Off the Mark by Mark Parisi for March 08, 2012

They’ll all look back on these days with great fondness….not.

The downfall of the family unit.

i -Pods, i -Phones… even Android phones…. Where are the Us -Phones, the We -Pods?

But the real question: Are they playing the same game together over wifi/bluetooth, or different games?Can’t see the parents approvingly playing the latest GTA with little Timmy.

Unfortuneatly I’ve had underlings that would spend 7 hours of an 8 hour shift like that.

That’s a FAMILY GAME NIGHT? Nothing but text messaging?

Sign of the times. For too many folks, those electronic devices are like another appendage. The lost art of conversation.

Correct me if I’m wrong, but shouldn’t family game night include, I don’t know, a game they all play together and, you know, talk to each other?

Hey, its an accomplishment to get them all sitting around the same table at the same time – it was even back in my day.

Before I read the caption, I thought they were praying.

Hey, it’s not so bad! I have running games with my daughters, playing Words With Friends. You don’t have to be together, but it works that way also, just like you had a board on the table, talking and laughing and sharing food and drinks, but we do it lounging comfortably on couches, since there is no need for a table. In the scene shown, they could each have games going with the other 3. Last Saturday we had Scrabble night so 4 of us could play the same game on the table, but when it wasn’t your turn you could play your side games on the phone.

And let’s not even THINK about sitting down to eat a meal together, much less without TV, iPods, phones, etc.

Well, at least they’re bowing their heads together. Maybe they’ve still got a prayer.