Buzzkill for buzzwords
Posted on: January 21, 2022
What is the point of getting older without also getting a bit grumpier? That might be the leading question for this aging edtech consultant.
Today I add to my lists [1] [2] [3] of popular but uncritical buzzwords or phrases.
Addiction: Specifically to any and all technology, e.g., games, social media, YouTube. The “addiction” used loosely by popular media and the layperson is different what a clinical psychologist might have in mind.
An actual addiction needs to be medically diagnosed as chronic, compulsive, and harmful, and be treatable. This is in contrast to the flippant lay use, e.g., addicted to TikTok, followed by a laugh and/or a shrug of the shoulders. Casual and frequent use does not necessarily equate to addiction.
Addiction is sometimes followed by the next two phrases.
Digital detox: As if technology is inherently poisonous, some folks think that it is cool or fashionable to go retreats where they have no mobile or wifi signal and gadgets are banned.
Somehow the very same devices they rely on for work or to maintain quality of life need to be avoided. They shift the blame on the technology and conveniently ignore personal responsibility and self-management when using such tools.
Instead of a digital detox, what these folk might need is a mindset reset.
Screen time: Oh, this old egg. I do my best to crack it with every batch of teachers and educators I meet, but most seem brainwashed with this yolk of an issue.
There still is a focus among early childhood educators and parents about the quantity of screen time instead of the quality of the same. Why deny kids the responsible use of tools they will grow up with?
These adults have no shame in denying screens to their kids while not modelling responsible behaviours themselves. They also forget how modern and information-based workers need screen time to communicate, cooperate, and create.
I do not mind being a buzzkill for buzzwords that mislead or obscure. It is a hobby of Curmudgeon Man!
Another dot in the blogosphere? 
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