--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: You willingly tie yourself to these…" description: "\"“You willingly tie yourself to these leashes. And you willingly become utterly socially autistic. You no longer pick up on basic human communication cl..." image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/0a9/dave-eggers-638_autistic_you-willingly-tie-yourself-to-these-leas_1881019.jpg" --- # You willingly tie yourself to these leashes. And you… ![“You willingly tie yourself to these leashes. And you willingly become utterly socially autistic. You no longer pick up on basic human communication clues. You’re at a table with three humans, all of whom are looking at you and trying to talk to you, and you’re staring at a screen,” quote by Dave Eggers](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/0a9/dave-eggers-638_autistic_you-willingly-tie-yourself-to-these-leas_1881019.jpg) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/0a9/dave-eggers-638_autistic_you-willingly-tie-yourself-to-these-leas_1881019.jpg) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/0a9/dave-eggers-638_autistic_you-willingly-tie-yourself-to-these-leas_1881019.jpg) > ““You willingly tie yourself to these leashes. And you willingly become utterly socially autistic. You no longer pick up on basic human communication clues. You’re at a table with three humans, all of whom are looking at you and trying to talk to you, and you’re staring at a screen,”” [Dave Eggers](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/dave-eggers/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. Relying on screens isolates us socially, even in group settings. **In simple terms:** Screen focus hinders real interaction. Key Takeaway Limit device use to engage with people. Themes technology social isolation communication Mood critical thoughtful Type observational educational When to use this quote - family dinner - team meetings - classrooms Key Concepts psychology media studies Questions to Reflect On - How often do you notice screen distraction? - What alternatives foster genuine conversation? A Different Perspective Screen addiction can be hard to break. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Autistic](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/autistic/) [Communication](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/communication/) ## Related quotes > [No one’s forcing you to do this. You willingly tie yourself to these leashes. And you willingly become utterly socially autistic. You no longer…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/dave-eggers/no-one-s-forcing-you-to-do-this-you-willingly-tie-yourself-to-these/) [Dave Eggers](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/dave-eggers/) > [“Here though, there are no oppressors. No one's forcing you to do this. You willingly tie yourself to these leashes. And you willingly become…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/dave-eggers/here-though-there-are-no-oppressors-no-one-s-forcing-you-to-do-this/) [Dave Eggers](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/dave-eggers/) > [Nobel prize-calibre geniuses often have certain core autistic features at their heart.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/allan-snyder/nobel-prize-calibre-geniuses-often-have-certain-core-autistic/) Allan Snyder > [Normal people have an incredible lack of empathy. They have good emotional empathy, but they don't have much empathy for the autistic kid who…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/temple-grandin/normal-people-have-an-incredible-lack-of-empathy-they-have-good/) [Temple Grandin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/temple-grandin/) > [For a seriously autistic kid, the best prognosis might be getting into a mainstream school without being too much of a shadow. For a…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jenny-mccarthy/for-a-seriously-autistic-kid-the-best-prognosis-might-be-getting-into/) [Jenny McCarthy](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jenny-mccarthy/) > [Looking ahead, future generations may learn their social skills from robots in the first place. The cute yellow Keepon robot from Carnegie Mellon University…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/daniel-h-wilson/looking-ahead-future-generations-may-learn-their-social-skills-from/) [Daniel H. Wilson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/daniel-h-wilson/) > [Well the dog that is the most is the a Labrador retrievers because they tolerate kids tugging on them and things better than other…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/temple-grandin/well-the-dog-that-is-the-most-is-the-a-labrador-retrievers-because/) [Temple Grandin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/temple-grandin/) > [“Divergent Dynamite (The Sonnet) You only know my infinite radiance, you got no clue to my innate hurricane. Day in and day out I…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/abhijit-naskar/divergent-dynamite-the-sonnet-you-only-know-my-infinite-radiance-you/) [Abhijit Naskar](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/abhijit-naskar/) > [“Our brokenness is our greatest strength. I've been broken all my life, for my life is one on the spectrum with OCD to make…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/abhijit-naskar/our-brokenness-is-our-greatest-strength-i-ve-been-broken-all-my-life/) [Abhijit Naskar](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/abhijit-naskar/) > [ I both didn't know Owen \[Suskind\] beforehand and didn't have any connection to the autistic community. But Owen wasn't really a problem, because he… ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/roger-ross-williams/i-both-didn-t-know-owen-suskind-beforehand-and-didn-t-have-any/) [Roger Ross Williams](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/roger-ross-williams/) > [“That’s very trusting.” Iris watches Anke search our backpacks. “We’re saving people’s lives. We thought we could be,”Anke says. I’m more fixated on her…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/corinne-duyvis/that-s-very-trusting-iris-watches-anke-search-our-backpacks-we-re/) [Corinne Duyvis](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/corinne-duyvis/) > [Autistic people's disabilities are widely known, but one of their best-established strengths is their attention to detail.