Digital Detox Quality, Leisure, and the Right to Act
By Annie Matthews ‘93 9 Grade English Teacher th
F
ahrenheit 451 is a prescient science fiction novel by Ray Bradbury depicting a future in which books are illegal and the average citizen spends her days staring at wall-sized screens and wearing “seashell” earpieces as a passive consumer of a constant flow of vapid entertainment. One character describes how all information and entertainment has been diluted and shortened to soundbites and blurbs. A teenager in the book describes peers who only speak of their cars and their swimming pools, but don’t really say anything. When we studied this novel
Pioneer Connections
in my 9th grade English class this year, many of the students were quick to pick up on the reflections of our current society, and recognize themselves, in Bradbury’s 1950s depiction of the nottoo-distant future. “Ms. Matthews,” they said, “That character Mildred, she’s like us and our earbuds.” “Yes,” I agreed. “YES. But she’s not a very happy character, is she?” I presented them an article from KQED Science, Teen Happiness
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