Last weekend we celebrated Mother's Day with our three adult Gen-Z children at Claudiana Italian Restaurant. The children came bearing flowers and presents. After ordering our food, we sat for more than half an hour, until our server reported that the kitchen had lost our ticket. We spent the time talking about our children’s work, their friends, and all sorts of topics, including my youngest's wedding this September.
At some point during dinner, two of our children started to talk about screens. My son complained about parents who park their young children in front of an iPad. He believes this harms both the child and the dinner experience. I am certain the iPad is to keep the child distracted enough so they don’t cause a fuss while the grown-ups are talking and eating dinner.
This subject then turned to screens and social media. My son began the conversation by suggesting that no child should have a smartphone or access to social media until they are 16 years old. His sisters both agreed. All three grew up with screens, including smartphones, at a young age. They were also surrounded by books. If they wanted a book, I would buy it for them.
What is interesting about this conversation is that this is the generation that has always had the internet and social media. My son continued to make his case. He said, "The problem with smartphones and social media is that you can’t ever get away from your schoolmates. You are always connected, always being messaged by someone, or more likely, someones."
No one picked up their phones during what was a little over a two-and-a-half-hour dinner. They are now bored by the Small Device of Infinite Distractions. What once seemed so important was now yawn-worthy.
I removed all social apps from my iPhone. I also turned off all notifications on the phone and my computer. This was much easier than I thought it might be, but that is because I am more of a content creator than a consumer.
Slow Traditional Culture and the TS;DR Mindset
Too short; didn’t read. Too short; didn’t watch the reel. Seth Godin published a post titled "The Defensive Arrogance of TL;DR." About halfway down the page, you will find a table created by Ted Gioia in his essay "The Rise of the Dopamine Culture." The chart describes how different types of activities unfold in "Slow Traditional Culture," "Fast Modern Culture," and "Dopamine Culture." You want to spend your time in Slow Traditional Culture. That’s where you’ll discover that clickable, gamified, fast-to-consume content isn’t typically worth your time. It’s a case of too short; didn’t read.
Yesterday, my friend Howard Bloom sent me his new book. It is a 500+ page monster on nature and sex. Howard sees things you and I cannot see. Harold writes longform because he gives you the information you need to understand what he’s saying and the implications of that. Longform provides a wider-angle lens. Short form becomes short by removing and reducing the text—and the context. Without the context, you can’t acquire the value you would have had you engaged with something longer that presented a complete idea.
