Those of you who have a garden, whether vegetables or flowers, know what weeds are. I spend some time every week pulling vines out of our hydrangeas, hedges and other plants. Weeds are pesky and almost unrelenting. But it’s better that I pull out the weeds than put herbicides into the ground to kill them off – at the same time killing bees and other pollinators and slowly poisoning the ground.
Because kids today have grown up with digital all around them, they think differently than adults do about technology and media. Scrolling through social media and texting – even texting friends next door – constitutes authentic connection with their friends. Those of us who grew up when “connection” meant talking on a phone attached to a wall may scoff, but these are the times in which we live.