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This story is almost too relatable. Lincoln Park Zoo's 16-year-old gorilla, Amare, is addicted to staring at a screen. It has become such a problem that he doesn't even notice other gorillas approaching him. Though Amare does not own and cannot operate an iPhone, one of his favorite activities has become staring at visitors' phones through the glass.
According to Chicago Sun Times, this attention towards the screen is causing a decrease in awareness of his surroundings and care for fellow primates. Amare would rather sit in a corner of the enclosure and stare at visitors phones than connect with the other gorillas.
“As parents, we think about we want to give our children choices, we want them to grow into adults, but every once in a while we have to sort of guide those choices for their good. And rather than maybe allowing them to sit inside and watch TV all day, maybe encourage them to go outside and interact with their friends. That’s something that I think all responsible parents think of and, in many ways, it’s similar to what we’re doing here,” Stephen Ross, the Lincoln Park Zoo's director of the Lester E. Fisher Center for the Study and Conservation of Apes told the Chicago Sun Times.
Since Amare's screen time has been cut down, he has started to connect more with the other primates and gather a greater appreciation for his surroundings.
“Amare is realizing that it’s not really worth it for him to sit there in that corner, waiting for someone to come up and show him their phone,” Ross shared.