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About The Siuslaw news. (Florence, Lane County, Or.) 1960-current | View Entire Issue (Sept. 28, 2019)
10A | SATURDAY, SEPTEMBER 28, 2019 | SIUSLAW NEWS of the room. It makes a huge impact. Your kids notice.” But don’t ban the phone entirely, even for children. During dinner, Robinson’s family has some specific rules. When the menu is out, no phone. When the waitress is there, when the food is in front, no phone. But after the meal and the parents are just chatting? “Realistically, the kids weren’t interested in what we had to say,” he said. “So we let them use their phones.” He stressed that everyone is different, and some peo- ple’s rules change. But the point is, to think about these issues discuss them with chil- dren. “A lot of the conversations I’ve been having, people say, ‘It’s kind of like talking about the birds and the bees,’” he said. “It’s that tough conver- sation we have to have with our kids, that we’re not quite sure how to have. But tech- nology touches everyone, ev- erywhere.” And sometimes, that tech- nology can be a positive force in a child’s life. DIGITAL from page 9A “What’s the last thing you do before you go to bed? Check your phone one last time,” he said. And then there’s every glance in between. “Most parents’ concern is that kids are using their phones in their rooms before they’re going to bed. Where do you think they picked that up?” he asked. And then there’s what the parents, grandparents and great-grandparents are actu- ally writing online through- out the day. “When was the last time you read your own posts?” Robinson asked. “What if your kids read that comment. What would they think about it? We have to model the be- havior we want our children to follow.” Robinson ended up taking Facebook off his phone for 30 days, just to break the habit. “I didn’t miss it. At all,” he reported. After the 30-day period, he put it back on his phone, but found it had lost its importance. “I’ve learned to live without it, and I’m more present with both of my kids. I learned that almost immediately. The time I was spending on Face- book, I was not interacting with my son and daughter.” Parents should just learn to put their phones down once in a while, Robinson encour- aged. “That’s a huge thing. Put them out of your vision, out SCREEN TIME “Screen time is a dou- ble-edged sword,” Robinson said. “In the early conversa- tions about screen time, it was ‘Give your kids 15 min- utes and then they’re done.’ Take the screen away, put it in a lockbox. They can’t see it again until a 24-hour period.” But as online information has become more ubiquitous, so have the demands of on- line. “The school district my kids go to, every kid gets an iPad. They do all their work on it. If I said, ‘You only have an hour to do your home- work,’ it might not work,” Robinson said. In an online world, Rob- inson’s posited that the ques- tion shouldn’t be how much time a person is spending online, but what they’re do- ing on it. “Not all screen time is cre- ated equal. Are they being content creators, or are they being content consumers?” he asked. There’s of course scroll- ing through endless hours of mindless content, YouTube rabbit holes and never-end- ing lists on what celebrities look like without makeup. “If all they’re doing is scrolling, that’s not necessari- ly a bad thing for a short time. But if they’re creating while they’re on their screen, that’s a good thing,” he suggested. Robinson brought up an example of his son, who had been using an online music creator. For hours he would create a sound, bit by bit, with small soundbites creating a full-length song. “If my son was on the screen for two hours not do- ing anything, then we needed to have a conversation. But he came out and said, ‘Look what I did!’ That’s great! I support that. That’s like me sitting at a piano and spend- ing two hours trying to learn the Jeopardy theme song, driving my parents insane.” The technology may have changed, but the instincts have remained the same. Whether it be creating art or music or researching the next great novel published on a blog, technology is just a tool to perform the same tasks parents did when they were children. “It’s generational,” Robin- son said in an interview after the discussion. “When our parents were kids, it was El- vis shaking his hips. That was the worst thing that kids were going to do.” Siuslaw Elementary School Principal Mike Harklerode, who was speaking with Rob- inson afterward, agreed. “In the ‘40s it was a pool- hall, in the ‘50s it was comic books, in the ‘60s it was rock and roll, ‘70s it was heavy metal, ‘80s it was rap and ‘90s it was home video games,” he said. “This is just the new thing that the current gener- ation in power is shocked by because we don’t get it. Be- cause it’s not geared toward us.” “Sex, drugs and social me- dia,” Robinson joked. Online pornography is an issue for many parents, but in Harklerode’s experience with his own children, kids know what’s right and wrong. “They will self-report,” he said. “‘Hey dad, this came up on my screen.’” There are more dangers in a connected world — actions can be more consequential, Oregon author to talk about ‘The Station Master’s Wife’ on Sunday Author Sue DeMarinis will chat about her new novel, “The Station Master’s Wife: A Scandalous Life Exposed,” on Sunday, Sept. 29, at 1 p.m. in the Bromley Room at the Siuslaw Public Library, 1460 Ninth St. in Florence. De- Marinis will be on hand to talk about this newly released novel