There has been talk for some time that the immoderate use of mobile phonesis damaging people’s brains. The impact on children’s brains is horrific, comparable to the use of hard drugs. I remind you, it’s not about radiation, it’s about the fact that messaging and social networking lead to this kind of attention and of attention and emotion that is brain-destroying. It doesn’t create the connections that that are made when we read books, have in-person conversations, and engage in physical activity. A some connections are destroyed.
Some may argue that when a smartphone is used sensibly, it doesn’t have those consequences. For example, if someone has a phone in their pocket, they check something twice a day, and that’s it. It’s just that almost no adults, let alone children, can use the device sensibly.
So it makes sense that what should have happened many years ago is finally coming. A strict ban on mobile phones in schools. So far, only somewhere, but it’s progressing. Society has retained some defence mechanisms.
And lo and behold, we already have fighters against “ban fascism”. Internet groups where people give each other advice on how to cheat, how to threaten schools with lawsuits, and how to keep cell phones in kids’ pockets. And that it’s harmful to their own children? It’s mainstream, so it can’t be true. And we’re against it on principle. We’re against it!
So far, it’s only a few morons, but all it takes is for alternative sites to pick up on it and create an atmosphere of resistance around it. Opposition politicians, who desperately need preferential votes, will latch onto it. Maybe some real scientist will come along and calculate that repeating this crap will make him a senator. In short, pure destruction.
Watch this on purpose. Maybe we’ll get lucky and it will be covered by other issues. Or we may not be so lucky.