Says this man who's lived 60 years. Don't have to be in prison to notice it's an epidemic.
Earlier this week I took a bus at school ending time. Several children — roughly 8-12 years old — spent their whole journey on their phones.
Having typed all that I realized my kid is in a bus free school, we parents are responsible for transportation, and he’ll never even experience it at all. I’m sure he won’t miss it. Was more of a sign of the times for my era than a necessity for a good childhood but, if you’re on a bus with dozens of peers and all glued to your phones, it does feel like some missed opportunities
Taking a normal city bus home from school was wonderful for me. I think it was the first time I had some independence from my overprotective parents.
I could "miss" the bus, which gave me 15 minutes to look round the Warhammer shop (or similar) before the next bus.
I could more-or-less spontaneously go to a friend's house and phone my parents from there — they wouldn't be left waiting to pick me up from school.