It’s About Time
It’s About Time
If you’re reading this on Sunday morning, you’re already an hour behind because that hour was stolen from you last night. If you’re reading this on Monday, you’re still feeling the negative effects of that pilfered hour from Sunday morning. If you’re like me, you’d seriously consider doing violent harm to the imbecile who thought up daylight savings time, and if you did accomplish that act, no jury in America would convict you.
When I was in elementary school, my mother would wake my brother and me before she left for work. She would tell us to get going and that breakfast was on the table and our lunchboxes were on the kitchen counter. “Breakfast” was always oatmeal — translated: disgusting horse food, boiled and dumped into a cereal bowl. Even at that age, I understood the value of skipping breakfast. Apart from avoiding that nasty taste in my mouth all morning, skipping that task gave me five more minutes behind closed eyelids.
Time Management
From 8:00am, when the tardy bell rang, until 3:30pm, when the freedom bell rang, my time usage was dictated by bitter old tyrantesses standing in front of blackboards. Even during the coveted lunch break, they towered over us and shouted irrational orders like, “Shut your mouths and eat.”
Did they not understand that talking to our friends was far more important than consuming stale potato chips and bologna sandwiches? And, how were we supposed to eat with our mouths shut? And, God forbid the concept of fun. The single time I blew up and popped my potato chip bag in the lunch room, a demon from Hell grabbed me by the collar and dragged me to the principal’s office. I vaguely remember crossing the river, Styx on the way.
Once that blessed end-of-school bell rang. I was my own boss. Whether I was afoot or riding my bike, I never, ever went straight home like I’d been instructed. There was local geography to be explored, girls to be teased, rocks to be thrown, and all manner of adventure to be undertaken.
The only critical routine was to get home, change into my everyday clothes, open my books on the kitchen table, as if I’d been doing homework, and catch the 4:30pm airing of Superman on our black and white RCA television before my parents got home. I could accomplish all that faster than a speeding bullet.
Occasionally, my mom would call just to verify that I’d come straight home but I always insisted that I’d been too busy with a math problem to answer the phone. I assumed she’d bought that story, but, looking back, maybe she was just too tired to press the issue.
Once my parents were home, there was still time for an hour or two of mischief before dinner, but after that, parental tyranny was the order of the evening, and I was forced to do the homework I’d already insisted was complete.
Time Mismanagement
That all got me to thinking about how contemporary kids spend their days, so I did some quick research. According to ATUS (American Time Use Survey) and PEW Research, the following applies to how today’s American youth spend each revolution of the Earth:
- Sleep (9-10 hours)
- School & Education (6-7 hours)
- Total online time: (7-9 hours)
- Social media: ~ 3 hours per day (TikTok, Instagram,
Snapchat, etc.) - Streaming: ~ 2-3 hours (YouTube, Netflix, etc.)
- Gaming: ~ 1-2 hours (higher among boys)
- Schoolwork & browsing: 1-2 hours
- Social media: ~ 3 hours per day (TikTok, Instagram,
- Eating & Drinking (1.5 hours)
- Work & Volunteering (1-2 hours, varies)
- Exercise & Sports (1 hour)
- Personal Care & Primping (1 hour – higher among girls)
Yeah, I understand that adds up to more than 24 hours but multi-tasking — doing a half-assed job of two things at the same time — accounts for a lot of that.
Did you notice that up to 9 hours per day is spent with their noses buried in a screen, absorbing someone else’s worldview? Is it any wonder that so few people can think for themselves anymore? What really puzzles me is that the sociopath who thought up daylight savings time, didn’t even have a smart phone to pollute his or her cognitive abilities. They were just naturally bent.
Technological Risk Principle (Amara’s Law)
The impact of technology is often overestimated in the short term but underestimated in the long term, which can apply to risks as well.
Let’s talk. I’d really like to hear what you have to say, and it might even give me something to write about. Email me at guy@lawsoncomm.com.
I’ll buy you coffee and we can compare notes. I promise not to steal your ideas without permission.
Truth alone will endure, all the rest will be swept away before the tide of time.
— Mahatma Ghandi
The Anxious Generation
— Jonathan Haidt
If you’re my age, I’m not recommending that you read this book to help your kids. It’s too late. You’ve already screwed them up. But, read it anyway and give a copy to your adult kids, especially if they have children of their own. There may yet be time to rescue that youngest generation and when your already-screwed-up offspring try to convince you otherwise, at least you will have read the fundamentals of this book to share with them.
Restless Devices
— Felicia Wu Song
If that first book doesn’t rob you of your sleep, try this one. Dr.Song does an excellent job of documenting the cultural and psychological damages being inflicted on young people today by the constant bombardment of social media. She convincingly ties the rapidly increasing rate of suicide among teen girls and the expansion of teen boys’ addiction to pornography, to that same source. If this book doesn’t make you toss your grandkid’s iPhone in the toilet, then go back and read it again.
A meeting of great minds who think alike
