The Atlantic on Instagram: "In trying to capture so much of our kids’ lives, we risk missing out, Russell Shaw writes.⁠ ⁠ “Childhood is fleeting. This performance, this soccer game, this romp in the snow will never come again. So I understand the instinct to somehow capture it all, to pin it down like a butterfly,” Shaw writes. “Yet the more I see parents reflexively reaching for their phones, the more I come to believe that when we turn our kids into the subjects of our personal documentaries, we risk muting the richness of the very thing we’re trying to record. We also risk forfeiting an opportunity to really connect with our children.”⁠ ⁠ “Phones don’t just separate us from our children. They also isolate us from community, effectively making us alone together,” Shaw continues. “Eyes on our screens, we miss out on what is known as ‘collective effervescence,’ the elevated-heart-rate-and-goosebumps moments that come from shared experiences of suspense, awe, or joy. Think of the swelling of your heart at an exquisite harmony, the knowing glance from another parent in an instant of unintended comedy, or the fleeting eye contact with a child scanning the crowd for reassurance. These are the interactions in which meaning is made.”⁠ ⁠ “With their immersion in YouTube, TikTok, and Instagram, kids have become steeped in a culture in which visibility equals validation,” Shaw continues at the link in our bio. “Many parents have expressed concern about their children’s use of smartphones and particularly their reliance on social media, about the pressure kids feel to always be ‘on.’ If that is the case, and if they’d like to see their kids break the habit, a good first step is to model the alternative. We can show our kids how to be present in a moment—and then to let it go.”⁠ ⁠ 🎨: Matteo Giuseppe Pani / The Atlantic. Sources: Elyse Lewin / Getty; Archive Films / Getty."