Noise

Chapter 92050: A Parenting Odyssey

Life seemed much simpler back then.

There’s a sense of nostalgia when Emma and Liam recall what life was like when they were growing up 40 years ago. Both were born in 2010 and have fond memories of a much easier life in the decades after the new millennium.

Sitting around the family room one evening, they start to talk about how much life has changed for them. Their two teens, Stephanie and Devin, just roll their eyes and ignore them—some things haven’t changed.

The rare family conversation starts because Liam is trying, unsuccessfully, to get his daughter’s attention. She is doing homework with her global schoolmates in a virtual immersion classroom. She’s been stuck in there for hours.

After failing yet again to get his daughter to unplug and answer his quick question, Liam begins talking out loud. Nobody is listening, but he starts his rant, recalling how his life was so different from theirs. He hears himself sounding like his own parents but doesn’t stop his complaints about how tuned in his kids are and how much they’re tuning out everyone around them.

His wife Emma hears his complaining and decides to join in.

Technology Was Only a Mild Interrupter for Them

She starts remembering how her own parents would lecture her siblings back in 2025 on how much time they spent on their “smart” phones. She was barely a teen but it was part of their rant.

“Back then, my brothers and sisters were barely connected the way our kids are now. It was ...