OPINION: Disconnection from the world brought other connection with family

As I write this Tuesday morning, much of Tennessee has been covered by a beautiful—if inconvenient—blanket of snow and ice for the past three days. Some areas were hit harder than others, with the southern part of the state taking the worst of it, it seems. Here at home in Camden, it hasn’t been too terrible, aside from not being able to get out of the house.

For most folks, the power has stayed on, thanks to utility crews working diligently to keep things running. We’ve been fortunate in that regard. Internet access, however, has been another story. That disruption has been eye-opening, especially in how reliant we’ve become on it for everyday conveniences.

Like most people my age, we cut the cord from cable years ago and rely on streaming services for entertainment. Beyond that, working from home slowed to a crawl with internet service out for most of Sunday and Monday. We had planned to livestream a devotional service Sunday morning, but lost our connection just as it was about to begin.

So we went back to basics.

Instead of a livestream, we had a family devotional at home—complete with singing and communion. It wasn’t what we had planned, but in hindsight, it may have been exactly what we needed.

The rest of the day unfolded in much the same way. We’re fortunate to have a piano and two girls who can play it beautifully, and I think that piano has gotten more use this week than it has in months. What is usually a solo activity turned into something communal. With no screens competing for attention, the other kids gathered around, singing nearly all the way through a couple of Disney music books. Some took some practice to get the piano and singing together, but the whole experience was fun to listen to. 

Then there was the reading. The older kids—those who can read well—spent more time with books than I’ve seen in a long while, while the younger ones gathered around Lena for read-aloud time.

They even wrote and rehearsed a play, complete with original music. Our 4-year-old, Benjamin, threw a wrinkle into the plot by insisting that he play the Hulk in an otherwise medieval-themed production.

All in all, it’s been a joy to watch. And it’s made me rethink how we engage with technology at home. How much creativity does it quietly displace? How much unstructured time together does it crowd out?

These aren’t questions we think about as often as we should. After this week, though, I suspect we’ll be taking a more intentional approach to our relationship with screens moving forward.

Daniel Richardson is the owner of Richardson Media Group and the publisher of The Jackson Post. Reach him at daniel@richardsonmediagroup.net.