Bubble Buggy

    A youngster—not a toddler—sat in a buggy. The location was a supermarket. Lots of customers moved about, including me. I’ll presume his mother was among us. If so, she was using a separate buggy.
    This boy sat in a corner of the store. Earphones covered his ears. He mind was occupied—if not mesmerized—with the operation of an electronic device. It was like being inside a bubble. He had tuned out his surroundings.
    The boy wasn’t helping his mother choose produce. He wasn’t listening to her chat with the butcher. Impromptu conversations between customers did not include him. All those interactions, as mundane as they are, enriched people’s lives.
    When Buggy Boy grows up he’ll need communication skills, the face to face kind. Those skills will take shape during his youth. The distractions of technology might hamper this social development. If so, he won’t reach his potential. This concern applies to legions of children.
    Social skills are not learned inside a technological bubble.