3 days ago
Millennials Are Sharing Their Concerns About Their Parents' Phone Usage, And It's Honestly A Little Too Real
Recently, Reddit user Edyeahhh asked, "Are all of our parents addicted to their phones?"
"My parents are in town visiting, and I am floored by their smartphone usage. My mom scrolls Facebook for HOURS, and my dad gets entranced by TikTok with the volume on full blast. It's become so unsettling that I've deleted my own TikTok. Are everyone else's parents addicted to their phones?"
The topic really hit home for some people, and they had A LOT to say in the comments. Here are some of the best replies:
1."My father used to be such an interesting, intelligent guy with multiple hobbies — painting, playing instruments, tinkering around making weird robots. Now he just stares at his phone and shows me the cringiest, most unfunny memes. It's actually kind of sad how he's a shell of a person because he spends 90% of his time on Facebook."
—suzeerbedrol
2."It kills me how their phone volume is always on FULL blast. Yet they say we are the addicted ones. 🙄"
—kate180311
3."My dad actually tries to Google things WHILE DRIVING because a random thought popped into his head."
—Prestigious-Disk-246
4."My mom isn't too bad, but my father is glued to Twitter. This was a man who would physically unplug our desktop computer when we were kids because we were spending too much time on it. Now, he barely acknowledges me when I talk to him."
—SunBubble920
5."My mom invited all the kids and grandkids over for her birthday weekend a couple of years ago, and she spent 95% of the time on her phone. It was ridiculous."
"My dad uses his laptop instead of his phone, but at least he closes it when there are other things going on."
—noyoujump
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6."My dad endlessly texts in his family group chat with his sisters, just sharing pictures and memes. And my mother is a speakerphone boomer. I could be visiting from out of town and having a nice family dinner, and she'll answer her phone and have a whole ass conversation on speaker phone. These are the same people who would yell at me for leaving the table to answer the phone when I was in junior high. It's insanity."
—Stolen_Away
7."My dad watches YouTube on autoplay for like 12 hours a day."
—tytanium315
8."I blocked my dad on all social media because I was getting a dozen dumb memes from him a day on Facebook and Instagram. It got too overwhelming."
—RemotePersimmon678
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9."I see my folks once every two years or so. I spend the whole week watching my stepdad watch YouTube and my mom play Candy Crush for hours while the the TV is on in the background."
—Darmok-And-Jihad
10."Just wait until they start sending you AI slop they generate after discovering ChatGPT. An uncanny valley likeness of your kid flying around in a Superman costume that you'll never be able to unsee — great!"
—handsoffmydata
11."My dad came to visit my family for a few days a little over a year ago. I think his phone was in his hand 90% of the time he was awake. Even when he was asleep in the guest room, I could hear his phone blasting videos until it died. It was really disappointing, especially since I thought he would want to do more with his grandchildren."
—Telemachus826
12."My mom never used to have a smartphone; she was the proud owner of a flip phone for the longest time. But she recently got a smartphone because her doctor recommended an app to monitor her diabetes and blood sugar levels. I've noticed her slowly becoming addicted to her phone now. Meanwhile, my dad is addicted to his iPad."
—kierkieri
13."I think it makes sense that addiction finds a stronger root in brains that are either developing or declining. That's why this is a more pronounced problem for children and the elderly. I totally agree that we are ALL overly addicted to our phones though. It's such a bad problem."
—LAM24601
Thankfully, not all parents are addicted to their phones:
14."Neither of my parents have social media. My dad uses his phone a lot, but it's mostly reading the news or sports."
—TrickyOperation6115
15."My mom still has a landline. Her cell is a flip phone that she only uses like once a month."
—CorruptDictator
And finally, this person found a good balance between phone usage and real life that we should all strive for:
16."It's weird. When I'm alone, my phone is like this everlasting crack pipe. But the moment I'm with friends or family, I really don't check it that much."
—pwolf1771
H/T r/Millennials
Some replies have been edited for length and clarity.
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