“Technoference” refers to the interruptions in social interactions caused by new technologies. A notification, a text message or a call rings and we interrupt our conversation with a polite “hang on, sorry, I’ll only be a minute”, leaving the person we are talking to in the lurch, and breaking off a discussion that will be hard to pick up again afterwards.
Family moments are not spared. We interrupt a game, a conversation, a family meal at the prompting of our phone. This is known as “parental technoference”. Generally, we notice the problem when our children grow up and are able to tell us “Dad, come back, can we finish the game?” or “Mum, you said yes, but was it a real yes or were you not listening to me ?”. We then realise that, if we want to give our children a framework for their relationship with screens, we will have to work on our own relationship with our own screens…
Talks, articles, blogs… People are talking more and more about this “parental technoference”. But how do we make people reflect on this phenomenon without lecturing them ?
The company “Des fourmis dans la lanterne” chose to turn it into a show. Fiction that asks questions.
Through the puppet of a child out for a stroll in the park with their two parents (played by actors), the show “Cinq minutes avec toi” (Five minutes with you) shows a slice of life.
Arriving with the child on their shoulders, the trio’s joyful and festive mood is suddenly interrupted by a phone ringing, then a second… And of course it’s urgent ! So they “pass the baby” – literally ! – so as to be able to answer despite the family constraint. We figure the other parent can handle it, since ours is the important call ! But what do we do when everything becomes urgent ?
With few words but a lot of poetry and humour, the actors lead us to reflect on our own relationship with our screens, as parents, when we are with our children. This largely visual show does not claim to provide solutions, but to prompt reflection. The company wants to make use of “the magic of the puppet to reach the audience’s imagination and make them think while keeping a distance”. And indeed, discovering this family’s mishaps, we laugh often, while thinking “that really looks a lot like us!”. Mission accomplished!
With just a bench, a puppet and a bag, this open-air show perfectly illustrates the 3-6-9-12 idea : “Screens: learn to use them in order to learn to do without them” !
A clever and refreshing family moment not to be missed !
Information about their tour : http://desfourmisdanslalanterne.fr/
Hélène Blondel
