People today: More "connected" than ever and dumb as rocks...

observations while at work.

I worked Friday and Saturday last week, and Saturday this week.  Handing out samples at a grocery store gives me ample opportunity to engage with many people of all ages.  Since I work directly for the store and not some demo company, I have, over the past few years, built a less superficial relationship with the people I serve.  I provide cooking tips, marriage counseling (really), listen to their woes and heartaches, and certainly have a good grasp on their political views (almost 100% conservative.)

Last Friday (March 6th) turned into what we at the store call food stamp day.  Most people in Idaho still have their EBT cards filled up on the first of the month, overburdening the stores with hoards of people.  Idaho is in the process of staggering the days to avoid this problem, but I saw no signs of that on March 6th.
 
Let's take a moment to first look at the food stamp people.  Certainly there are some people receiving food stamps who, through no fault of their own, have fallen on temporary hard times.  Temporary being the operative word.  I do not begrudge them the help they receive through food stamps.  However, the vast majority are frankly just gaming the system. 

The most striking observation is that just about all of these people have multiple multi-color tattoos and wander about with top-of-the-line smart phones, both of which cost a lot of money.   They're "connected" to the world-wide web 24/7 and yet, if questioned, they are absolutely ignorant of anything that is going on in the world.  I had one who was confused about who Biden was, and had to be reminded that he was the vice-president of the United States.  Huh?

Most of these people are fat - not just a bit fluffy, but hugely, dangerously obese, and yet I see no vegetables in their cart.  I do see beer (lots of beer which they can afford since we're providing their food), chips, corn dogs, and ice cream, all of which are way more expensive than good wholesome food - you know, the kind you may actually have to prepare.

Now let's contrast that with yesterday.  It was raining, so all the people who would have otherwise been working on projects in their yard came to the store.  Most were older.  Most were not what the average young person today would consider "connected."  While having a conversation with one lovely gentleman, who was in his upper 60's, he showed me his flip phone and was darn proud of it.  He was online at home, but as he said, "I only use my computer to look up things."  I took that to mean he didn't play useless games.  Yet this man knew more about world events than the average MSM news commentator. 

These people do not wander about staring at a phone.  And their carts of full of wholesome food that will take a bit of preparation.  They most assuredly don't eat corn dogs. 

So what's my point?  Does staring at a phone, which is becoming a reprehensible sight in my opinion, lead to food stamp usage?  Uh, no.  Does staring at a phone cause you to become dumb?  Probably.

The real point here is I have no point other than the sight of the majority of young people staring at phones is sad and ugly, and most food stamp recipients are gaming the system while staring at their smart phone - or something.

Think on these things.