UPDATED: So, ol Bette Midler has made this relevant again, time to revisit why it’s perhaps best NOT to judge kids on digital devices in art museums!
Nearly every day I see a photo of some poor digital addiction sap being soul-sucked into his device and a caption shouting about how society itself is crumbling because we look at our iPhones too much. One of the latest to go viral made me want to speak up.. again.
Rembrandt’s The Night Watch is SOOOOOO boring! Photo: Gijsbert van der Wal
Perhaps It’s Not Digitial Addiction?
The response to this photo was predictable.
@moneyries @ChrisGunness Beautiful version! The “distracted” society. No wonder we’re in the shape we’re in now. Teach Your Children!
— Bon Chevalier (@BonChevalier) January 15, 2016
No wonder this photo of #Rembrandt‘s #NightWatch has gone viral. It’s a perfect metaphor for our age RT pic.twitter.com/qTsVNlZo5X
— Chris Gunness (@ChrisGunness) January 15, 2016
Eat your heart out, Rembrandt. pic.twitter.com/hN42zJ3NPJ
— Harriett Gilbert (@HarriettSG) December 7, 2014
But, someone of the “inside” saw this, they quickly told people it’s less “OMG, Kim Kardashian is so lit!” and more of “Ok, you find the year this was painted, you find the medium.”
No wonder this photo of #Rembrandt‘s #NightWatch has gone viral. It’s a perfect metaphor for our age RT pic.twitter.com/qTsVNlZo5X
— Chris Gunness (@ChrisGunness) January 15, 2016
What Kind Of Society?
How often do you see the meme of people looking down at their phones in public “ignoring people around them”. What kind of society do these people think we live in? Do they honestly go around on public transit and actively try to strike up a conversation with perfect strangers to pass the time? Hey, that would be an idyllic and everyone would be friends! Hell, were humans like that, we may not have as many wars.. but humans on an individual basis are quite solitary. This brings me to one of my favourite responses to the soul-sucking phones on transit meme:
The 3rd pane would be cavemen with stone tablets waiting for the 3:05 brontosaurus.
It Can Be A Problem
Don’t get me wrong, digital addiction can be a problem. I can’t stand to see a couple ignoring each other at a dinner table, or my own son trying to do a task seemingly unable to put that damn thing down for 2.5 seconds. As a society, we will deal with this problem, but don’t make assumptions! That person may be studying for an exam, perhaps they are researching something, or, OR JUST PERHAPS THEY ARE BORED OUT OF THEIR SKULLS AND WANT TO BROWSE INSTAGRAM FOR A FEW MINUTES.
Give them a break, and don’t assume kids aren’t actually interested in art history.
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