Sir, – As ever, Joe Humphreys writes insightfully about “tech addiction” and “the so-called anxiety epidemic of modern times” (“Smartphones are an easy scapegoat for so much more”, Unthinkable, Opinion & Analysis, January 6th). Each generation believes that its problems are unique, but we have always blamed technology for our anxiety.
In 1962, in Memories, Dreams, Reflections, Carl Jung wrote that “reforms by advances, that is, by new methods or gadgets, are of course impressive at first, but in the long run they are dubious and in any case dearly paid for. They by no means increase the contentment or happiness of people on the whole. Mostly, they are deceptive sweetenings of existence, like speedier communications which unpleasantly accelerate the tempo of life and leave us with less time than ever before.” – Yours, etc,
BRENDAN KELLY,
Professor of Psychiatry,
GAA live updates: Four red cards as 14-man Tipperary beat 12-man Kilkenny
Why do so few of us want to go to the cinema these days?
The Velveteen Rabbit, reimagined: ‘I had to think what would persuade me to go to a children’s play and enjoy it’
Government is now a property octopus with tentacles everywhere
Trinity College Dublin,
Dublin 2.
