Georgina Dalmau: "Many children play at having WhatsApp groups before they are ready to manage them."

BarcelonaWorking in digital marketing, and running my own company, often makes it difficult to separate work from family. When I was little, I helped prepare things in my grandmother's shop, and this family business was a place where everyone could contribute, even a child, no matter how small.

Family and work have always been intertwined.

— Today, our business, which is a marketing agency, means we have to be constantly on our phones, and that sometimes means that when our children ask us for help, we ignore them or don't answer their questions. Being aware that this happens has helped inspire me in the almost nonexistent relationship the families have in my novel. The rebels of Antigone. I've imagined what such a relationship might be like, based on my own experience. I think that, as parents, we often miss important opportunities to be with them.

It's sad to admit this, isn't it?

— Often, when we make the effort to stop looking at screens, we realize we feel an emptiness, a sense of boredom. The protagonist of the novel discovers, precisely in this solitude, the weakness of family ties. For me, it's crucial to be aware of the importance of keeping technology out of important everyday moments, like dinnertime, when we play a board game, when I help them with their homework, or when we have a conversation.

However, have you seen any hopeful aspects?

— The truth is, no. It's very difficult for children to independently respect boundaries. There's a very powerful machine at work to keep us all hooked.

Why are you so worried about cell phones?

— My generation's relationship with the internet was one of exploring a new world, a new way of connecting. However, our children are encountering social media platforms that generate highly toxic content. Many children have played at creating WhatsApp groups before they were ready to handle certain situations. Today, young people reaching adulthood are more fed up with social media and more aware of the dangers because they have experienced them themselves or know people who have. But they remain highly dependent on technological tools because they often don't know other ways of doing things.

And what digital rules do you have at home?

— Right now, our children don't have phones. It seems obvious to me that 8- and 10-year-olds don't have devices, but from what I see around me, it's not the norm. As for television, they can watch it for about half an hour each day if they've finished all their chores beforehand. Finally, they can play video games for a limited time on weekends. We're still in an easy phase at home, and when our children start having their own phones, things will get much more complicated. Therefore, we'll try to postpone it as long as possible.

Your children are two and a half years apart. What is their relationship like?

— Although they're at different stages of development, there isn't that much difference between them. They're very close. They play together, but they also fight a lot. It makes me laugh when, behind their parents' backs, they agree to stay up a little later because they're talking or reading something together. I like that they're not too old because we can do more things together.

What aspects of their growth are you now paying special attention to?

— In my daughter's case, we've started paying attention to the changes related to puberty. She'll be entering this stage soon, and we try to talk to her a lot, so she understands that we can help her and that we've already been through many of the things she's going to experience. As for my son, we're very focused on building his self-confidence. He's someone who, like me, always overthinks things. Who knows, maybe he'll end up writing someday.

Tell me about a happy moment.

— When we play board games, we have a great time. Specifically, there's a game called HeroQuest that my husband used to play many years ago, and we've brought it back out so the four of us can play together. There are moments, when we're about to finish a particular mission, that are incredibly fun and exciting. I think we'll always remember them.