Read a Book Instead

        My dad was just giving my siblings and I a speech on how we spent the whole summer playing video games and watching television. He said we were becoming lazy and that we were becoming too dependent on technology. Our conversation then became about how they used to learn and spend their time when he was a kid (one thing always leads to another with him).
         My dad was born in Guatemala and he reminded us that they aren't really big on education over there. He came to America when he was about nine years old. He said that when he came over here, it was a lot of work. If he ever needed an answer to anything, he had to walk three miles to the nearest library because my grandparents could not help him. He had to really think about what he was reading and sometimes used books to understand books. He got so used to reading so much, he went to the library on weekends to read just for fun, He said this made him feel smart. As the years progressed and technology advanced, he slowly became sucked into the world of technology. He started going to technology more to solve his problems. Now, my dad is always using his phone. Any question he has, whether its to spell something or to lookup an answer to a homework problem for one of my siblings, he goes to Google. Actually, lately he's been using my mom's phone. She has an iPhone and he likes that Siri answers him. He says that Siri always knows the answer. He stated that he now feels just as dumb as he was when he first got to the U.S. He wants to stop using technology so much, but he feels like he can't because he became too dependent on it. It's no longer a choice for him to use his phone and Google but a necessity.
         I realized that I do this too. I always go to Google on my phone or laptop when I don't understand something. Another thing is, I haven't been to a library or used a book for research in quite some time. I think Tuesday was the first time I've been in the library in months. I went to get homework done because it was hard for me to concentrate at home with television tempting me to watch. It didn't make that much of a difference since I still had my phone. After a while I realized I needed to stop, especially since I was finishing Amusing Ourselves to Death. All I did was look at the cover page and I felt so ashamed. Anyways, now my dad has made it clear that he wants us to go to the library more often and just pick up a book to read at home so we can actually do something productive and educating.
       
Just something I wanted to share. Well it was fun blogging and reading about what others thought. I enjoyed it very much. I've learned so much and know that what we read will always stay with me. I'm gonna try and step back from using technology as much as I can. Maybe I'll just read a book instead.