds for this type of world. Suggest you do the same… our neighbors in china, india, and other less fortunate nations will be doing this and we’ll have to keep up
By Technology isnt going anywhere, so get used to it
March 2, 2009 9:30 AM | Link to this
Yeah. Technology=Satan. I guess that’s why your editorial is online.
By jam
March 2, 2009 9:36 AM | Link to this
@ momtoalex
im sorry ma’am but it is 2009 if you haven’t noticed! lol…my kids who are 10, & 11 have cell phones just in case their life is in danger or at risk. So yeah, I think its TOTALLY freakin worth it. Anyhow, I find it very odd that somebody would feel outraged bc to “tweens” had a cell phone. I think you should find something better to do
By hryder
March 2, 2009 9:37 AM | Link to this
Derek, you are a complete and utter waste of assets being expended or employed to maintain or extend your existence.
By ha
March 2, 2009 9:38 AM | Link to this
look on the bright side theresa. get a fancy new phone and then you wont have to wait until you get home from vacation to whine about how horrible it is to go on vacation with your family.
By steve
March 2, 2009 9:41 AM | Link to this
Excellent article. Too bad our capability to interact and communicate with an actual live human being doesnt advance at least as fast if not faster than our capability to interact with an electronic machine.By Meg
March 2, 2009 9:48 AM | Link to this
My kids all have DS’s, we have a Wii, a playstation, an xbox, tons of games, and they have cell phones for emergencies. They spend almost all their free time playing in the backyard, or building elaborate cities out of wooden blocks and playing with little animal figures. They’re extremely computer savvy, and they like to play on the computer, but they like to use their imaginations and interact with each other more. I’m 100% sure it’s because the one thing we don’t do is watch TV. TV has been destroying familiy unity far longer than cell phones. We watch DVDs of decent, family oriented shows, and we watch a little new stuff on hulu, but my kids have probably never seen a TV commercial telling them what to want and how to act to get it. That makes a big difference.
By Kat
March 2, 2009 9:51 AM | Link to this
Theresa won’t need a cell phone to come between her and her husband. She talks down about him all the time - and not just to girlfriends, but to this blog! Whenever I talk about MY husband, it is always in the best light possible; and you know what, it is ALWAYS true! I agree there are times when I think people shouldn’t be on their phones (driving, restaurants) but I think Sprint got its point across - a better, faster system that you will convert to at some time because what you have now will be too slow.
By Grant
March 2, 2009 9:53 AM | Link to this
I think you’d agree with this; maybe the kids need to see it too.
By MChammer
March 2, 2009 9:54 AM | Link to this
A “3G family” has ceased to be a family. It is time to reign in these family breakers.
By kaw
March 2, 2009 9:54 AM | Link to this
First, let me disclose that I work for Sprint. Also, I have been reading this blog faithfully for several years. I am a lurker. I typically do not comment. However, I felt I needed to today.
I think you are missing the point of the commercial. The point is that with today’s technology you can share life’s fun moments instantly with family and friends.
By Clay
March 2, 2009 9:56 AM | Link to this
What?: That’s not what I said. I said I can keep in touch with them. When they are on their bikes, they are connected. When I was kid ,my parents would have to set up times and locations for us to meet up—now we have cell phones. Get used to it. Technology has passed you by.
Sp Ed Teacher: The iPhone is by far the best thing on the market. I don’t know what I did before my iPhone 3G. Show me someone who does not feel that was about the iPhone and I’ll show you someone who does not have one. The only bad thing about the iPhone is that my 12-year-old now wants one…
By 3Gforme
March 2, 2009 9:58 AM | Link to this
Are you kidding? My iPhone is my lifeline. I NEVER want to be without it. Not only is it my phone, camera, and ipod, but It is my navigation system so I dont get lost; my Google machine that I can speak into and have google find what I want to know by voice. If you had one, you would feel differently.
By JJ
March 2, 2009 9:58 AM | Link to this
Steadfast rule with cell phones, they are turned off when we are eating, or doing an activity together. No phones allowed when we are at the park walking the dogs. No cell phones allowed at the dinner table.
I love the convenience of cell phones, but some people take it to the extreme. We were at the Thrasher’s game last Tuesday night, and this guy behind me talked on his cell, the entire 2nd period. It was very annoying to try and watch a hockey game, and have some guy yelling into his phone sitting right behind you. That’s just RUDE. I gave him a couple of nasty looks. If your time is so important, why are you at a hockey game?
