Agreed. Part of the dilemma we face with digital technology is its sheer immersiveness and ubiquity – the fact that we’ve lost our most fundamental freedom: the freedom to walk away, the freedom to not participate. That’s why I begin with the operating assumption that our meta-addiction to all things media and all things digital has emerged as the default social condition in 21st-century America, the rule rather than the exception.
And I agree that time displacement is the real issue. Indeed, the displacement of time and resources describes the basic mechanics of all addictions, regardless of the narcotic. We become addicts as we ritualize our behaviors around our narcotics (think smartphones and binge viewing). Ultimately, the rituals of our addictions consume the time and money once reserved for more meaningful rituals, those that promote our spiritual, social, emotional and physical wellbeing.
That’s why all addiction recovery regimens seek to reverse the process by replacing the rituals of our addictions with more meaningful rituals.
And yes, you’d think we’d be old and wise enough to know better than to expose our own children to such powerful narcotics. But that’s how addicts behave…
What even more interesting to note is that even people that are not addicted are suffering consequences.
It’s a lonely disconnected world when everyone is looking at their phone on their break at work or you never have those chance meetings with people out in public because everyone is on thier phone. It’s like being exposed to second hand smoke- a public health risk that needs government attention.
Yes, we’re just starting to see the massive disruptive effects of opioid addiction, not just on families but on entire communities. Likewise, our meta-addiction to digital media and our digital devices manifests everywhere we look – but only if we bother to open our eyes.
Addiction to any narcotic is, by definition, an extreme behavior, and so far, 21st-century America has been all about the normalization of addiction. Moreover, it’s clearly a top-down problem. We can’t preach moderation to our kids when we can’t even put down our own smartphones long enough to make the case for moderation. That’s why I never talk to the kids when I appear at schools or parent associations. The problem didn’t begin with our children. Neither should the solution.
Jeff, thanks so much for this. Love the clarity and practicality. Have you been continuing this sort of work? I’m doing similar speaking to educators and parents and would be happy to share learnings/notes. I lean a little bit more hardcore than you, but think many schools would find your suggestions more palatable than mine
She focuses on the very real and documented health impacts of too much screen time.
We are working with parents to limit kids exposure to smartphones at a young age and to encourage awareness and education. You can check out what we are doing here: https://www.concordpromise.org. We founded this organization so parents could find the support they needed to make the right choices around screen time. Through empower parents, we hope more will come together to effectuate change in their own communities.
One of our arguments is that kids are learning how to use technology in school (many concede getting too much exposure in schools) and so we, as parents, should be limiting their exposure outside of school.
Another great resource is https://www.screenfreeparenting.com. They are geared more toward younger kids but they offer some great suggestions, blogs, etc.
Hope these help!! Don’t be discouraged. Talk to other parents and teachers about your concerns and bond together. I think you will find more people agree with you than you think! Good luck!
@ANPPromise thank you for this!! It’s really happening- people really do care about our kids future!!
I wish I was more positive about sharing tech ill health with other parents and educators. In the area I live in- teachers really despise parents- they close classroom doors the moment the last student leaves… I heard of some teachers even using other doors to leave out of classrooms to avoid talking to parents in our community. Teachers just don’t want to hear anything parents say. I’ve given up sharing ideas because they don’t respect what parents are concerned about. Ive found all the teachers in our community don’t understand the physiology behind why screeens are not good for kids- and they are not concerned about handwriting- only typing on laptops.
Is there a format or tool parents can use to approach teachers about this? An incentive for a teacher to learn?
@becks. The same way the educators were pushed into buying into tech… push push push. Most principles are concerned about cell phone use- so steering them towards what is happening in Maryland may help… or to some of the websites here. It’s just a matter of time till the educators are on the same concerned wagon we are on…
@healthyswimmer that is really sad. Parents and educators should be partners.
What we are doing through our organization is uniting parents who care about healthy use of technology by our children. A coalition is better than a single voice.
It’s a long process but I would encourage you to build some rapport with whichever educators you can in your community. There has to be someone who knows this is not right and wants to do something. Keep talking about it. Site the research. And make sure you acknowledge that it is complicated, research is just now available and we all want what is best for our children and their future.
Consider reading “Screen Schooled” by Matt Miles and Joe Clement and sharing it with others in your community.
Build a coalition of parents. We are revising our site to make it more inclusive of ALL parents regardless of whether their kids have a smartphone or not because we are realizing that we just need to open the door, get people talking and listening. Check out our site and contact me directly if you’re interested in going for it in your community. Concordpromise.org
I’m a member of the Screen Time Action Network and we are working hard to establish a playbook for parents who want to effectuate change in their communities. Stay tuned…
Maryland’s bill is important. It is our moral and legal obligations as parents and teachers to keep our children safe in the classroom. There is certainly enough evidence available to argue excessive screen use and EdTech is not health for our children.
I’m not a regular on this platform but I check in from time to time. Let’s all stay in touch, support each other. Don’t give up!
@ANPPromise thanks for your encouraging hope. It’s an interesting balance with educators. Where I live parents push for “this and that” so educators turn a blind eye to parents unless they really know them. So I’m waiting till the educators are “ready” to hear about the harms. The last time I’ve hinted at technology being an issue for kids I got the “technology is here to stay so get used to it”.
It’s hard to weigh the benefits of talking to educators about our parent concerns- as some parents in my community are shielding their kids from discipline- so educators grow weary of feedback no matter the topic.
I’m waiting for Just the right moment to say something.
The thing I’m discouraged about is the tech educators do not not understand the harms- they don’t even understand the privacy issues- no joke!!
I’ve read over this topic again and your post has struck me in a different way. I’ve practiced this but it’s clearer now. We need to stop telling kids to put their phones down and show them what to do with their time. It’s almost like a dysfunctional blame game…
Though the article does not bring really new information, it highlights once again that the people creating the technologies keep their own kids as far away from it as possible. The tech addiction resulting from it is comparable to crack addiction. That’s how strong the dopamine rush can be.
@aschrijver thanks for posting this!! I missed this. I’m totally aligned with this article. We have no iPads or YouTube etc… my kid uses the computer at the library and school and that’s it. My kid is one of the happiest people I know too… It’s hard to just do tech with kids sometimes- it’s extremely addicting. My kid is a very advanced reader and almost gave up reading after her school did much of their reading on iPads. Naturally I axed that one and she is devouring books again. Not a popular parent, but they will be eating their words promoting technology someday.
I was promoting our smartphone detox challenge First Week Flip Phone at the Fulbright Association’s conference this weekend, and an interesting opportunity arose. A teacher in Florida wants us to roll out a smartphone detox challenge in his classroom in for a day in January: check out our proposal here.
Please do message me if you might have any advice/interest in this project!
Laurence
@lpwarner looks interesting, I have to say I’m jaw dropped at how we must break this complicated problem into parts to learn. Seeing as technology is supposed to make life more simple, it’s just not. This is so complex.
I see this detox phone challenge study was carefully developed, a certain passion to make a difference is apparent.
