Cell-phone scatter-brains

"We were celebrating summer freedom from school," writes a parent and psychology professor commenting in the Christian Science Monitor. "The kids rode waves for hours, skim-boarded on the beach, played football, and hiked the rock cliffs to watch the sunset. Another mom and I organized a cookout just after dark. What could be better? Well, apparently something could be. Our trip was constantly punctuated by outgoing cellphone calls. At all times, at least one of the 10 boys was on his cellphone.... The boys were calling friends elsewhere just to see 'what's happening'." It's happening in schools too. The New York Times calls it "gadget distraction" in an article about how teachers are dealing with kids' gadget multitasking in school, where creative teachers are fighting tech with tech (or distraction with distraction). For example, teacher-designed computer games, threats of reboots (students lose their work if they drift off into IM-ing), online work groups, stealth (classroom monitors walking around, looking at students' screens), network management (taking over kids' computers whenever needed), and creative seating configuration. But back on the beach, a thoughtful mom's observation about digital multitasking gives pause to fellow parents: "The appearance of obsessive busyness seems ironically linked to ultimate emptiness."