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/simon-baron-cohen/autistic-people-s-disabilities-are-widely-known-but-one-of-their-best/) [Simon Baron-Cohen](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/simon-baron-cohen/) > [A solitary American monk named Thomas Berry writes that in our relationship to nature, we have been autistic for centuries. Wrapped tightly in our…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/janine-benyus/a-solitary-american-monk-named-thomas-berry-writes-that-in-our/) [Janine Benyus](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/janine-benyus/) > [“The autistic mind is not the wave at the surface of the ocean, but the whole world that exists below.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/krissy-bells/the-autistic-mind-is-not-the-wave-at-the-surface-of-the-ocean-but-the/) Krissy Bells > [“Jack was the kind of guy you could take into any situation and he would figure out how to fit in. Wayne, not so…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/stacey-ballis/jack-was-the-kind-of-guy-you-could-take-into-any-situation-and-he/) [Stacey Ballis](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/stacey-ballis/) ## More by Dave Eggers > [“4. THE CRUMBLING WALL (Hamburger, prepared medium well, with bacon and barbecue sauce. Courtesy of that place on Solano, where, it should be mentioned,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/dave-eggers/4-the-crumbling-wall-hamburger-prepared-medium-well-with-bacon-and/) [Dave Eggers](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/dave-eggers/) > [“LOW-FLYING, QUICK-MOVING CLOUDS: I haven't long to live. TREETOPS, ROUNDED AND ROUGH: That's probably true. LOW-FLYING, QUICK-MOVING CLOUDS: I won't even make it to…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/dave-eggers/low-flying-quick-moving-clouds-i-haven-t-long-to-live-treetops/) [Dave Eggers](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/dave-eggers/) > [But the grind has begun. The windows don’t open, and even the availability of near-constant jokes about Jews and Mormons fails to stem the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/dave-eggers/but-the-grind-has-begun-the-windows-don-t-open-and-even-the/) [Dave Eggers](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/dave-eggers/) > [“One button for the rest of your life online.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/dave-eggers/one-button-for-the-rest-of-your-life-online/) [Dave Eggers](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/dave-eggers/) > [We feel that to reveal embarrassing or private things, we have given someone something, that, like a primitive person fearing that a photographer will…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/dave-eggers/we-feel-that-to-reveal-embarrassing-or-private-things-we-have-given/) [Dave Eggers](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/dave-eggers/) > [I think I'm far too hopeful and trusting. That's something I got from my mum.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/dave-eggers/i-think-i-m-far-too-hopeful-and-trusting-that-s-something-i-got-from/) [Dave Eggers](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/dave-eggers/) > [“Overnight, all comment boards became civil, all posters held accountable. The trolls, who had more or less overtaken the internet, were driven back into…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/dave-eggers/overnight-all-comment-boards-became-civil-all-posters-held/) [Dave Eggers](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/dave-eggers/) > [“Have we wasted precious space dust on you?”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/dave-eggers/have-we-wasted-precious-space-dust-on-you/) [Dave Eggers](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/dave-eggers/) > [“What can one do with one's hands when the camera is interested in other things?”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/dave-eggers/what-can-one-do-with-one-s-hands-when-the-camera-is-interested-in/) [Dave Eggers](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/dave-eggers/) > [“The money that could have saved the Shuttle, and the money we send to random countries, that we use to remake unchangeable countries ten…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/dave-eggers/the-money-that-could-have-saved-the-shuttle-and-the-money-we-send-to/) [Dave Eggers](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/dave-eggers/) > [Write your goddamned book now. The world awaits.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/dave-eggers/write-your-goddamned-book-now-the-world-awaits/) [Dave Eggers](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/dave-eggers/) > [The only infallible truth of our lives is that everything we love in life will be taken from us.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/dave-eggers/the-only-infallible-truth-of-our-lives-is-that-everything-we-love-in/) [Dave Eggers](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/dave-eggers/) > [“First of all: I am tired. I am true of heart! And Also: You are tired. You are true of heart!”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/dave-eggers/first-of-all-i-am-tired-i-am-true-of-heart-and-also-you-are-tired-you/) [Dave Eggers](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/dave-eggers/) > [And what we were trying to offer every day was one-on-one attention. The goal was to have a one-to-one ratio with every one of…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/dave-eggers/and-what-we-were-trying-to-offer-every-day-was-one-on-one-attention/) [Dave Eggers](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/dave-eggers/) > [Suffering is only suffering if it’s done in silence, in solitude. Pain experienced in public, in view of loving millions, was no longer pain.