If not for the fact this was influenced by her plan to write a book, I would applaud this "experiment". Stories like this genuinely interest me and I may look to find a copy of this book at the library one of these days (assuming they still exist). If not for the fact that she had to bribe her kids with a piece of the action from the book sales, this would be even better. Despite the lack of genuine sincerity behind this experiment, it both fascinates and disturbs me that this is a topic worthy of discussion.
In the past I've written about the desire to unplug from society if even briefly and I feel the need to reiterate that this has been a strong desire of mine for years. Even though i only talked about turning my phone off, I'd like to believe that "unplugging" from most technology would be the implied much like what Susan Maushart did with her family. It's almost as though I need to document that I felt this way before others "jumped on the bandwagon" and beat me to the punch. This is my way of making peace with myself on this topic i suppose.
The results of this on her family are fascinating and impossible to ignore. Her son was branded a video game addict and dedicated his free time to playing sax. Once the cloud lifted, he became interested in something that is not only potentially social but also what is arguably one of the foundations of culture. If not for the experiment, it's debatable whether or not he would have gone back to music or not. One daughter actually had her grades improve during this experiment.
More importantly than the results for me is how disturbing this is that it's worthy of writing a book about a family doing something like this. Apparently families are truly this out of control that they can't suppress their technology fetish. The removal of the "evil crickets" from their day to day lives should not be this big of an issue and yet it is.
Most importantly, this article/topic has flooded my head with more and more questions to which i don't necessarily want the answers to. Is technology truly that integral to not only people but families to the point that the act of "unplugging" can only be done so through bribery of kids? Are parents really that powerless (whether accidentally or by choice) to keep their families from self medicating by way of their immediate gratification gadgets? Why is it that more people aren't concerned with this? Are we losing the ability to physically interact with one another in favor of the perceived security of our virtual interactions? Could the son be considered a poster boy for what talent can lie underneath the shroud of electronic addiction that needs only be unplugged in order to shine through?
Although i'm fascinated by this "experiment" and the questions that it has raised within me, i don't foresee answers coming to light anytime soon. It's my opinion that "experiments" like this will become increasingly popular in the coming years and they'll be more and the outcomes will become more and more drastic as we progress further.
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