And what if that actually was true? I was walking Pip the Dog one morning and I was a little later than usual, when often I pass some kids walking on their way to school.

Without fail every single one is holding a smart phone clutched in one hand and sometimes both hands, like some prized possession. And yes they are walking and staring at their phone all at the same time. They definitely can’t see where they are going. I often want to walk directly towards them with my arms open, but then I know that would get me into trouble big time, so I don’t.

I’m sure as a parent you have no idea that your kid is doing this, correct? I’ve even seen several kids walking together all staring at their phones. Wow, that’s a really sad situation.

When mobile phones first came out, we weren’t holding them in our hands whilst walking and staring at them, because there was nothing to stare at. We would get the phone out of our bag or briefcase when we needed to call someone or accept an incoming call. Now with the advent of smart phones they are not just phones, they are addiction devices.

Kids are addicted, adults are addicted, we’re all addicted to our phones.

Oh, by the way, it was a beautiful sunny day, fluffy clouds, birdsong, trees bending in the breeze and they missed all of it. They didn’t have a clue, the day passed them by, never to be experienced again.

I don’t blame the smartphone makers as such, I blame the app makers, the social media tech companies, whose sole objective has and always will be to make us totally addicted to their advertising engines.

Ka-ching!!

Michael de Groot