IEEE Technology and Society Magazine - Spring 2014 - 7

3) Does your screen time seem to expand to fill the
available space?
4) Do you go on "sprees" or "benders" of screen
use that you later regret?
5) Do you often say, "Just a moment," to loved ones
when you are using technology?
6) When online, do you get annoyed with family
members when they ask for your attention?
7) If you reduced your non-necessary screen time,
would other areas of your life improve?

Take Control of the Screen
Mostly everyone would answer "yes" to at least of a
few of these questions. So what is the answer? We've
got to do better. There is still a chance to recapture
our human value and our dignity, reaffirm the rights
of our children to have undistracted parents, and get
back to a time when our children looked us in the eye
clearly and brightly when we spoke to them [26]. We
still have time to reaffirm the value of reality [27]!
We can change. We can do better.
The next time you tell your children and your
spouse you love them, do it in the real world, not just
over SMS or email. In fact, if you're reading this at
home, get up off your chair right now and go searching in the physical space to reach out to that family
member who is absorbed with a screen. If it's not easy
to get them to look up and make eye contact with you,
take that as a sign that you need to make some necessary changes. [19], [20]. Consider planning your next
family vacation to an unspoiled paradise and leaving
the devices behind [21]. When you return, tell yourself you will not go back to your old ways and hold
your ground [22]. Be patient with yourself and your
family members as you find new ways to relate to
one another and discover new activities to fill your
time. Take courage. The hardest journeys begin with
resolve, and then taking those first decisive steps.

Author Information
Katherine Albrecht is an executive with the private
search engine Startpage and the new private email
StartMail.
Katina Michael is an associate professor in the
School of Information Systems and Technology at the
University of Wollongong, NSW, Australia.

Acknowledgment
The title of this paper was inspired by Eric Bibb's single "Got to do Better," produced in 2007 and featured
in the album, Painting Signs.

References

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IEEE TECHNOLOGY AND SOCIETY MAGAZINE

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SprING 2014

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http://www.indiewire.com/ http://www.theguardian.com/news/ http://http:// http://www.thewhole9.com/blogs/theprsenal/2009/12/17/the-look-down-generation/ http://www.mediapost.com/publications/ http://www.re.com/news/home/20130905005184/ http://www.dsm5.org/pages/Default.aspx http://www.filmmakermagazine.com/83773 http://www.nice.com/nice-productivity-infographic http://www.nerdfitness.com/ http://spectrum.ieee.org/telecom/internet/chinas-ejunkies http://spectrum.ieee.org/podcast/geek-life/tools http://www.indiewire.com/ http://www.Huffingtonpost.com http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2013/01/03/girls-drug http://www.indiewire.com/

Table of Contents for the Digital Edition of IEEE Technology and Society Magazine - Spring 2014