elf on the shelf is an improvement

when I was a kid, the mythos of the time said Santa could, all by himself, see you at every moment of your life. he was like an omniscient god. there was nothing to stop him.

parents these days are, instead, teaching kids that Santa needs a spy. a set of physical eyes in your home to watch you; a physical body to report back to him what it sees

the elf on the shelf is not looking at you everywhere. it can be avoided.

it can be moved, turned around.

even destroyed, if you dare.

it is a more accurate introduction to real-world surveillance

you’ve heard of elf on a shelf. in my day we had omnipresence judging howmanypresents