Let’s say you are an anthropologist who last visited a primitive Amazon tribe in 2004. This year you went back for another visit. You discover that the men and women of the tribe are now spending an average of 50 minutes a day on an activity that didn’t even exist the last time you were there. You’d immediately start asking how this new activity affect tribal ties, leadership, gender relations, child rearing, perhaps even eating habits.
Facebook began in 2004. The average Facebook user now spends 50 minutes a day on Facebook, Instagram, and Messenger platforms.. That’s average, so some people must be on Facebook for many more minutes. To compare, people spend 17 minutes on sports or exercise. They also spend 19 minutes a day reading.
Going back to the Amazon, as you study the tribe and the effects of the minutes allocated to the new activity, you might find one of the wise elders who considers the whole thing a colossal waste of time and sits off by himself watching birds and writing poems.
I spent a couple minutes watching the birds while working in my vineyard. Also, I have a pair of Mallard ducks that have taken residence in my pond. They are fun to watch swimming around.
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