Put the damn things down, and enjoy life.
I have a blackberry and I love it. But I don’t have internet access on it.
By MChammer
March 2, 2009 10:02 AM | Link to this
Clyde, a greater truth has never been told. Congratulations on ridding yourself of your electronic leash.
By Sarah
March 2, 2009 10:04 AM | Link to this
Ahh yes…anything we can do to help facilitate in the dumbing down of the human race I am totally for! I know when I see mom and dad and all the kids on separate phones and wireless devices, totally ignoring one another, a Rockwell painting of the The American Family comes to mind. Two people sitting a place to eat or whatever… one is on the phone checking messages while the other one is reading a book. Who looks like they have the most gray matter? I rest my case.
By cranberry
March 2, 2009 10:04 AM | Link to this
I agree - the commercial is ridiculous. Isn’t the issue that we, as parents, need to control this activity in a way that benefits our families, instead of driving them farther apart? After all, if we act like that bunch in the commercial, then we fail. But if the phones and the DSs and the blackberries do get put away for dinner, then we are, indeed, ‘present’.
By thetruth
March 2, 2009 10:09 AM | Link to this
Momania, you really need to get with the program. Wait till your kids are teenagers and you’ll probably get more realistic. I remember being a teenager going out in outings or trips to Disney world and those where TORTUOUS times! My dad was just like you, very dominant and trying to get into my business all the time. I am 43 now and hadn’t thought about this in a while, but some of the posters here think they are doing their kids a favor, while in reality you will see 20 years from now your kids will want a buffer zone from you due to all the smothering!!
I wish all this great technology existed when I was younger, it would have made my life a million times better. Oh wait, my parents wouldn’t have let me have any of it…
By HeyClay
March 2, 2009 10:10 AM | Link to this
Hey ClayI wonder how many 3G predators are glad those young kids of yours are part of a 3G “family”? Gives you a warm and fuzzy feeling that your young children have such electronic freedom to communicate with whomever, huh Clay?
By Kat
March 2, 2009 10:10 AM | Link to this
Sarah - you’ve “rested your case,” now rest your mouth, keyboard, etc.
By MChammer
March 2, 2009 10:14 AM | Link to this
By kaw
March 2, 2009 9:54 AM | Link to this
First, let me disclose that I work for Sprint. Also, I have been reading this blog faithfully for several years. I am a lurker. I typically do not comment. However, I felt I needed to today.
I think you are missing the point of the commercial. The point is that with today’s technology you can share life’s fun moments instantly with family and friends
Is it not the kind of instant gratification that you speak of one of the reasons this country and our economy got itself into such a mess to begin with. Whatever happen to “good things come to those who wait”?
By IPB
March 2, 2009 10:18 AM | Link to this
The comments that you have made in this article about men are offensive and sexist.
Maybe you shouldn’t project your own insecurities into your writing?
You gained absolutely no merit for your piece by suggesting that dad was around the corner sex texting a new girlfriend, and you certainly didn’t do yourself any favors by suggesting that teenage daughter thinks that dad is cheating on mom.
This is VERY OFFENSIVE!
By Kat
March 2, 2009 10:19 AM | Link to this
MChammer: I don’t think a quick picture to Grandma equates to the demise of our economic structure. But, I’m not an economist.
By Pandora
March 2, 2009 10:20 AM | Link to this
I agree with you Theresa! Families are very important. There are so many things out there that are trying to keep families busy..too busy to be a family and spend family time together.
If you notice - there are a lot of food now that is made specifically for one person…individual servings of vegestables, individual packets of ocean spray, koolaide, macaroni and cheese…those are just examples.
I make sure that my son and I spend quality time together as much as we possibly can.
The ‘New Age’ electronics is very conveient, however as human beings we should NOT* allow this to SEPERATE FAMILES…FAMILY IS VERY IMPORTANT…NO ONE SHOULD BE TOO BUSY FOR FAMILY…IT’S SO SAD THAT SO MANY PEOPLE THAT HAVE THESE ELECTRONIC GADGETS DEPEND ON THEM MORE THAN THEY DEPEND ON GOD!!! AND THAT’S WHERE ALL PROBLEMS BEGIN!!! IT’S THE BEGINNING OF THE FALL!*
Please spend quality time with your family as much as you possibly can…once your child grows up then it’s too late…once your loved one passes on and die then what? You were too busy for them when they were alive and the next thing you know you didn’t have any quality time with them while they were here.
