Douglas Adams, author of The Hitchhiker’s Guide to the Galaxy (don’t forget your towel) wrote in The Salmon of Doubt that

“I’ve come up with a set of rules that describe our reactions to technologies:
1. Anything that is in the world when you’re born is normal and ordinary and is just a natural part of the way the world works.
2. Anything that’s invented between when you’re fifteen and thirty-five is new and exciting and revolutionary and you can probably get a career in it.
3. Anything invented after you’re thirty-five is against the natural order of things.”

Something to keep in mind as we assess the research on the pros and cons of tech distractions.

and here’s another quote from the Salmon of Doubt, to remind us to keep an open mind when our opinions bump up against research evidence. And to keep a skeptical mind about the research evidence, too:

“All opinions are not equal. Some are a very great deal more robust, sophisticated and well supported in logic and argument than others.”
(Douglas Adams, The Salmon of Doubt)