The Movie Theater Is the Rare Place That Breaks the Attention Economy For My Kids

We keep going to the movies because when it's dark and loud, they engage with stories in a way they don't anywhere else.

Photo by Felix Mooneeram on Unsplash

This weekend, before dropping my kids off at grandma’s, we’ll take in a screening of Dog Man, an adaptation of the popular (and very good!) children's book series. The movie is available at home, of course, because nothing stays exclusively in theaters for very long anymore, but nonetheless, I’ll be happily buying three tickets on Saturday.

The answer is simple: more than any other place, the movie theater is a space where I’ve watched my children focus their attention in a way nowhere else can demand.