EverQuest

> Gijsbert van der Wal’s famous 2014 photograph of Dutch teenagers ignoring a Rembrandt masterpiece in favor of staring at their phones has become for many psychologists, social theorists, and concerned ordinary folks a portrait of our current Age of Digital Addiction in a nutshell.

While a great photo, to me it looks like the kids are just doing some kind of school / field trip assignment.

It could be anything, but it resonates with people for a very good reason. Many people feel the negatives of technology and social media and miss the time before it. I know how sentiment will skew here, and I know it's easy to take for granted the advantages of having a fully capable pocket computer. But I also understand what we have given up for it.

A similar example I've seen is a photo of a British railway carriage full of commuters staring glumly at their phones.

It makes me laugh because we all just used to stare glumly at our newspapers! It's not like we were discussing philosophy or something...