I don’t envy the workload teachers deal with. They teach kids all day, grade papers all night, attend administrative meetings when they’re not teaching, constantly write new lesson plans, and deal with needy parents. I felt overwhelmed just typing all of that! Not to mention, they must manage and optimize productivity for the most distracted generation this planet has ever seen. I wouldn’t want to teach kids in any decade, let alone the one where school is the only place they don’t have access to instant gratification. 

I am really grateful I didn’t have access to a smartphone in elementary school. I still remember how my mom’s iPod touch pulled me in when I was 10, 11, and 12. I didn’t bring the iPod touch to school, but I played on it at home whenever I could. I played Angry Birds, Doodle Jump, and Yahtzee every chance I got, because that was much more engrossing to me than riding on my scooter or collecting bugs in a glass cup in the backyard. Those were the kinds of things I did in 3rd and 4th grade, but by 5th and 6th grade, I was busy watching Ray William Johnson and Smosh on YouTube. Charlie The Unicorn was way funnier than anything my sister was saying. 

Now that I’m an adult, I actually pay to do things that don’t involve my phone. I pay to play adult recreational dodgeball, which is something I got to do for free as a kid. I pay to go to a gym with instructors who lead a class, instead of going to a cheaper gym where my phone is my only companion. I have been an incredibly online person for my entire life, but I’m getting to the point where I’m kind of sick of it. I think the world outside my phone is far better than anything I do on it. After all, I don’t reminisce about a great day spent on my phone. I reminisce about great days spent with friends and family. 

As an older Gen Zer, I really can’t imagine what it’s like to be one of those kids who has never lived a life without their digital world. I didn’t really use the internet until I was around 10, and I think that was the perfect age to get into it. After all, all I did was play games on the American Girl website. These days, there aren’t really websites designed to engage kids’ minds. Every app is designed to keep us logged on as long as possible and use our brains as little as possible. That’s why I don’t envy teachers, who deal with kids who are temporarily in remission from TikTok in their classrooms every day. These kids will do anything to get their fix, and I really don’t know how teachers can fix what is wrong with child-rearing. All they can do is try their best and approach life with the sense of humor these teacher memes bring.