Waiting for my connecting flight in a bar-eatery in Chicago. At the other table a family of four. The dad is eating his burger and chips one-handed whilst staring up at the giant TV screen showing a basketball game. The son is playing ‘Angry Birds’ on his iphone and the daughter is scrolling through Facebook photos. The mother is playing on her Ipad. I know what they’re doing on each device because it’s the only topic of their desultory conversation,for the two hours we sit next to each other. Eventually the family together start to discuss... their progress in completing ‘Angry Birds!’
What price all this connectivity? I spend a lot of time online, as do a lot of the people I can see from my apartment’s window, so I can hardly mock. But one thing’s for sure, the levels of smartphone and gadget use – and its impact on how we relate to each other – is considerably lower and lesser in Poland than in the US. I’m happy to live in a country that’s a bit behind on this one, I mean, Tato has never used the internet or a mobile phone!
You're lucky it was only one family in Chicago watching the game. In Houston it was the entire airport!
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