Boomers are now the screen-addicted generation they love to complain about

Detailed summary

We’re all worried about our kids’ screen time, but maybe we should actually be worried about Grandma’s Instagram Reels habit.

We’re all worried about our kids’ screen time, but maybe we should actually be worried about Grandma’s Instagram Reels habit.

In California, large numbers of older Americans work from home online, see their doctors through telehealth — or just scroll the hours away.

I’ve noticed that everywhere I go, older folks are now more glued to their phones than younger people.

We need our elders to stay connected to us, to share their time and experience with us, to help us learn and connect and grow.

And we live in Southern California: among the most beautiful spots on earth. Here, fall is temperate, in contrast with most of the rest of the country. What’s more, the holidays are almost here.

That makes it a great time to find an older person you love, pry them from their screens and go do something with them.

Recently, at a restaurant in La Jolla, I noted that every older person’s head was glued to a screen. Driving down my country road in Temecula in the morning, I passed a grandma walking along a busy stretch without once looking up from her phone.

And it’s not just grandparents. I drove to my sister’s house in LA, and I helped pick up my niece from school in Beverly Hills. One dad strolled down the street, carefree as a bird, his head in his phone — apparently confident that he’d be seen by the roving Waymos.

But when I see kids on the street, they’re skateboarding, or riding their e-bikes, or in a circle of friends at the mall.

Opening of the article, excerpted from New York Post. To read the rest, open the article on the publisher's site.