My book group discussed Mad Honey on Tuesday. Jodi Picoult is the master of nuance and boundary bending, refusing to let us get comfortable with our own prejudices. In Mad Honey, she lays bare the complexities of transsexuality. At one point, when an older trans woman is approached for advice, she comments that once you’ve met one trans person, you’ve met one trans person. The book is powerful and highly reccommended.

The line stuck with me as the group discussion unfolded. A new member of the group made an impassioned statement about how “we” are wasting our lives looking at screens. “We” could be visiting shut ins or doing other things. I couldn’t help but wondering if she included herself in that “we” but used that pronoun to make it seem less judgmental? I cannot say and do not wish to judge myself.

Here’s the more important thing for me: I don’t include myself in that “we”. Yes, I spend lots of time on screens and some of it includes surfing cat and dog videos as a break from the chaos. But I don’t worry so much. When I was younger, screen time was all about television, and there were efforts to curb viewing time. Somehow, my supposedly television-addicted peers and I grew up to become mostly productive citizens.

I did a quick inventory of what I do on my screens, primarily my phone but also my laptop, which I prefer when drafting blog posts, commenting on LibraryThing and accessing Canvas. I categorized the activities:

Digital Replaces Analog:

Digital access, especially through my library, has expanded the selection of materials available to me with the potential of connecting with a variety of perspectives.

• Books, magazines and newspapers
• Media
• Games: I am learning to play MahJongg
• Teaching: this is the BIG one for me and for many of my students, being able to teach and learn from home

Digital Supports Real Life:

• Recipes: I often have my phone propped up on my cookbook stand.
• Patterns and Tutorials: This is a big one for me as I crochet. Access to a wide variety of patterns along with video tutorials for complicated stitches has helped me hone my skills.
• Art Ideas and Tutorials: From bookbinding to collage to gel printing and more, I have made art of all kinds a priority in my life. Most of my scrolling and viewing involves watching tutorials and browsing examples.
• Communications: Being able to communicate with my family and friends via text has been wonderful. No more scheduling phone calls or worrying about long distance. If some of those texts include links to the German shopping cart return championships, so be it.

I am not trying to minimize issues related to phone addiction. There are always extremes. But when we assume that every person staring at the phone is wasting their time, we miss the nuance of the positive things digital devices can bring to our lives.

Many years ago, I was in charge of Turn Off the TV Week at my middle school, a movement that encouraged everyone to take a week off from watching what was often called the “boob tube.” The goal was to have families do things together besides just watch TV. My mother was not impressed. She felt like it was taking too much of an extreme approach. Depending on your choices, TV programs could be educational and discussion starters around potentially difficult topics. TV could be entertaining with a family laughing together on the couch. And, for those with limited mobility or community, TV could be their connection to the world. She saw the nuance.

Perhaps rather than suggesting that all screen time is wasted time, we can become more discerning about our use of time. Teach people both young and old how to use their screen time data to tease out how much is productive in some way versus how much is mindless scrolling. Instagram is my social media drug of choice, and I finally turned on the timer so I get 30 minutes a day. I occasionally extend the time as Instagram is also where many of my patterns and art ideas originate. In addition, announcements about upcoming events or challenges are posted there. I post some of my artwork with the community.

Again, there is nuance in how I use the tool. I recently read a draft AI policy for K-12 students that mentions developing the skill of discernment. I think this is the first time I have seen it used as a standard but it goes hand in hand with nuance. Maybe this IS simple: your device offers a wide varieties of experiences, and it is up to you to discern how to use it enrich rather than diminish your life. Everyone’s answer is going to be different. To paraphrase Jodi Picoult, when you’ve seen one person scrolling, you’ve seen one person scrolling.