Babies Want Attention We Want Internet

Little boy playing alone. Dad is busy on phone.

I envy babies because they don’t have prior experience that is required for most jobs. They smile because of current experience. They clap with their mini-hands when they enjoy food. They crawl to the door at amazing speed when they hear the door bell.

They smile when they see uncle’s or grandmother’s familiar face. They smile when they see visiting older cousins. They instantly forget parents because they don’t know the word privacy. To them, the more the merrier. During weddings and holidays, it’s always amusing to see mothers looking for their babies. They know they are in someone’s arms somewhere around the house.

But most of the time, a baby’s smile irritates us because it is time consuming. It is a ringtone, knock knock who’s there? The baby wants us to take the call, to respond to the smile.

We cannot, because time is money. We’re late for work or fun. We have to scrape the windscreen after heavy overnight snow. We want to leave early to beat the traffic. We have an appointment with the bank. We need a car or home loan.

But most of all, we want to check our phones, to see smiles of strangers we call friends and lovers. Irritation free smiles.

By: Nonqaba waka Msimang.