I think it’s so rude when you are actually in the car riding with someone else in your vehicle and you are on your cell phone the whole while when that other person or people are in your car..that is just RUDE!! I make sure I don’t do that to anyone!
By CleverShrew
March 2, 2009 10:24 AM | Link to this
Did the people on here today not get their coffee this morning? My you people are certainly bitter.
The remark Theresa made abou the cheating Dad was tongue-in-cheek. Why don’t y’all go to Target and buy a clue.
By Kat
March 2, 2009 10:29 AM | Link to this
CleverShrew: I’m sure the name fits the persona here.
By ha
March 2, 2009 10:32 AM | Link to this
pandora: there are many single serving food products because there are alot of single people who dont need to prepare a meal for 5. its not so much undermining the family structure as marketing to those of us without kids etc. get over yourself.
By CleverShrew
March 2, 2009 10:33 AM | Link to this
as does Kat, I am sure.
By Facebook Addict
March 2, 2009 10:35 AM | Link to this
Ok, I get Thersa’s point. She’s saying that the commercial rubbed her the wrong way because she feels the parents should be concentrating on “talking” and “being” WITH the kids versus concerned with posting the information about what they just did before they even get home. I do get it.
I think, however, there is a happy medium somewhere. Technology is a wonderful thing and has many positive uses. If my mother was still alive I know she would be thrilled to hear from her grandchildren as they were exploring a museum. Heck, I’d be the one saying “Send that picture of the T-Rex to grandpa. That’s his favorite dinosaur!” What a great way to include someone who’s thousands of miles away! I have friends who use their webcams all the time to let their kids “call” grandma and grandpa to say “Hi! Love you!” The grandparents feel less isolated and more connected. They love getting to “see” the grandkids grow up. Not everyone can afford a yearly plane ticket to go visit; nor do they have enough vacation days to make the two day drive up and two day drive back leaving only two days for visiting.
My daughter has had a cell phone since middle school when she went away on vacation with a friend’s family. I actually did it to make ME feel better and it worked. Now that she’s 16 I love the idea of her out with friends and being able to give her a jingle to see where she is. If she doesn’t answer I have her friends’ numbers too, so I call the ones she’s with; therefore she usually answers! (“Ugh! How embarassing Mom!”) Before she started being home schooled we texted all the time. She’s been ill which made being away from home all day at school very scary for her and being able to stay connected via texting helped her to get through the day. Did it break the school’s rules? Yes; but the alternative was daily multiple trips to the clinic so she could call me.
As far as technology and the future are concerned “Resistance is futile!” Embrace it and use to YOUR advantage!
By Roswell Rant
March 2, 2009 10:35 AM | Link to this
How about some critical reading here? She isn’t saying technology is bad, she is saying the commercial isn’t showing an appropriate use of it, and that families need to interact more when they are together. I think it is great that her school is reminding parents and children to be in the present. It really frosts me to see parents on cell phones while children still locked into strollers in the shopping mall, or kids plugged into videos in the car for every short trip. There is an appropriate use and also and abuse that comes with anything. She is writing about the difference.
By Donna
March 2, 2009 10:38 AM | Link to this
This article went from 3G talk to comments about cell phones in general. I’m 54 and the only one on our family talk plan of 4 to have an iPhone and our carrier is AT&T which is the most functional and cheapest in Louisiana. We can call anyone that uses AT&T without using our minutes and our family has the 700 minute plan. Of course, the kids are 19 and 22 and pay their own share but we also have unlimited texting for $30 a month and even 4 people sharing 700 minutes, we always have 200-300 rollover minutes. It’s so nice to be in a mall or just any store and instead of seaching all over for if you’ve gone different ways, to call the other one and ask where they are. And I LOVE my iPhone! So, different strokes for different folks but I will say we didn’t allow our children to have cell phones until they were 16.
By Sarah
March 2, 2009 10:44 AM | Link to this
Poor Kat, what…found a new stretch mark today? I had no idea you could count that high.
By Kat
March 2, 2009 10:46 AM | Link to this
CleverShrew: Um, yes…with it being my NAME and all.
