We are having a hard time getting back to a normal tech-life balance in our house. Screens have been such an exaggerated part of our lives for a long time now. With lockdowns and things being closed and playdates so infrequent, as well as digital school for a while, we've let technology like video games and Netflix take a larger role in our daily life than we normally would have. Everyone has just gotten used to that as the default entertainment option. It can be hard to even remember what we did all day during the summer before the pandemic. We are working on breaking bad habits like binge watching and cycling from 1 screen to another, but the number of hours we all find ourselves using tech is still pretty high. Especially on a rainy day like today.
July 15, 2021
Honestly, this question is difficult to answer. I tend to critically analyze what the close relatives around me say, given that I often hear strongly biased views-my grandma especially is very socially conservative and does not support abortion. Because of this, she automatically aligns with conservative economic policy (even though she often complains about big business, globalization, etc. which are typically the result of conservative policy.) While I agree with some of what she says, her lack of critical analysis and tendency to jump to conclusions means I do not usually listen to her completely. My aunt is also a huge conspiracy theorist about things like ANTIFA. She also believes that food allergies are made up and that wearing seatbelts does more harm then good. So, I would say I do not really trust what my close family says politically. This is honestly difficult for me, because I am also a follower of Jesus (as they are) and am often confused by how politicized certain topics involving religion are. I also do not tend to use the news as much, because I know that pretty much every site has some sort of bias. If I do, I'll probably use the NYT or Washington Post. I also tend to rely on academic literature, but that can be limiting given the long process of peer review.
August 30, 2020