It turns out smartphones and computers will not turn our eyes square - instead, it could be much worse.
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An internet connection is now considered an essential and crucial aspect of life, a step away from a utility like electricity and water.
Now that the majority of Australians are online - about 88 per cent in 2017, according to the Australian Bureau of Statistics - attention should be paid to how people interact, particularly on social media.
It's not hard to find toxic online behaviour on social networks, from nasty comments to targeted harassment campaigns.
At worst, malicious disinformation is spread - this is a particular worry in an election year - and people begin to turn to "filter bubbles" devoid of any information they may disagree with.
This could be a factor in the increasing polarisation of politics, as while discussing the issues is much more accessible, the accountability to be accurate and empathetic is missing.
The behavioural difference between "digital natives", or younger people who grew up using the internet, and those who did not, is stark, as evidenced by changing trends in social media demographics.
Put simply, the kids are moving to different apps from their parents - ask them about SnapMaps.
While there are dire consequences for the state of political discourse and the nature of reality and truth online, gaining an understanding of acceptable online behaviour early is crucial.
For 13 years, Project Rockit has been getting school students to think about how to behave positively on the internet, and next week, Damascus College will host sessions for students, staff, and parents, on social media, stopping cyberbullying, and staying safe online.
For students that have been able to use tablets since birth, the strategies will be focused on helping students recognise their agency in social situations, according to Project Rockit's head of schools growth, Alex Delaney.
We're young people talking with young people, not at them.
- Project Rockit's Alex Delaney
"Our approach is strength-based - we don't use the words bullying or victim, because that alienates the people that identify as bully or victim, or the 95 per cent that are neither," he said.
"We're young people talking with young people, not at them."
The seminars for parents will be especially useful because trends change so quickly, and Project Rockit works hard to keep up and stay relevant.
"Our goal, when we work with parents, is to debunk those myths or concerns at the forefront of their minds," he said.
"We're providing them with some literacy about what social media platforms are out there and how young people use them, and we share learnings from working with over 300,000 students over 13 years."
Assistant principal for student wellbeing at Damascus, Andrew Robertson, is no stranger to the issues arising from looking after students that are permanently online.
"The main thing I would hope (parents) get out of it is an acknowledgement of the amount of time students are accessing social media at home, and to be able to equip them with some skills in supporting responsible use of social media," he said, noting more parents were approaching the school for help in resolving disagreements between students.
Interestingly, social media moderation has become more of a role for leader of school development Sarah Boswell.
She said social media is an effective tool for communicating with students and parents, and usually resulted in positive comments and feedback.
"I really find you have to monitor it daily, much more than I would have when I first started the role," she said.
"And now it's Instagram - what we've noticed is that parents seem to get more involved with Facebook, and the students a bit more with Instagram."
The school is working on a social media policy, but there's already been incidents between parents and staff online.
"We've certainly had an example of a comment being posted on our Damascus College homepage from a parent who wasn't entirely happy with a particular issue," Mr Anderson said.
"Recognising that, when we had the opportunity to work through that with the particular parent, he declined, so it was more an opportunity to get something off his chest than get anyone to necessarily follow it through."
The seminars will support work throughout the curriculum to encourage students to build skills they can apply elsewhere, he added.
"We're drawing on recognising skills and strengths behaviour, and shifting that mind mentality rather than the putting down behaviour that unfortunately a lot of adolescents - and adults - do," he said.
"Our focus has always been on positive communication, whether it's social media or verbal communication, it's about responsible skills that you need to acquire, and there's certainly an element of resilience that needs to be built up in these things as well."
Mr Delaney said demand for the Project Rockit program has been increasing for the last five years or so.
"In schools, we do two things - education, so what to do, where to go, skills to act, but second thing is developing empathy online," he said.
"If they don't feel connected to what they're seeing take place, they're not going to enact the education we provide them."
Parents of children of any age will find the seminars useful, he added.
"My first recommendation would be come armed with questions, and the second would be come with an open mind - we are young people speaking to that experience as young people," he said.
"We want to put their mind at ease."
The free parents seminar will be held at Damascus College on Wednesday, May 1, from 7pm.
It is open to parents from any school, and at least a third of the evening will be devoted to questions.
Free tickets are available from the Damascus website.
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