By Donna
March 2, 2009 10:50 AM | Link to this
I’d like to add something some might hate, some think funny, or some understand. If my back is hurting so bad I’m on my bed on my heating pad, I can text my daughter in her room to ask or tell her whatever I need to do instead of painfully getting up to walk back there. Yes, it’s the happy medium and I know many think technology has many wrongs but besides cell phones being there for you if you break down, I also love another bit of technology we didn’t have when I was a kid - I can debit my way across America and not take any cash with me. Those that are my age and older understand exactly what I’m saying. Most places took “cash only” back then, not even credit cards.
By Kat
March 2, 2009 10:53 AM | Link to this
Sarah: As usual, you make no sense.
By Magical Mischief Maker
March 2, 2009 10:53 AM | Link to this
Good article; give Dad more credit, but very good points.
By Bob
March 2, 2009 11:10 AM | Link to this
As the father of a two year old who has grandparents 2000 miles away, I can tell you that keeping connected through ‘pointless’ youtube videos and immediate pictures of whatever helps a lot to keep a family in touch. Family is important, and these days it’s not always easy to afford those plane tickets. Even if it’s a bit of digital togetherness, the internet has been keeping the remote family connected. If you don’t have to suffer that, you’re lucky.
By Old fashioned Dad
March 2, 2009 11:13 AM | Link to this
I have to agree… I’m thankful that such technology wasn’t readily available when my 20-year-old daughter was born. She and I both now have such technology and text/email/talk frequently - but at least while growing up she had plenty of “mom and dad” time - and we got to enjoy being with her!
By Penguinmom
March 2, 2009 11:14 AM | Link to this
I think one of the problems with all the texting and twittering is that the level of communication has gotten to be so shallow. Kids are texting each other all the time saying nothing of any depth or importance. They blog and twitter trivial details of their lives that no one really needs to know. This constant connection gives the illusion of knowing someone intimately without the reality of really getting to know that person.
As far as families together, I hate to see kids walking around with wires coming out of their ears totally ignoring their family. They might as well wear a sign, “I think everyone around me is completely beneath my notice.” Very rude.
Finally, kaw, I think we all got that it was saying you can instantly share. Theresa’s point is why do you need to instantly share anything? What’s so important about what you are doing that sharing it can’t wait for you to get home?
By MountainDawg
March 2, 2009 11:15 AM | Link to this
I totally agree with Theresa’s article/stance against the “3G Family”. I’m certainly no technophobe, but there needs to be limitations.
By T
March 2, 2009 11:48 AM | Link to this
I couldn’t agree more and have been preaching this gospel for a long time to my grown up friends, my daughter, nieces et all. Our family doesn;t suffer from this short attention span malady but the family in the commercial you speak of represents the kind of disfunctional family which is distroying our culture. What a pathetic shame Sprint and many other corporations promote and glorify this kind of behavior for profit. To me the biggest threats to intelligent American culture and quality of life today are “multitasking”, “celebrity role models” and the mac daddy of all threats, the “liability issue”.
By Meme
March 2, 2009 12:51 PM | Link to this
Another problem I see with all the texting is that my 6th graders write their papers using some text words and then want to argue with me that it isn’t wrong. I just calmly tell them that I don’t argue with 6th graders.
By Layla
March 2, 2009 1:37 PM | Link to this
I think it’s rather telling that those people responding to today’s blog in favor of the “all- the-time/anytime/anywhere” use of technology are also the ones whose posts come across as rude and obnoxious while those who propose a balanced usage come across as somewhat more intelligent and considerate. Just my two cents.
By Amy
March 2, 2009 2:30 PM | Link to this
I’ve been a lurker here for about a year and don’t comment too much. I have to agree with everyone that says that the technology enhancements of today have made it so much easier to stay in touch and are a real benefit to our lives. But I do agree with Theresa in saying that you have to be careful in how you use technology or it can do the opposite and actually disconnect you from your family. I think it’s great to send Grandma a picture of the t-rex that you’re looking at in the museum. But I don’t think it’s cool to be texting all of your friends when you should be talking to your family at the museum. It’s just all about balance.
By 1911A1
March 2, 2009 4:59 PM | Link to this
There’s more here than meets the eye. The human condition has steadily become more frenetic, with people pulled in a hundred directions at once. I remember when (dating myself here, which is in fact legal in the state of Georgia) technological advancements came with the promise of creating an unheard-of amount of leisure time. Something happened along the way…
Instead, technology has been turned into a means of 24/7 availability. Indeed, as Clyde posted earlier, it has become a “leash” (beginning with the pager) that allows people to keep tabs or exert control over one another. Fearing for their jobs, people fail to set boundaries for themselves and submit to this control. This is explained away under the guise of “competitive advantage.”
