The photo 'awakens' all adults: Is it time for parents to raise their heads?
“The boy sat very well on the chair, only squirming but not running around, his eyes were sad; the two people beside him were still staring at their phones. During that whole time, the three of them did not communicate with each other, nor did they look at each other..."
On a forum specializing in sharing everyday photos, the photo: "Put down the phone to be with your child" by photographer Dang Thi Thu Thao has startled many people. The photo captures a sudden moment of 3 characters sitting on a long bench. Two adults, a man and a woman, sit at either end, both intently looking at their smartphones. In the middle of the bench, a boy is tightly pursed, his face slightly bowed, looking down at the ground, his arms crossed in front of his chest, holding a bottle of mineral water. In the golden sunlight of summer, the 3 of them, absolutely have no communication or anything showing a specific "relationship". The most prominent feeling, when looking at the boy in the middle of the bench, is loneliness - loneliness in the world of technology, the world of adults.
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| The photo will make many parents look up in surprise. |
Like Facebooker Luong Trung Kien, many people agree that this is a “Photo of modern life!” – a photo that depicts behind it the story of adults addicted to smartphones, more fascinated by the virtual world than communicating, chatting and playing with children. It is a world that we, adults, including those who are fathers and mothers, are immersed in every hour, every day, regardless of whether what is keeping us busy is really important, and accidentally “dropping” a world of childhood right next to us.
There are also many others who believe that the above photo does not necessarily reflect the "accurate" message that the author wants to convey, that the three characters in it are not necessarily a real family, and that the father and mother are inattentive or so absorbed in their smartphones that they "forget" their child, in loneliness and anxiety because there is no one to play with, no one to talk to. Or as nick Pham Quang Anh speculates: "If you look closely, you will see that the boy looks like the woman in black, it seems that this is the mother and child, and the man on the left is not sure if he is the child's father or not."
Whether the three characters are really a family or not, perhaps it is not really important, because it has conveyed a very meaningful message and "attacked" a clear reality that we can see anywhere in this modern world, in the subway, in the park, in the cafe... Adults are too "busy" with the joys of technology, and children, if they do not become copies, do not bury their heads in smartphones and become the next "head-down generation", will be left alone in loneliness.
The person who took this photo, Ms. Thu Thao, still believes in her feelings, that it is really a family. She said, she took the photo on a bench around Hoan Kiem Lake, after about 15 minutes of silently observing them. “The boy sat very well on the chair, just squirming and not running around, his eyes were sad; and the two people next to him were still attentively looking at their phones. During that time, the three people did not communicate with each other, nor look at each other; but no one else came to the baby's side either. I thought those were the baby's parents. And that image caught my eye so I took a photo.”
Ms. Thu Thao shared that it is completely true that many parents today are more addicted to smartphones than their children. She revealed that this also happens in her own family. She is not married, has no children, only often plays with her grandchildren, and at those times, she does not use a smartphone. However, the baby's mother sometimes... tricks her child into playing alone and then sits playing with her phone, even though there is not really an important matter to solve. From a social perspective, she is concerned: "I have a feeling that children whose parents are addicted to smartphones are very lonely. Many children even feel restless and frustrated, as if they just want to go out but do not dare. Parents who are always engrossed in their phones will definitely limit communication with their children. If the older child plays by himself, it is better, but the younger children can easily be slow to speak and have poor communication skills, it is very pitiful!"
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| A photo with a similar message was shared by photographer Can Hung. |
The irresistible attraction of smartphones has made parents busy, lacking in care and closeness to their children, making them feel lonely and abandoned in their own homes. In many families, smartphones have suddenly become our "baby", our "darling" that we take care of, forcing us to be with them, taking up most of our free time, our endless source of joy... not our flesh and blood children. Looking at this picture, do you see yourself in it? Do you remember the scene where you were absorbed in "stroking" your smartphone, smiling while scrolling through Facebook and seeing that your photo had hundreds of likes, delighted because you won a game that you had conquered for a month, while your baby was clinging to your feet, begging you to read a book with him or help you tie a bunch of hair? Have you ever gone on a date with your husband in a cafe, and each of you held a device, and to keep your children “safe”, you made them sit still in one place for easier control, instead of letting them run around here and there…
If you think that children do not know anything, that they cannot feel your loneliness or your indifference, try putting down your phone, and look deeply into their eyes, at the sparkle in their smiles when they play with you. And read the essay of a second grader in China about a mother who is always engrossed in her phone.
Tuesday, March 8th
Today is International Women's Day 8/3. On this day, I want to thank my mother because she has to go to work every day very tired, I will do some things for her.
First, I told my mom a little story. But it seemed like she didn’t like listening to my story, she just kept staring at her phone. This made me very sad.
I thought my mom would be happy to hear my wishes, so I sent her a Happy Women's Day greeting. But she kept staring at her phone, which made me feel even sadder. I thought this wouldn't work, so I'd just give her a back rub.
I used all my strength to punch my mother's back, but she still didn't take her eyes off her phone, her face was not cheerful at all. I felt even sadder.
After that, I decided to wash my mother’s feet. While I was washing her feet, she finally took her eyes off her phone. This made me feel a little happier, so I tried even harder to wash her feet.
When I finished my task, I hoped to be rewarded by my mother, but instead she just sternly said to me: "You washed your feet well today, but next time wash them a little cleaner!"
I was really sad. Then when I left the room, my mother didn't forget to tell me: "Hurry up and write your diary!"
My International Women's Day, March 8, passed by so boringly like that."
Smartphone addiction not only wastes too much time and affects your health, but also affects family relationships. Put down your smartphone and love more. Don't let your little ones be lonely in their own home. Is playing with your children not as important as the virtual joys and the information that flows in every day in the world of technology? Don't let yourself, and possibly in the future, your children belong to the "head-bowing" generation (literally), bowing their heads to "serve" technology, caring more about phones and virtual things than the beautiful life outside, than the simple happiness right next to us.