"Mr Smith, I think for the sake of your daughter's well-being, you should invest in a horse..."

Reading an article about the effects smartphones and social media have on us, I‘d say the science is confirming that uneasiness many of us have our ever-present screens.   "There's compelling evidence that the devices we've placed in young peoples' hands are having a profound effect on their lives - and making them seriously unhappy." (Have Smartphones Destroyed a Generation?" Dr Jean Twenge. The Atlantic.)

Study after study finds that the more time and teens spend looking at screens the more likely they are to report symptoms of depression and anxiety.  Teens who spend the most time in off-screen activities, especially with friends (the real, face-to face kind), report being the most happy. So, young riders, get to the barn! (and afterwards, sit on bale and yak with the other boarders.)

"In the next decade we may see adults who know just the right emoji for a situation but not the right facial expression".