When most of us think back to our childhood, we remember a totally different world, a simple and balanced world. However, the kids growing up now will remember their childhoods in a very different way.

Twenty years ago, you may have seen a little girl holding a doll while waiting to be seated at Olive Garden, whereas now you will probably see a little girl distracted by her mom’s iPhone. You may look around a restaurant to find that families have lost the desire for dinner conversations and are now spending their time absorbed in Instagram or playing Candy Crush.

What these families may not know is that exposing their children to so much technology could be detrimental to their overall well-being and quality of life.

Kids are missing out on the experiences that the previous generations had. Whereas most kids used to play outside all day, riding bikes and building forts, nowadays those activities are often replaced with electronics. The Connected Kids report, which has collated data since 1995, found that children now spend an average of seven and a half hours watching television daily, in comparison to three and a half hours of daily television time in 1995.

We used to create our own form of play without expensive equipment or parental supervision; our world was simple. We made up games with our toys, read books, and would talk to imaginary friends—all activities that required intense and sustained attention, imagination, and memory. While some kids still do these fun activities and some parents discourage excessive screen time, other families do not seem to notice the disintegration of traditional child’s play. Now, with so many forms of technological entertainment, most activities require fragmented attention and little need for imagination. However, these sustained imaginative skills are “the foundation for all aspects of children’s growth and help shape them into successful and happy people,” said Jim Taylor, professor and psychologist at the University of San Francisco. If kids lose the ability to create and focus, then what they are capable of in the future may be limited.

That little girl at the restaurant and her family on their phones are the results of disintegration of core values that long ago held families together. Entertainment technology has advanced so rapidly that families may not notice the significant impact on their lifestyle. What is the point of being with your family and friends if you are not talking, or even looking at each other?

We use technology at school, work, as a form of communication, and in so many other ways that it feels like just a part of everyday life. We are losing the ability to connect with others. I propose children spend less time in front of a screen and spend more time looking up at the wonderful family that they have around them.