There was an op-ed piece in this morning’s Post written by (or in the name of) four United States Senators, two Democrats and two Republican. The subject was youth and social media. The premise was the young teenagers spend much too much time on their “devices”, that overuse of social media is an addiction, that this has led to a serious increase in mental health and suicidal thoughts, and that the social media companies recognize this, say they are fighting against it, but clearly are not doing enough. They are proposing legislation that they believe will help.

Although I cannot get into the mind of a 2023 teenager (at all), since their world is so different from my world, and since I am clearly excluded from their world if only because we are doing different things in different places (not to mention other obvious reasons), I certainly understand the problem. For I, too, probably spend much too much time on my “devices”.

Before I do anything else in the morning, I generally spend a half hour or so on my smart phone, looking to see what happened over night. I looked at my Google news feed, at the CNN website, and my Flipboard news feed, at the Times of Israel website, at the headlines on the Post, Times and Journal sites, at the Jewish Insider, and often Haaretz, the Forward, Al Jazeera, WTOP, the weather, and elsewhere. I check my three email accounts. And, of course, when looking at all of this, if something interests me, I will click on it and read it.

When I come downstairs, I turn on the TV and generally watch Morning Joe, while I am having breakfast and also glancing at the Post and Times in print. If I am then going to work in my home office, I will often leave the TV on for the rest of the morning. If I am not doing something that I can do with the TV on in the morning, and am having lunch at home, I will watch Andrea Mitchell while eating. Throughout the morning, I will check my phone for messages (emails, texts and FaceBook posts) every 15 minutes or so.

My work at home (generally personal stuff, or work with one of the two organizations with which I am active) includes a lot of email and text communication, reviewing material on my screen, and so forth. It also involves a number of Zoom sessions (probably in all I am on 5-8 Zoom sessions every week). I also look at some lectures or classes on line, and when I am riding the stationary bike in the basement, I generally watch a Netflix (or its equivalent program) for 30-60 minutes.

Around dinner, the TV goes back on for Nichole Wallace, Wolf Blitzer and the like. After dinner, it is usually more screen time (often with a book in hand simultaneously) while we watch a ball game, a film, or more Netflix. The, of course, I check all the websites before I go upstairs.

Oh, and of course, I don’t stay home all day – generally I have somewhere to go. And that means my car radio goes on while I am driving, especially if I am alone. And, yes, I spend 15-20 minutes each day writing this blog, and more time writing presentations or other things. And – I must admit – I often have dessert – no matter what I am doing on line, there is always time for several minutes of TikTok, or its equivalent – those little reels that make life so pleasant.

And there’s more. I keep all of our financial records on the computer on Quicken, and our entire used book business.

So when this morning, in the article I cited above, I read that the average teenager spends about 9 hours a day on devices, I was shocked. But when I looked at my day, I realized I probably do the same.

Now, the presumed teenager and myself do not do the same things on line. At least not for the most part. I assume that what I do is more educational, and more positive. (Of course, I may be wrong thinking this.) I don’t engage in group chats, and I don’t play any games (except morning Wordle and Quiz Daily, and these take less than ten minutes together, I would think). And we probably look at, for the most part, different things on TikTok.

And I don’t do anything that depresses me, or makes me think of suicide. But I can see how teenagers could easily fall prey to this. For one thing, being on a screen is different from being with people, and I see how it could make you feel lonely and rejected, especially as you might be seeing that others are doing things that you are not. Secondly, every one you connect with does not have to be your friend and if you find yourself at the wrong end of bullying (or maybe even the bully end), frustration and sadness and again loneliness can result). Thirdly, on TikTok and other reel programs, you can see young kids and teenagers who are extraordinary athletes, or talented musicians, or smart as a whip. You can see teenagers who have friends and friends and friends, who are as attractive and fit as can be, who are making hundreds of thousands of dollars a year putting together TikTok reels, or who travel the world, and seem to have unlimited funds and freedom (not to say sexual experience beyond one’s imagination). Of course, this can lead to unhappiness, to feelings of isolation and hopelessness, and to suicidal thoughts or temptations.

Like with everything else in this world, unfortunately, analyzing the problem is relatively easy. Solving it is another story.