Can we talk — calmly, and without raising our voices — about screen addiction? I put it that way because no one is quicker to fall into a defensive crouch than a junkie. This is something I know from personal experience. Accusation breeds denial. I'm a social user, the addict says. Besides, I can quit anytime I want.
But can you? Can I, for that matter?
I thought of this when I saw an article from UPI.com (yes, I read it on my computer) that claimed the average American adult spends 8.5 hours a day staring at various screens. The study was commissioned by the Nielsen Company. My initial reaction was classic addict-think: They can't be talking about me; I don't spend anywhere near that much time gaping at screens. At first, it seemed a reasonable conclusion. I don't Twitter, I'm not on Facebook (unless someone else put me there), I've never shopped on Craigslist, and I've made exactly one eBay purchase (someone else did it for me, because I have no grasp of the protocol). I own a cell phone but don't use it — I keep it in the car in case I break down in East Overshoe and need a tow. I think it takes pictures, but I have no idea how that function works, and I've never texted anyone in my life.
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