Modeling IRL
You are the most powerful force in your child's formation. Not the algorithm, not the influencer, not the phone. You.
One of the most countercultural, counter-algorithmic things you can do is model a life in which you choose the slower, richer option on purpose.
We need to put down the phone. Then …
Go into the bank. Go to the farmers’ market instead of Instacart, even once a month. Choose the line at the grocery store with a teen at the register. She might need your smile.
Learn the name of the person behind the counter at your dry cleaner. Ask the woman at the hardware store what she hopes to do this weekend.
When your kids are with you, narrate it. “I’m going to say hi to Frank; he’s been here since before you were born.”
Let them see you light up during a spontaneous conversation.
Let them see that a “wasted” ten minutes at a bank counter can produce a story worth telling at dinner.
You are teaching them what human life looks like. You are showing them what to reach for.
