What did we do in the car before everyone had a screen?
We talked.
We argued.
We played games.
We looked out the window.
We asked, "Are we there yet?"
We got bored.
And sometimes, because there was nothing else to do, a conversation happened.
I am not trying to romanticize every car ride from the past.
Plenty of them were long.
Plenty were noisy.
And I am fairly certain parents were not universally delighted by children asking how much longer until they arrived.
But I do wonder whether something has changed.
Filling Every Empty Moment
A phone gives us the ability to fill almost every empty moment.
Waiting in line.
Sitting in a waiting room.
Standing in an elevator.
Driving as a passenger.
Sitting in the back seat.
There is almost never a requirement to simply be bored anymore.
And I think boredom gets a bad reputation.
Sometimes boredom is what happens immediately before a thought.
Or a question.
Or a conversation.
The Phone Is Useful
I want to be very clear about something.
I do not think phones are bad.
I use mine constantly.
A phone can provide directions, music, emergency communication, traffic information, and an extraordinary number of useful tools during a trip.
The question is not whether phones belong in a car.
The question is whether every quiet moment in the car has to be filled by looking at one.
More Conversation. Less Scrolling.
The image that accompanies this post says:
"More Conversation. Less Scrolling."
I like that phrase because it does not say "No Phones."
It does not say every road trip must be screen-free.
It simply asks whether there might be value in occasionally choosing conversation instead.
Perhaps the phone goes away for thirty minutes.
Perhaps it stays in a bag.
Perhaps it goes into a pouch.
The specific method is less important than the choice.
For the next little while, we are going to see what happens when the empty space remains empty.
Maybe nothing happens.
Maybe everyone gets bored.
Or maybe someone starts talking.