Sawyer and His Phone

I've always used the saying "absorb like a sponge" to describe what I wish would happen to my brain as I sat in class or skimmed through my textbook. Now I want to use it to describe what I see around me. As I am studying the media this semester I am going to focus on how I see people around me absorbing all that the media has to offer.

My sister's son, Sawyer, will be turning 4 in June. I have watched this cute little guy grow, and I have recently noticed how much he picks up from his surroundings. I was over visiting my sister and her family a few days ago, and Sawyer was very attached to my sister's old phone. He was scrolling through old pictures and dialing numbers and he started laughing! Between spurts of laughter he would say things like "that message was so funny" and I just got a funny picture of you, Aunt Rae!" It was THE cutest thing I had seen. He was also saying how he had to "finish texting". He was basically saying all the things we say around him. It made me realize what a big part media plays in our lives, and what an even bigger part it will play in the lives of our children and future children. The media is all around us, and it is up to us to make that exposure a good thing or a bad thing.