My Silent Generation parents don't have smartphones. It makes reaching them nearly impossible.
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- The author is tired of her kids being glued to their iPhones.
- She wants her Silent Generation parents to invest in a smartphone.
- She wishes she could send her kids' phones to her parents, who need them more.
My mom and dad have always been behind the times. They're the opposite of early adopters. They don't own a dishwasher or a flat-screen TV.
Dad listens to the "wireless," not the radio. He doesn't so much record his favorite documentaries as "tape" them. He drives a "motorcar."
My parents — born in the 1930s — are just a few years younger than the Greatest Generation, also known as the Silent Generation. They lived through rationing. They make do and mend.
They can take or leave material things. Keeping up with the Joneses' is anathema. And I love them for it.
Recently, however, their reluctance to get a smartphone not only frustrates but also worries me. The fear even outdoes my concern that my kids will be glued to their screens for the rest of their lives.
We've offered countless times to buy our parents a smartphone
The pocket-sized Nokia that my parents have owned for years may as well have been made in the Jurassic period.
The keys are so small you have to squint to read the numbers. It's virtually impossible to text because the letters are on those same keys.
The phone is frequently turned off or not charged. They'll forget to take it with them when they leave the house.
"What if there's an emergency?" I'll ask them. "Don't worry," they'll say, occasionally rolling their eyes. "We'll manage."
My sister and I have offered countless times to buy our parents a modern smartphone. It doesn't need to have all the bells and whistles. But they won't hear of it.
Mom says she can't hear a word when someone calls their current cellphone. It's different with the landline, she insists. They recently stayed home to wait for a call from her doctor. The physician's office had given them a time window for the scheduled conversation.
They sat patiently by their trusty landline until the doctor — who'd been busy with other patients and apologized profusely — could call them after about an hour.
My parents are certainly not the only older folks to rely on landlines. In a national AARP survey in 2020, some 38% of respondents age 70 and above said they didn't use smartphones.
My teens are rarely off their iPhones
My parents often argue that they lack the technical skills to use such a phone. But Dad picks things up pretty quickly and loves the internet. Still, he won't budge on the smartphone issue.
As for my teens, their iPhones are an appendage, They spend hours gazing at Snapchat, YouTube, and TikTok.
We confiscate their devices during mealtimes. "What's wrong with conversation?" I'll ask.
We try to limit screen time, particularly on school nights. But it's always a challenge.
Every so often, I threaten to grab their phones and toss them into the river.
But now I have an alternative plan. I want to package up their smartphones and mail them to their grandparents in time for the holidays.
It would kill two birds with one stone. It might kill my kids as well.