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Technology Can Kill Pets
About 14 years ago I cycled to Salford to visit a pets centre and purchase a custom-made collar for a Labrador (or golden retriever) Rianne and I were planning to have (we almost bought one from a "puppy farmer" not too long afterwards). We generally both love animals and we're also not fans of "modern" technology, unlike some of the 1980s and 1990s "norms" in technology (the same goes for music and culture, not only computing). Quality matters, not "screen time"; the latter is an indicator of inefficiency.
We sometimes see idiotic "owners" of dogs who are too busy with technology (typically a gadget like a so-called 'smart' 'phone', not a music player with headphones). Yesterday at the park it wasn't just us but other people (dog owners) who were disturbed to see a dog running all over the place with a long (about 5 meters) leash trailing behind it, imperiling other people's pets and possibly putting that dog at risk of fatal suffocation (if or when the leash gets stuck somewhere, e.g. pipe, trunk, branch).
And sometimes you genuinely wonder if the busy "owner" even cares about the wellbeing of the dog more than that of the gadget.
There's nothing bad with technology per se (where it belongs an improves lives), but if you take out the dog just to play social control media games on a skinnerbox, then better not bother having a dog at all. The more addictive technology becomes (by design), the worse it'll get. People seem unable to set aside such so-called 'technology', even when they go to bed. █
Image source: Kitties