I’ve been hearing an awful lot about how technology and millennials are ruining family values during the holidays. While my family doesn’t have a strict no-tech rule in our household, my parents don’t want my sister and I texting at the table. However, we’re allowed to show everyone a funny post or look up a fact or two if there’s a heated disagreement going on at the dinner table.
Our handheld devices are a contemporary necessity, but when cell phones and tablets are used so excessively that you’re staring at a screen instead of talking to your family then it may be time for a change.
After all, it’s the face-to-face time, not FaceTime that matters to family.
This past Thanksgiving, my grandmother was struggling to remember the exact details of her story. She knew that she was recalling a world’s fair in the 1930s, when the Bay Bridge had just been completed, but she couldn’t remember if the fair had been held on Angel or Treasure Island in San Francisco. She was slightly embarrassed that she was missing so many details. I asked her, “Do you want me to look it up really quick?”
And she responded, “Yes, please do!”
So I grabbed my phone and Googled it. Fun fact: America’s World’s Fair in 1939 had been held on Treasure Island, just after the Bay Bridge had opened. Confident that she had her story straight, she continued to tell the rest of the family about the trip she had taken with her family. Fun fact #2: my grandma’s future husband was at the very same fair. His job was to carry out the women who fainted at the shocking sideshows.
While our tech can be a hurdle, it can also enable deeper conversations to occur. Should technology be banned completely from your holidays, or is it possible to strike a balance between Snapchat and your cousin’s not-so-funny stories? I think holidays are meant for time with the family, but a quick Instagram post never hurt anybody. Technology can actually enhance the experience, because you can Facetime your Aunt Jane who couldn’t make it to dinner, or make Uncle Mike proud that you said his pie was #thebestintheworld.
As long as you keep it to a minimum and focus on spending quality time with your loved ones, modern technology doesn’t need to get in the way of family traditions.
Find that balance, collegiettes, and have a happy holiday season!