which is set in Oregon and includes scenes in the Florence and Coos Bay areas. “The Station Master’s & shoppe play buy stay Wife,” DeMarinis’ second novel, is historical fiction based on facts the author uncovered when researching the history of the family who built the 1886 Victorian home in Ashland, Ore., which she owns and has had listed on the National Historic Reg- ister. During her research into the history of the house, Demarinis uncovered more than the names of the fami- ly. The book spans the 1800s through the 1920s, revealing various scandals that take place against the backdrop of historic events. The first station master at Ashland’s train station arrived in 1884, the same year as the railroad. Soon after his arriv- al, he married the daughter of a local pioneer family from Jacksonville. And soon after the mar- riage scandals began to sur- face. Support By Supporting Florence Regional Arts Alliance 120 Maple Street Florence, Oregon 97439 541-999-0859 AUTOMOTIVE Hoberg’s Complete Auto Repair 345 Hwy. 101 Florence, Oregon 97439 541-997-2413 Petersen Auto Detailing Florence, Oregon, 97439 541-999-6078 Florence Area Chamber of Commerce 290 Hwy 101 Florence, Oregon 97439 541-997-3128 www.florencechamber.com CHARITABLE GIVING Salvation Army - Western Lane County PO Box 1041 Florence Or 97439 1-800-481-3280 CHURCH Cross Road Assembly of God 1380 10th St Florence, Oregon 97439 541-997-3533 Florence Church of Christ 1833 Tamarack St. Florence, Oregon 97439 541-997-3133 DENTURIST Denture Services 524 Laurel Street Florence, Oregon 97439 541-997-6054 ESTATE SALES Cindy Wobbe Estate Sales 498 Hwy. 101 Florence OR 97439 541-999-0126 www.CindyWobbeEstates.com EVENT CENTER Florence Events Center 715 Quince Street Florence, Oregon 97439 541-997-1994 FINANCIAL SERVICES CHAMBER content than technology. I think everyone is always shocked by what the younger kids are doing.” “We raised them,” Robin- son added. “But I don’t think the urge to seek individuality and community is different,” Har- klerode said. “They’re not re- jecting what we’re instilling. It’s just parallel to what we’re trying to do.” Get Results...List With Mike. Mike Blankenship Broker 541 991-7826 10818 Hwy 36 – Large com- mercial building on two city lots at the junction of Hwy 36 and 126 in Mapleton, a high traffi c area. Metal building with high open beam ceiling, 3 phase power on one meter. Check with Lane County for zoning uses. Property is being sold “as is”. $50,000. #2802-18047518 1749 Highway 101 • 541-997-1200 We’ve got you COVERED business • homeowners • auto • life • health • medicare plans A SK US ABOUT M ULTIPLE P OLICY D ISCOUNTS ! COVERAGE FOR YOUR MOST PRECIOUS ASSET. YOU. Contact Angela, Jodi or Paul to discuss your policy needs. Serving Florence since 1990 875 Hwy 101 • Florence, OR • (541) 997-3466 www.AbelInsuranceAgency.com Your Community Keep it local. ART ALLIANCE The 1884 arrival of the transcontinental railroad changed lives in the once isolated town of Ashland in Southern Oregon. Along with the transformation of the town, the novel follows changes the station mas- ter’s wife experiences, more changes than she ever could have imagined. The novel reveals scandal- ous secrets mixed with actual historic events. people have become more disconnected, and “I think the media we can get into is different,” Robinson said. “I think the world is different. “But the kids aren’t different.” Harklerode added, “And the impulses aren’t different. I think the gap between their knowledge and our knowl- edge is the same between me and rap music and my dad and rap music. That’s more Edward Jones-Andy Baber, AAMS Financial Advisor 1010 Highway 101 541-997-8755 Oregon Pacific Bank 1355 Highway 101 Florence, Oregon 97439 541-997-7121 www.opbc.com FUNERAL CHAPEL Burns’s Riverside Chapel 2765 Kingwood St. Florence, Oregon 97439 541-997-3416 Dunes Memorial Chapel 2300 Frontage Road Reedsport, Oregon 97467 541-271-2822 GARBAGE & RECYCLING County Transfer & Recycling 85040 Hwy. 101 Florence, Oregon 97439 541-997-8233 HEATING/SHEET METAL Florence Heating & Sheet Metal 1645 Kingwood St 541-997-2422 Local Businesses HUMANE SOCIETY Oregon Coast Humane Society 541-997-4277 Shelter 2840 Rhododendron Dr. Thrift Store 1193 Bay St. INSURANCE Abel Insurance Agency 875 Hwy 101 Florence, OR 97439 541-997-3466 www.abelinsuranceagency.com NEWSPAPERS Siuslaw News 148 Maple Street Florence, Oregon 97439 541-997-3441 www.thesiuslawnews.com PEST CONTROL Swanson’s Pest Management 1550 15th St #14 Florence, Oregon 97439 541-997-4027 PET GROOMING/BOARDING Aloha Pet Grooming 1751 12th Street Florence, Oregon 97439 541-997-2726 REAL ESTATE www.shoppelocal.biz REC. VEHICLES SERV. & REPAIR Florence RV & Automotive Specialists 4390 Hwy 101 Florence, Oregon 97439 541-997-8287 www.FlorenceRV.com RESTAURANT 1285 Restobar 1285 Bay St, Florence, Oregon 97439 (541) 902-8338 RETIREMENT LIVING The Shorewood 1451 Spruce St. Florence, Oregon 97439 (541) 997-8202 shorewoodsl.com SEAFOOD Krab Kettle 270 Hwy 101 Florence, Oregon 97439 541-997-8996 SEPTIC SERVICE Wally’s Septic Tank Pumping Inc. 541-997-8885 TIRES Les Schwab Tire Center 4325 Highway 101 Florence, Oregon, 97439 (541) 997-7178 Coldwell Banker Coast Real Estate Lynnette Wikstrom, Broker 100 Hwy 101 Florence, Oregon 97439 541-999-0786 West Coast Real Estate Services, Inc. 1870 Hwy. 126, Suite A Florence, Oregon 97439 541-997-SOLD (7653) Deadline for Press Releases is every Monday and Thursday by noon. Email PressReleases@TheSiuslawNews.com. Visit us on the web at TheSiuslawNews.com