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/dave-eggers/suffering-is-only-suffering-if-it-s-done-in-silence-in-solitude-pain/) [Dave Eggers](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/dave-eggers/) [Explore all 428 Dave Eggers quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/dave-eggers/) ## More Autistic quotes > [“Jack was the kind of guy you could take into any situation and he would figure out how to fit in. Wayne, not so…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/stacey-ballis/jack-was-the-kind-of-guy-you-could-take-into-any-situation-and-he/) [Stacey Ballis](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/stacey-ballis/) > [“The autistic mind is not the wave at the surface of the ocean, but the whole world that exists below.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/krissy-bells/the-autistic-mind-is-not-the-wave-at-the-surface-of-the-ocean-but-the/) Krissy Bells > [A solitary American monk named Thomas Berry writes that in our relationship to nature, we have been autistic for centuries. Wrapped tightly in our…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/janine-benyus/a-solitary-american-monk-named-thomas-berry-writes-that-in-our/) [Janine Benyus](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/janine-benyus/) > [Autistic people's disabilities are widely known, but one of their best-established strengths is their attention to detail.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/simon-baron-cohen/autistic-people-s-disabilities-are-widely-known-but-one-of-their-best/) [Simon Baron-Cohen](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/simon-baron-cohen/) > [“That’s very trusting.” Iris watches Anke search our backpacks. “We’re saving people’s lives. We thought we could be,”Anke says. I’m more fixated on her…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/corinne-duyvis/that-s-very-trusting-iris-watches-anke-search-our-backpacks-we-re/) [Corinne Duyvis](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/corinne-duyvis/) > [ I both didn't know Owen \[Suskind\] beforehand and didn't have any connection to the autistic community. But Owen wasn't really a problem, because he… ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/roger-ross-williams/i-both-didn-t-know-owen-suskind-beforehand-and-didn-t-have-any/) [Roger Ross Williams](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/roger-ross-williams/) > [“Our brokenness is our greatest strength. I've been broken all my life, for my life is one on the spectrum with OCD to make…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/abhijit-naskar/our-brokenness-is-our-greatest-strength-i-ve-been-broken-all-my-life/) [Abhijit Naskar](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/abhijit-naskar/) > [“Divergent Dynamite (The Sonnet) You only know my infinite radiance, you got no clue to my innate hurricane. Day in and day out I…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/abhijit-naskar/divergent-dynamite-the-sonnet-you-only-know-my-infinite-radiance-you/) [Abhijit Naskar](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/abhijit-naskar/) > [Well the dog that is the most is the a Labrador retrievers because they tolerate kids tugging on them and things better than other…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/temple-grandin/well-the-dog-that-is-the-most-is-the-a-labrador-retrievers-because/) [Temple Grandin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/temple-grandin/) > [Looking ahead, future generations may learn their social skills from robots in the first place. The cute yellow Keepon robot from Carnegie Mellon University…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/daniel-h-wilson/looking-ahead-future-generations-may-learn-their-social-skills-from/) [Daniel H. Wilson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/daniel-h-wilson/) > [For a seriously autistic kid, the best prognosis might be getting into a mainstream school without being too much of a shadow. For a…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jenny-mccarthy/for-a-seriously-autistic-kid-the-best-prognosis-might-be-getting-into/) [Jenny McCarthy](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jenny-mccarthy/) > [Normal people have an incredible lack of empathy. They have good emotional empathy, but they don't have much empathy for the autistic kid who…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/temple-grandin/normal-people-have-an-incredible-lack-of-empathy-they-have-good/) [Temple Grandin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/temple-grandin/) > [Nobel prize-calibre geniuses often have certain core autistic features at their heart.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/allan-snyder/nobel-prize-calibre-geniuses-often-have-certain-core-autistic/) Allan Snyder > [I can't hang around with lots of people these days because I am hypersensitive. So when I am around a lot of people or…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sandra-cisneros/i-can-t-hang-around-with-lots-of-people-these-days-because-i-am/) [Sandra Cisneros](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sandra-cisneros/) > [I know a number of autistic adults that are doing extremely well on Prozac.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/temple-grandin/i-know-a-number-of-autistic-adults-that-are-doing-extremely-well-on/) [Temple Grandin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/temple-grandin/) [Browse all 163 Autistic quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/autistic/) ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "“You willingly tie yourself to these leashes. And you willingly become utterly socially autistic. You no longer pick up on basic human communication clues. 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