DMB Digest: Study Says Neurotic Parents Birth Anxious Children

Aka "What? You have a problem with the way I parent? Well, I have a problem with the way you look!"

We all know smartphones are dumbening humanity. (Yes, I know dumbening is not a word. Give me a break. I look at screens all day.) We also know the sky is always falling. Television would breed a pack of killer zombies. Rock and roll would lead to universal membership in the Satanic church. Bart Simpson would lead to children disrespecting their elders. And marijuanna is a gateway drug. (Ehem.)

But as it turns out, sometimes Chicken Little has a point. Now, I’m no scientician, but the evidence for the damaging effects of leaded gasoline on all us Generation Xers is pretty convincing. As any of you old enough will remember, there was a time when we combusted lead in all our gasoline and fumigated the earth with the exhaust. This lead exposure peaked in the late sixties and early seventies…around the time I was born.

Eggheads claim lead exposure has also been associated with lower impulse control and increased violence. They say it affects personality by making people less agreeable and more neurotic. Hmmmm. I say you shut up and stop looking at me! Oh, uh, sorry about that. I’m not sure what came over me.

Perhaps some of those pesky granolas and tree huggers back in the day knew what they were talking about. Or maybe they just got lucky. As they say, even a broken watch is right twice a day…unless it’s got a digital display…

Anywho, these days we’re fighting the uphill battle against the sweet teat of connectivity. Forget suckling at the boob tube. Today kids can do everything from shopping, to vegging, to streaming, to texting, to “DM-ing” (Not to be confused with “BM-ing.” They still have to get up for that.) directly from their own bed or desk or introverted cubicle. Will someone please think of the children!? (I know none of us adults are at risk in all this.)

So, here I am, the Gen-Xer parent of two teen boys. What the holy BLEEP is one to do? I mean, I’m barely tamping down my murderous lead-fueled rage right now. What? You looking at me? You looking at me? Sorry, again, I apologize.

Somehow, I think the solution has to center around creativity, problem solving, and critical thinking. Are my kids gonna be slave to the technology? Or are they gonna figure out how to make it serve them? Passive or active? What are they doing on the screen? How are they using their brains? Am I challenging them at any point throughout the day?

It’s all I can do to find some way to connect with these little punks even once a week. I can barely swim in the technological world they live in. But I can doggy paddle, and that’s good enough. If my kids want to play computer games via a handheld game console they build themselves using a Raspberry Pi, awesome. I’m down with it. Instead of just listening to music on Youtube can they upload their own original song creation to youtube? Instead of just wandering around in Minecraft (or watching someone else wandering around in Minecraft) how about they script a tutorial, screen capture it, and share it with others?

Tiktok? Sorry, it ain’t happening. As a psychotic, lead-laced Gen-Xer, I have to draw the line somewhere. (It has nothing to do with China, and everything to do with the diabolical nature of the algorithms.)

Can they at least use their computer to apply for a job out in the real world? Maybe use it to grow a skill? And as for the smartphone, just put it away. My sixteen year old just got his first. My thirteen year old has three more years to wait. I need them to learn how to function without it before they learn to function with it. In fifty years, will we look back at unfettered smartphone use in a similar light as leaded gasoline? Perhaps. Will the murderous tendencies of the parents be funneled into suicidal introspection for their children? Probably.

It’s the next generation’s burden to bear. If their parents can resist the urge to murder them, we’ll just have to do our best to help them navigate the path ahead. That’s a big if.

From the Desk of DMB

This week, I came back down off of last week’s high. I got some good writing done, but I’m back against the blank mystery of the unknown. I’m mostly discovery writing this novel. It just felt like the way to go about it, to be discovery the storyline at the same time the main character was trying to figure out life and the world. I mean, I’m trying to do the same thing. It’s scary. I’m trying to write about stuff I don’t understand. And the whole time, I just keep wondering if I should blow something up or shoot somebody. When in doubt, have a shoot out. That’s one of my guiding mantras when it comes to writing fiction. But it just doesn’t hold up for this story. So I have to go back. I have to do the work. What are these characters thinking? What would be important to them? What would they say? What would stand out? What do they know about life in this world? And what can that teach me?

If You Wish to Start Reading The Green Ones…

[Click here to start at the beginning.]

---

Thanks so much for taking the time to read these scenes of Boundaries, Season 2 of The Green Ones. I’ll be publishing FREE daily scenes from The Green Ones until…I die…or something terrible happens. Seriously, I’ve got over 100 scenes written so far, and I’ll be writing more until the story reaches its natural ending. You are totally welcome to read the entire story for FREE! If at any point you decide you would rather finish the story in ebook or print format, just click the buttons below and you can do that as well. If you enjoy reading the serial releases, BUT you would also like to support me as a writer (my kids need wine!) please subscribe to my premium content for bonus scenes, exclusives, and insider access to my process. And of course, I’d be grateful if you would share this post with any of your reader friends who you think would enjoy The Green Ones. Happy reading!