I want to thank Geoff White from Riverton for his powerful letter (The Examiner May 29.) Geoff, your words carry weight — and not just because you’ve lived through more change than most. At 90, you’ve seen society rise, stumble, and now slide into a digital fog where personal responsibility is being replaced by convenience.
And you’re right: technology is doing damage, and the threat is growing.
But I’ll take it one step further.
Technology isn’t the root problem — parents are.
You said giving tech to kids is “stupid.” I couldn’t agree more. But we need to ask the harder question: who’s giving it to them?
It’s not governments, it’s not schools — it’s parents.
They’re handing over smartphones and tablets like lollies, often before the child can write their own name. We’ve gone from raising children to distracting them. No wonder we’re seeing a generation suffering from mental health issues, loneliness, obesity, and emotional fragility.
And while all this is happening, parents are justifying it by saying, “But they need it for school,” or “It’s educational.” No, it’s not. You nailed it, Geoff — technology in classrooms isn’t delivering results.
The statistics back it up.
Kids are more distracted than ever. Literacy and numeracy aren’t improving because we replaced pencils with screens — we’ve just created more digital babysitters in the name of progress.
Let’s not forget the cars. Our vehicles are now packed with screens, sensors, voice commands and gadgets. Has the road toll dropped to zero? Not even close. All the technology in the world hasn’t stopped people from dying behind the wheel. Because once again, the issue isn’t the tools — it’s the people using them poorly.
Bank branches, post offices, and bookstores — disappearing fast. That’s not innovation; that’s erosion.
The personal touch, the social glue that held communities together, is fading because we’re being trained to swipe, click, and scroll instead of talk, visit, and think.
Meanwhile, scammers and hackers are having the time of their lives. Technology has opened the front door to every form of fraud and manipulation — and people are falling for it, daily. We’re told to be careful online, but the real danger is that we’re online all the time.
Geoff, you said life has deteriorated — and I agree.
Your generation had freedom, face-to-face connection, and exercise disguised as fun. Today’s kids sit to play, sit to learn, sit to live. It’s not just unhealthy — it’s unnatural.
So yes, the government is expanding its grip, but parents have already handed the keys to the tech companies.
The real fix? Put the screens down. Raise your own kids. Demand less from devices and more from each other.
Thanks again, Geoff.
You’re not just right — you’re one of the last voices of reason in a noisy, glowing world.