Once upon a time, we left our job at work and we left our home life at home, and rarely did the two cross. Now the two have become intertwined, so that work keeps us away from being present with the people we claim to love, and personal business distracts us from focusing on our jobs.
Am I an anti-technology Luddite? Hardly…I make my living in IT. But I have also seen how it can be readily abused to the point where one’s quality of life is eroded. Certainly there are people who have readily embraced it because the detachment of virtual relationship removes an element of emotional risk; others have embraced it because they cannot stand the thought of being alone with their own thoughts, and the always-on digital stimulation (banal as it may be) provides a convenient escape.
But there are many of us who are working to find that tricky balance point between connectivity with the world and connectedness in our primary relationships. Technology, like fire, is a good servant but a terrible master.
By FCM
March 2, 2009 5:07 PM | Link to this
Have not seen this commercial.
The one I hate is the woman with PMS telling her husband (who is trying to eat ice cream in peace) that his butt is calling. I could tell her where to put her flip Blackberry if she likes…..
By Kat
March 2, 2009 5:21 PM | Link to this
I don’t think that anyone has been in favor of the anywhere/anytime stance. I do think some of us disagree with the general blog, which is our right to do so. Your two cents is worth about what the government has made it worth.
By Jenny
March 2, 2009 7:17 PM | Link to this
I so agree with Theresa and don’t understand what everyone is getting so upset about.
My father’s 70th birthday was last week at my house. My teen nephew was sitting in the living room during the family get-together watching a MOVIE on his hand-held Whatever with headphones on.
I knew a woman who said that every week at church her 8 year would play on his Game Boy during the service, which was fine because he had headphones.
I’m sorry … but what is the point of going to church then?
And if someone went to a small birthday gathering, popped in earplugs and whipped out a novel in front of everybody, wouldn’t that be strange?
Or does that mean I hate books and think no one should read them?
By Laya
March 2, 2009 7:21 PM | Link to this
“Your two cents is worth about what the government has made it worth.”
I think my point was made. You can disagree without being rude about it.
By Kat
March 3, 2009 10:18 AM | Link to this
Don’t say “I rest my case” and then say it’s just “my two cents.” Either you think you fully made a point that all should agree with or you are expressing your opinion. I disagreed with your opinion and have told you so.
By faye
March 3, 2009 5:21 PM | Link to this
I’m a total technophile, yet I dislike the sprint ad - it shows the worst of technology instead of the best, IMHO. On the other hand, I love the “your butt is calling” ad - it’s funny, and it illustrates a legit roblem with some phones’ design - I love when he “hangs up” on her.
“Technology, like fire, is a good servant but a terrible master.” - 1911A1 - you post was great, and that line was the best!
Finally, two thoughts - first, teens already want to isolate themselves as much as humanly possible - why make it easier w/o any reservations? Second, the new trend among “big-wigs” is to be unavailable - the “new in phone” is no phone at all. Wonder why that is (and I suspect Clyde knows, lol)?
By Sarah
March 3, 2009 5:25 PM | Link to this
Someone was rude on this blog! How amazing. BTW - I love the Butt calling the wife ad. I think it is funny.
By GrandmaB
March 4, 2009 2:06 PM | Link to this
It’s a phone. It’s a communication tool. It is not your umbilicus to life. Gee, I hope when I die, my family is at my bedside not watching me on the webcam. And yes, I have all the toys but I own them, they don’t own me.
By Storm
March 5, 2009 9:53 AM | Link to this
OMG you people, it’s a freaking commercial. TV. Is this real life? NO IT IS A COMMERCIAL. Not the demise of the american family.
Unbelievable. If you want the technology, get it. If not, then don’t.
Good Lord. How about quality family night? Break out a board game, invite your kids’ friends over. They CRAVE family time.
We do game night/junk food on Fridays at our home. The kids invite their friends, and sometimes the adults invite a friend or two. We set up two to three board games, on card tables in the living/dining rooms. Yes we have to re-arrange furniture to accommodate this, but we do it every Friday night.
Oh, no cell phones or modern technology is allowed at the gaming tables. We actually talk to each other. The laughter alone is contagious…….