Quality time or quality technology

For some time now, a reduction in ‘quality time’ between parents and children has been viewed as a deprivation – ‘quality time poverty’. A quick glance at the photograph may suggest that there is no ‘quality time deficit’ here – a young dad spending snatched time with his daughter. However, closer scrutiny reveals that the daughter is holding some sort of mobile device which is not only engaging her attention but also her dad (although his view is a mirror image of hers). Can the sharing of media delivered through mobile telephony be seen as quality time? Well, this depends on what is being viewed; is it educational or simply irrelevant entertainment? This is something that the photograph does not reveal and is therefore kept secret forever.