Skip to main content

TLDR

 Meagan Piantanida - My Discovery Destination!

This will not come as a shock to most of you, but we are living in a world of instant gratification. We want what we want, and we want it five minutes ago: food, entertainment, and even a cure for the sniffles. Then there are answers to any of the questions we have. We want our information NOW. 

Because information is available at our fingertips–literally, because not a single one of us ever puts down our mini-computer, also known as a phone–the answer to any query we have is utterly, completely, and directly in our hands. 

While having the world available at the touch of a screen is an awesome thing, this age of cyberspace resources has created a planet full of some very impatient people. We have SO MUCH data right in front of us that many of us experience information overload. Does this sound familiar to you? You enable the recorder on your phone, ask Google or Siri a question, click on one of the provided links, pull up some text on the internet that will allow you to read and discover the answer you desire, and do absolutely…NOTHING. 

Why? TLDR. 

What? Acronymically speaking, it means “too long, didn’t read.” You can ask a Generation Z’er what it is, and they’ll probably laugh because they are quite familiar with the process of TLDR. 

In honor of Doctor Seuss, the month of March is designated as National Reading Month. We are encouraging each and every smartphone owner (as well as everyone else) to be proactive in a collective effort to combat the awful disease of TLDR. Put down your phone. (But before you do, take the March reading challenge with Wattson! by joining the “*Oh! The Places You'll Go!-2023” Discovery Hunt on the Goosechase app. Search with the game code “SEUSS”, OR “SEUSS2” for Spanish.) Read a book–a paper one, if you’ve got one. Read aloud for 20 minutes to important people in your life. Discuss together what you’re reading. Grab for yourself the benefits that reading can bring. Don’t let the love of reading and books themselves become long lost relics of the TLDR era.

Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

Focus on New Beginnings

by Meagan Waite, Assistant Director - My Discovery Destination! With the enchantment of the holidays in the rear view mirror, many of us are looking through the windshield at a new year. We make resolutions and even keep some of them. Sadly, many of them fall by the wayside within a few months, weeks, or even days. I’ve already eaten some of the chocolate I got for Christmas–I guess I should have finished it off by New Year’s Eve. The best way to tackle those good intentions that come with a new year is in baby steps. If one of your new goals is to spend more quality time with your family and to be an interactive, intentional parent, My Discovery Destination! and the Discovery Family Coalition have got you covered. My Discovery Destination! makes interactive, intentional parenting easy.  The Discovery Family Adventures are chock-full of free, flexible, fun activities that help parents really connect with their children and do it with a purpose. While some are more involved, even lo...
Post a Comment
Read more

Grateful for a Good Time

by Meagan Waite, Assistant Director - My Discovery Destination! I don’t know about you, but I am a little overwhelmed that we’re staring down the barrel at the 2021 Holiday season. I love everything about Thanksgiving...turkey dinner with all the trimmings, bringing family in from out-of-town (or traveling to see family on one of the coasts), even football. I don’t even mind all the work that goes into prep and cleanup. Okay, I’m not crazy about pumpkin pie. But, give me a piece of the pecan variety, and I’m good to go!  While this year seems a little more “normal” than last year did, I am afraid it won’t be “business as usual” for many families–mine included. My youngest daughter and son-in-law are a navy family and won’t make it this year. My parents and three siblings are spread over four different states. Like many of you, we will have to settle for a “virtual” Thanksgiving this year–AGAIN. It’s a good thing I have a backup plan. Allow me to share that with you. So, maybe you c...
Post a Comment
Read more

Fall into Family

by Meagan Waite, Assistant Director - My Discovery Destination! While I am a warm-weather individual at heart, I do love autumn. The temperatures are no longer stifling (although it sure seems to cool off FAST in the Rocky Mountain West), fall sports return (L.O.V.E. to play volleyball and watch football!), and there are lots of activities to get families geared up for the end of the year (where did 2021 go?!?).  The list of fall activities and responsibilities can be quite overwhelming. The desire to bond as a family can get lost in the never-ending catalog of time-worthy pursuits. Active, concerned parents might ask themselves, “How do we make time for what is most important when we have so many good tasks tugging at our attention?”  What is the answer? In this case, the answer is ‘if you can’t beat them, join them’. So, how about intentionally combining efforts? The “how” is even easier.  The Discovery Family Coalition is proud to bring you two virtual Discovery Hunts ...
Post a Comment
Read more