Texting on Ice

Last weekend when the family had gathered for Thanksgiving, my fourteen year old grandson spent a good part of the weekend texting his friends back home. However, when I took some of the grandkids ice-skating, the phone stayed in his pocket.

Today I took some grandkids ice-skating again, and honest, I saw a teen girl skating around the rink texting. I use the term skating loosely, because you really can't do any serious skating without watching where you are going...especially on a Sunday afternoon when the rink is crowded.

I informed the teen granddaughter who was with me, that if I saw her texting on the ice, I would disown her.

I actually think having such technology is wonderful for people who have something genuinely important going on in their lives. A doctor might be able to spend a few extra minutes with his/her family until receiving the message that a patient is prepped and ready for the OR. A business owner might be able to concentrate on some crucial project until informed that his signature is needed on an outgoing document. But, what goes on in the lives of most teenagers does not even come close to qualifying as "important" in my opinion. It is possible to live a fulfilled life without knowing that your friend has just found the cutest shoes on sale at the mall.

Evidently I am way too old to understand this phenomenon.