Danger of Screen Addiction

Hollow Kingdom offers a warning to all of us about the danger of screen addiction, of spending too much time staring at a glowing screen instead of appreciating the beauty of our planet. Our internet, which is made up of electronic components, power cords, cell towers, and glowing screens, isolates us from our environment.

In contrast, the communication networks of the natural world, as depicted in the novel, are in tune with the environment. Aura, the network of animals who fly or live above ground, is abuzz with “a torrent of warnings, stories, adages, poems, threats, how-tos, real estate info, survival tips and non sequitur jokes” (10). “An Aura silence can be cause for alarm,” meaning that a predator could be nearby” (10). Echo, the network of sea creatures, includes the voice of the ocean, “graveled with salt,” and the splashes of creatures great and...