Franz Kafka on Teenagers and Screen Addiction
The author, Franz Kafka, known for his absurd books and short stories, like “The Metamorphosis” and The Trial, believed that life is absurd and had no meaning because it only ends, so the only thing that matters is what we do during our lives (Gordon, 1). If Kafka were alive and saw the excessive amount of time that teenagers waste on screens, he would see it as meaningless and would advocate for them to do something more productive with their time (Sutherland, 1). During his lifetime, Kafka suffered from many physical and emotional illnesses, and if he knew that teenagers addicted to screens could undergo such health ailments like his, he would want them to use screens prudently (“Kafka’s Life (1883-1924)”). He would see the alienation that screens create as damaging to their relationships because he also experienced that throughout his entire life. Additionally, he would blame the parents of the addicted teenagers for not taking care of that problem when they were younger, since he had family problems and would wish for others not to have those experiences (Stephens). Kafka would write Kafkaesque, or absurdist, stories to bring the problem to the light of the world and provoke people to take action.
Due to his many illnesses and medical conditions, Kafka had to stop writing and passed away when he was 40 years old. He would not want today’s teenagers to suffer through the conditions he had: “It is generally agreed that Kafka suffered from clinical depression and social anxiety throughout his entire life. He also suffered from migraines, insomnia, constipation, boils, and other ailments, all usually brought on by excessive stresses and strains” (Kafka’s Life (1883-1924)). Teenagers spend an average of seven and a half hours of leisure screen time, which exceeds the safe amount of two hours (Legner). Excessive use of screens causes many health deficits like depression (Mosley). Therefore, If Kafka knew that screens cause depression and physical health downsides, he would recommend today’s teenagers to use screens in a prudent way and to find hobbies and things that will help their health like writing, which was something he loved doing.
After tedious days of work, Kafka would write about the absurdities of life as a hobby (Franz Kafka). His most famous works showed the alienation that he felt throughout his life, since he could not have a normal life with a good relationship with his parents (Stephens). Therefore, Kafka would want parents to spend time with their teens to swap screen time with family time. He compared himself to the main character of “The Metamorphosis,” Gregor Samsa, “They were both abused and neglected by their fathers when they were disappointed with them. Kafka uses Gregor transforming into a bug as a way of exaggerating himself, trying to express his feelings and point of view” (Stephens). Addiction to screens alienates today’s teenagers and keeps them away from face-to-face social interactions (West, 133). Kafka felt alienated from the world and from healthy relationships with others; moreover, he was unknown during his lifetime because his works were released after he died. (Franz Kafka). Kafka would want parents to take advantage of face-to-face relationships with their teenagers to help them find something they love doing instead of being addicted to virtual friendships which just take them away from the real world.
Sadly, Kafka’s relationship with his dad, Herrman, was difficult since Kafka wanted to be a writer, but his father saw him as a failure and abused him. Kafka’s father only wanted him to be a businessman, but he did not think about his feelings or what he needed (Stephens). Kafka would want parents today to be different than his father, “Kafka’s father viewed Franz as a failure and
disapproved of his writing because he wanted Franz to become a business man like him. This obsession with wanting Franz to become a businessman led Herrman to beat his son” (Stephens). Likewise, some parents do not think about the consequences their teen’s addiction to screens can cause on their health, and they set a bad example to their children by using their phones instead of modeling healthy use of technology (Mosley). Due to his harsh childhood, Kafka would want today’s parents to understand that they need to help their children get through addiction because they cannot do it by themselves since their brains are developing (Supporting Your Child in Their Internet Use). Furthermore, Kafka would write an absurdist story about parents giving something dangerous to their children, which would represent parents giving screens to children when they are too young, which would then cause children to get addicted to screens (Supporting Your Child in Their Internet Use).
In his book, The Trial, Kafka wrote about Josef K., who was arrested for no apparent reason, which shows how he felt guilty even though he never did anything wrong (The Trial by Franz Kafka). Many of the fights that he had with his dad led to that feeling of guilt, “As he mentioned in a letter to his father, he has suffered from a sense of guilt, since he was a child, which is the result of his lack of self-confidence and he notes that this is his father who is responsible for these all…” (Farahmandian, 334). Studies show that the more parents use screens in a household the more teenagers have anxiety (West, 133). Some parents might think that taking away screens and placing the blame on their teenagers is the best way to stop addiction, but that really causes the opposite outcome (Supporting Your Child in Their Internet Use). Kafka’s father always fought him and slammed doors when they had any arguments, and as Kafka wrote in his diaries, those arguments caused anxiety for all his life (Stephens). Kafka would write about a world in which parents would always use phones, while their children seek their attention, and when they grown up, the children would be just like their parents.
As he wrote absurdist stories, Kafka would think that teenagers being addicted to screens is absurd because of its many downsides (Sutherland, 1). He expressed his feelings and showed the scars that life gave him through his characters, Josef K., and Gregor Samsa (Farahmandian, 334). Due to his rough family relationships and many health issues, Kafka would recommend teenagers to have hobbies, so that they do not only rely on using screens in their free time, since addiction to screens causes depression and social anxiety (West, 133). He would want teenagers to understand and take advantage of face-to-face interactions since he felt alienated from the world for most of his life (Stephens). Additionally, Kafka’s father abused him because he wanted to be a writer; thus. Kafka would want parents to care about their children and help them wait until they are mature enough to give them access to screens (Supporting Your Child in Their Internet Use). The fact that parents let their children become screen addicts would make Kafka write about the problem to show everyone how parents can affect their children with neglectful actions like giving them screens even when they are too young, and he would set himself as an example of what those actions can cause.
Works Cited
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