From Ithaca to Instagram: Finding Our Way Home

  •   Sun, Aug 23 2026
  •   By Fr Ajay Nelson D'Silva SJ

August 23, 2026

Parallels between Odyssey and The Anxious Generation

These days, I had the opportunity to watch the movie ‘Odyssey’ and I read the book ‘The Anxious Generation’ recently. There are some fascinating parallels between Christopher Nolan’s movie: The Odyssey and Jonathan Haidt’s book: The Anxious Generation. Nevertheless, both tell us about the same story – the human story – about what happens to us when we lose sight of who we are. Nolan’s Odyssey tells us the story of Odysseus’ journey back to Ithaca – a homecoming. Haidt talks to us about kids who have lost their way in a techno-social jungle. They need to make a journey back from the virtual to the real.

From the Virtual to the Real

Odysseus: The sea has lured him away from Ithaca. Haidt: Kids have been lured away from normal childhood into techno-social childhood. His fear is that kids have exchanged dyadic relationships for the triadic ones of social media. Ithaca for our kids is reality, including relationships. Our kids need to have a homecoming from the virtual world to the real one.

The Danger of Distractions

Odysseus faces distractions – Circe, Calypso, the Sirens, the Lotus-Eaters. They lure him away from home. The distractions of modern children are smartphones, games, social networks. They tempt them into spending too much time in the virtual world. The Sirens sang; screens make us click. Both sought to capture people’s attention and keep them. Odysseus needed to learn self-control; the children need better technology self-control. One of Haidt’s main arguments is that attention fragmentation is one of the most damaging problems of phone-based childhood. Not surprisingly, we can boldly say that Sirens have not gone away; they have taken new forms.

Odysseus Needed Companions – We Need Community

Odysseus could not get home by himself; he needed others’ help. Similarly, Haidt recognizes the need to tackle the challenges of techno-social childhood not by individuals but by communities. His four norms – smartphone delay, social media delay, phone-free schools, and encouraging free play – are all community-based responses to the challenges of phone-based childhood. It is not better-upbringing individuals who will fight bad communities but healthier communities which will foster better individuals.

From Overprotection to Courage

One of the most intriguing parallels between the two is Haidt’s argument about kids being exposed to too much risk in the “real” world while being too protected in the “virtual” one. Children need to confront risks, failures, setbacks, struggles, and distractions to become resilient and strong. They need to learn to take responsibility for their lives. Odysseus had to confront the sea, monsters, and the temptations of Circe and Calypso before he could return home – a journey that made him wise and strong. His was a childhood and adulthood of risks and responsibilities. Today, our kids are experiencing the reverse – being overly protected from the "real" dangers while being exposed to the "virtual" ones. Their lives are full of convenience but low on resilience-building activities. Such an existence cannot make them tough; it breaks them. It makes people like Odysseus but in reverse.

Telemachus and the Coming-of-Age Rituals

Perhaps one of the most fascinating parallels between the two is that Haidt’s discussion of kids who have been trapped between techno-social adolescence and the adulthood of their parents strongly echoes Odysseus’ son, Telemachus. Telemachus is a child in many ways, and his coming-of-age journey to find his father is an adventure of discovering who he is and who he is becoming. Similarly, Haidt’s kids need to gain independence and experience to grow into mature, responsible adults. The distractions of smartphones prevent them from doing either. They need to grow up, take responsibility for their lives, and become adults.

The Real Homecoming

The Odyssey is really about homecoming – Odysseus’ journey back to Ithaca to Penelope, his wife, and Telemachus, his son. The real challenge of the smartphone age is that our kids have been unable to come back to their homes – to themselves and to us their parents. Their home is their real relationships with us and the realities of the world around them, including nature, friendship, community, and God. Technology, as much as it has connected us to almost everyone, has disconnected us from most of what is meaningful and valuable in life.

 

 
By Fr Ajay Nelson D'Silva SJ
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