Computers are nice and I like the ability to look things up but could I give up my computer? Yeah, I could. This includes my phone. It is convenient and provides a lifeline during many situations in life but I could do without it.

My life is filled with many things outside of electronics and I strive to do the same for my kids on a regular basis. But I’ve always been interested in history and history proves that none of us actually needs electronics.

Kids would play more and use their imagination to fill their time. Games were plentiful and I am willing to say that kids as a whole would be happier. We are learning more all the time how electronics affects their brains and development. We are learning more all the time how many kids say they are lonely and isolated. Electronics are making us sadder.

I get it. It won’t cure everyone to not have electronics but as a whole, kids would be happier.

But a major component to kids experiencing happiness is if their parents are focused, involved, and happy. Parents who make an effort to put the phone down or step away from the computer tend to have happier children. When kids see their parents doing something other than being glued to the computer screen (or their phone), they have more motivation to find joys and hobbies.

People tend to think that people in the past were stupid and joyless which is utter nonsense. They filled their time with games, sport, and hobbies just like we should today. Until the printing press changed Europe, people who could afford to read would read. When printing was prevalent, penny stories were popular.

Plays were performed at all levels of society. Songs were sung. People would doodle when they had paper and a pencil. People loved playing cards and chess. They were not that different from us now.

We all need to have things we like and are passionate without worrying about how it would look in a styled picture on social media or concerning ourselves the like count. We should all disconnect more often.

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