--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: I said that we use digital “passbacks” to…" description: "\"“I said that we use digital “passbacks” to placate young children who say they are bored. We are not teaching them that boredom can be recognized as yo..." image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/ed7/sherry-turkle-2764_children_i-said-that-we-use-digital-passbacks-to_12219.png" --- # I said that we use digital “passbacks” to placate young… ![“I said that we use digital “passbacks” to placate young children who say they are bored. We are not teaching them that boredom can be recognized as your imagination calling you. Of” quote by Sherry Turkle](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/ed7/sherry-turkle-2764_children_i-said-that-we-use-digital-passbacks-to_12219.png) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/ed7/sherry-turkle-2764_children_i-said-that-we-use-digital-passbacks-to_12219.png) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/ed7/sherry-turkle-2764_children_i-said-that-we-use-digital-passbacks-to_12219.png) > ““I said that we use digital “passbacks” to placate young children who say they are bored. We are not teaching them that boredom can be recognized as your imagination calling you. Of”” [Sherry Turkle](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sherry-turkle/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. The quote critiques the reliance on digital distractions to soothe bored children, arguing that it prevents them from learning to recognize boredom as a cue for creative imagination. **In simple terms:** Digital distractions stifle imagination. Key Takeaway Boredom can spark creativity if acknowledged. Themes Technology and childhood Imagination Boredom Digital distraction Education Creativity Mood Reflective Concerned Hopeful Type Observation Critique Advice When to use this quote - Classroom settings - Parenting moments - After‑school activities - Screen‑time management - Creative workshops Key Concepts Attention Self-regulation Play Learning Practical Applications - Designing boredom‑friendly curricula - Developing mindfulness apps for kids Questions to Reflect On - How can we teach children to value boredom? - What practices help transform boredom into imagination? A Different Perspective Some argue that structured play, not boredom, is essential for learning; however, unstructured idle time can also foster deep creative thought. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Children](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/children/) [Technology](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/technology/) ## Related quotes > [“I once asked her if she got bored living alone, and she said, 'To say one is bored to be alone is to admit…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lois-battle/i-once-asked-her-if-she-got-bored-living-alone-and-she-said-to-say/) Lois Battle > [People say you can get bored of the sunshine in L.A. No, you can't.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/vinnie-jones/people-say-you-can-get-bored-of-the-sunshine-in-l-a-no-you-can-t/) [Vinnie Jones](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/vinnie-jones/) > [I think that it's a crime to say you are bored when time is so precious and there are so many things to do…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/karl-lagerfeld/i-think-that-it-s-a-crime-to-say-you-are-bored-when-time-is-so/) [Karl Lagerfeld](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/karl-lagerfeld/) > [I’m bored’ is a useless thing to say. I mean, you live in a great, big, vast world that you’ve seen none percent of.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/i-m-bored-is-a-useless-thing-to-say-i-mean-you-live-in-a-great-big/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [No one who appreciates the shortness of this life and the eternality of the next can ever say, 'I'm bored'](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/abu-ammaar-yasir-qadhi/no-one-who-appreciates-the-shortness-of-this-life-and-the-eternality/) [Abu Ammaar Yasir Qadhi](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/abu-ammaar-yasir-qadhi/) > [“This idea of boredom, that's another thing that really amazes me about people who say “I am bored”.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/this-idea-of-boredom-that-s-another-thing-that-really-amazes-me-about/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [If you follow someone on Twitter, you're interested in what they have to say. When you get bored you follow someone else.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/phillip-schofield/if-you-follow-someone-on-twitter-you-re-interested-in-what-they-have/) [Phillip Schofield](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/phillip-schofield/) > [When I say I'm bored my mom hears it as, I want to do chores.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ritu-ghatourey/when-i-say-i-m-bored-my-mom-hears-it-as-i-want-to-do-chores/) [Ritu Ghatourey](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ritu-ghatourey/) > [I don't understand people who say they're bored. Look out your window.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/karin-slaughter/i-don-t-understand-people-who-say-they-re-bored-look-out-your-window/) [Karin Slaughter](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/karin-slaughter/) > [They say when your bored you think a lot and I like to think.. well that's all I do.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/darell-davis/they-say-when-your-bored-you-think-a-lot-and-i-like-to-think-well/) Darell Davis > [“think I have 'gotten a handle', as you say, on being bored. At first I found the new environment to be most stimulating, but…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-corwin/think-i-have-gotten-a-handle-as-you-say-on-being-bored-at-first-i/) [John Corwin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-corwin/) > [“The metaprogrammer who uses one, or especially several, applications as components in a larger system. This is the user whose needs are poorly met…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/frederick-p-brooks-jr/the-metaprogrammer-who-uses-one-or-especially-several-applications-as/) [Frederick P. Brooks Jr](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/frederick-p-brooks-jr/) > [The time that one gains cannot be accumulated in a storehouse; it is contradictory to want to save up existence, which, the fact is,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/simone-de-beauvoir/the-time-that-one-gains-cannot-be-accumulated-in-a-storehouse-it-is/) [Simone de Beauvoir](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/simone-de-beauvoir/) > [“This story is not at all an uncommon one in tech circles, including gaming. The popular notion is that women who get ahead must…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/bailey-poland/this-story-is-not-at-all-an-uncommon-one-in-tech-circles-including/) [Bailey Poland](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/bailey-poland/) > [But we are convinced that if we are to play a meaningful role nationally, and in the community of nations, we must be second…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/vikram-sarabhai/but-we-are-convinced-that-if-we-are-to-play-a-meaningful-role/) [Vikram Sarabhai](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/vikram-sarabhai/) ## More by Sherry Turkle > [“From watching children play with objects designed as “amusements,” we come to a new place, a place of cold comforts. Child and adult, we…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sherry-turkle/from-watching-children-play-with-objects-designed-as-amusements-we/) [Sherry Turkle](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sherry-turkle/) > [“enduring technological optimism, a belief that as other things go wrong, science will go right.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sherry-turkle/enduring-technological-optimism-a-belief-that-as-other-things-go/) [Sherry Turkle](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sherry-turkle/) > [Conversation is the most human and humanizing thing that we do.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sherry-turkle/conversation-is-the-most-human-and-humanizing-thing-that-we-do/) [Sherry Turkle](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sherry-turkle/) > [“In the classic children’s story The Velveteen Rabbit, a stuffed animal becomes “real” because of a child’s love. 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