In November 2015, a young mom from California did something so simple yet so touching.
Brandie Wood, mom of twin boys Blaine and Rylie, decided to carry out a small experiment in her own home and revealed a sad but accurate truth about how technology has taken over so many family’s lives.
Like many of us, Brandie used to post pictures of herself and her family on social media. She decided to share her experiment on Facebook and the post spread like wildfire.
“Today I did an experiment, I watched my boys play,” Brandie wrote in the post. “As I sat quietly in the corner of the room I tallied how many times they looked at me for various reasons: to see if I saw their cool tricks, to seek approval or disapproval for what they were doing, and to watch my reactions.”
Scroll down to find out what Brandie discovered.
The digital age
It seems we have entered a modern and digital era which has given our kids such easy access to all types of new technology. Children and teenagers have become so attached to their gadgets and phones that they often lose focus on the more important parts of life and learning.
But it’s not only kids — many parents have become addicted to their phones and computers.
Social experiment
This prompted Californian mom Brandie Wood to test a simple experiment from her home. Afterwards, she shared her eye-opening results on Facebook.
Here’s what she wrote:
“Today I did an experiment, I watched my boys play. As I sat quietly in the corner of the room I tallied how many times they looked at me for various reasons: to see if I saw their cool tricks, to seek approval or disapproval for what they were doing, and to watch my reactions.
I couldn’t help but wonder if I was on some sort of technology what message would I have been sending?
28 times my angels would have wondered if the World Wide Web was more important than them. 28 times my boys would have not received the attention most adults are searching for.
28 times my loves would have questioned if they were alone emotionally. 28 times my kids would have been reassured that who you are online is what really matters.
In a world where we are accepted as who people perceive us to be and not who we really are, in a world where validation comes from how many followers or likes we have, in a world where quality time with loved ones is being replaced by isolation and text messages from the other room, I beg you to be different.
Please put down your technology and spend some time with your family and loved ones.
The next generation of children is counting on us to teach them how to be adults, don’t be too busy on social media, you never know who is watching and what message you are sending.”
Brandie’s powerful message was shared over 70,000 times.
The success of the post and its message was praised worldwide and this was said to have made this clever mom very happy.
“We as a people have the power to change things,” Brandie said.
“Just being aware will help tremendously,” Brandie told The Huffington Post.
“I am guilty of being connected to my phone as well,” the mom of twins added. “This experience has completely humbled me to be more present.”
Brandie’s message serves as a powerful reminder that we should put our phones down and spend more time with the ones we love.
If you also think that more people should become better at this — PLEASE CONSIDER SHARING!
