Reflections in Paris

I am sitting outside at a Parisian cafe in the 11th arrondissement on the corner of a kid’s park.  It is 730 and light out. One of the many things I love about Paris is the sun sets later. That changes the culture. 

The park is filled with children playing games and sliding down the slide while making new friends. Interestingly, there are many more men than women watching over the kids.  Nice to see.

I was somewhere recently where all the kids wanted was to play on their parent’s phones. They were playing too, but the second there was downtime, it was off to technology.  Not that dissimilar to all of us adults. It is mindless yet keeps the mind active enough to draw you in for endless hours.  

It’s hard to resist, particularly for parents trying to juggle family, friends, and a relationship with their partner. Giving in to the iPhone is easier than holding boundaries tight. 

I don’t know the answer or how we create the balance between technology and good old-fashioned exploration, like sitting in a sandbox or kicking a ball mindlessly against a wall. 

Don’t get me wrong, I love technology and how it has changed the world, but I wonder about its effects.  We see them today with teens and young twenty-year-olds.  Something tells me we need to find a better balance.  Europe, for all its issues, seems to have better control over the infiltration of tech.  Perhaps it’s just the age of their culture and country.