Evidence shows early access to smartphones is strongly associated with poorer mental health and wellbeing. But a lot of the evidence is correlational. What does that mean for schools and parents?
So many parents have kids on screen to try on lipstick at a store, to buy clothes, to shop, to have a break themselves… we haven’t even begun calculating the damage.
Thank you for this. I am going to go back and re-read Candide!
This is great. My wondering is if there is research being conducted on the smaller population of kids who are not users of social media nor are they addicted to tech. In the case of my two daughters, their approach to tech and social media is very different. One is very active and up to date on memes and trends-- buying the advertised gear, etc. , and she's very anxious. My youngest browses, but could care less-- she's a violinist, very active at college, volunteering at hospitals, and she has a clear vision for what she wants to do in the future.
My wife and I compare the different way they were raised. The oldest grew up in a house that was financially fragile, we worked several jobs, but we did enough for swim lessons, dance, art lessons, etc. However, we never encouraged her to stick anything out, defaulting to what many parents do-- exploring activities to find something she likes. For instance, when Tae Kwon Doe became boring-- she quit-- and we supported it so long as she finished the month we paid for.
The youngest one grew up with more financial security, she attended elementary schools I worked or led at at, however, we did not bob around trying to find what she liked for hobbies. We made the decision that she would play violin and encouraged her towards longer term goals, strong habits , and good taste in reading. She's actually grateful for it.
My hunch is that kids who are not reliant on social media and tech have learned the pleasure of delayed gratification and discipline, have long term goals and vision, and engage in enough analog activities and communities to bring meaning to their lives.
I'm a supporter of banning phones in schools and did so when managing high schools, but the big question is what replacement habits and behaviors must be taught to take the place of tech and social media?
Sorry for the long winded response-- but this got me thinking.
I love how long winded and self reflective your reply is! How far apart are your kids in age? I ask because I have kids 20 years apart and also being raised in much different circumstances than one another. I was naive to what technology would bring Gen Z and allowed oldest nearly free rein. My second will not experience that level of online freedom. But your experiences around guidance and boundaries in other life areas really resonates. Thank you for taking the time to share your experiences.
Essentially what we are finding is that about half of kids end up with "high addictive use trajectories." It may be environmental, may be genetic. We are years away from knowing. In the meantime, we have to change how we are raising kids.
Over 90% of the reported negative aspects are literally due to only social media services. We need to ban only social media services for youngsters. Rest is fine.
I returned on this post as the "alarmism must be avoided" mantra resurfaces regularly and I keep quoting it in response.
I’m taking this opportunity to add one comment for one comment: as far as I know, most of the substances recognized as carcinogenic are known to be so thanks to correlational studies. These studies are so numerous and consistent that causation is reasonably sure, just not yet explained.
It’s a bit like saying that, when investigating a murder, we know a bullet killed the victim, even if we don't know if it hit the lung, the heart, or the brain."
Great piece Carl. I like your point about the difference between the phone as hardware and the access to social media. These are often conflated because kids are given smart phones and if they have internet connection they aren't just going to use it to look up bus timetables. I don't see why smart phones can't be age regulated like alcohol or driving. Dumb phones can enable kids to contact parents without access to social media.
For years I have been begging for some nuance and to stop this pointless discussion of the “singular bogeyman of screens” as though that could ever be one thing or one experience or the same to all people of all ages, neurotypes, etc, and to instead begin having nuanced conversation and engaging in nuanced research. Thankfully, this year more published studies seem to be asking much more specific questions and with more careful study design. Your post here, keeping its focus to social media use rather than “screens”, is much appreciated. I’ve been mistaken for being “pro-screen” when I try to point out these issues but I’m actually just pro-“let’s get real evidence” and against emotionally-driven correlational conjecture. I’m a parent of three also 😀.
Great research work but the question then becomes how do we start? The greatest danger from my perspective as an educator is the moral/ethical one as children at the exact age which most of them are given a smartphone is the same period of time where they start developing their moral and ethical core and social values. This is the golden age of information but what's the point if don't teach them how and for what to use that knowledge.
Thank you for this post. Vital work you are doing. I am working also in the arena of providing through my Classic Film Study Project a mode of teaching and learning for all kids and for all learning settings. we have piloted from detention home to a gathering in Harvard square. Our project includes 12 Angry Men, It's a Wonderful Life and other greats to begin and continue conversation over social isolation. Thank you again from a great grandmother !!!! Onalee McGraw Director of Educational Guidance Institute.
So many parents have kids on screen to try on lipstick at a store, to buy clothes, to shop, to have a break themselves… we haven’t even begun calculating the damage.
Thank you for this. I am going to go back and re-read Candide!
I thought that about Candide too. I read it during my degree so haven't touched it in 20 years!
This is great. My wondering is if there is research being conducted on the smaller population of kids who are not users of social media nor are they addicted to tech. In the case of my two daughters, their approach to tech and social media is very different. One is very active and up to date on memes and trends-- buying the advertised gear, etc. , and she's very anxious. My youngest browses, but could care less-- she's a violinist, very active at college, volunteering at hospitals, and she has a clear vision for what she wants to do in the future.
My wife and I compare the different way they were raised. The oldest grew up in a house that was financially fragile, we worked several jobs, but we did enough for swim lessons, dance, art lessons, etc. However, we never encouraged her to stick anything out, defaulting to what many parents do-- exploring activities to find something she likes. For instance, when Tae Kwon Doe became boring-- she quit-- and we supported it so long as she finished the month we paid for.
The youngest one grew up with more financial security, she attended elementary schools I worked or led at at, however, we did not bob around trying to find what she liked for hobbies. We made the decision that she would play violin and encouraged her towards longer term goals, strong habits , and good taste in reading. She's actually grateful for it.
My hunch is that kids who are not reliant on social media and tech have learned the pleasure of delayed gratification and discipline, have long term goals and vision, and engage in enough analog activities and communities to bring meaning to their lives.
I'm a supporter of banning phones in schools and did so when managing high schools, but the big question is what replacement habits and behaviors must be taught to take the place of tech and social media?
Sorry for the long winded response-- but this got me thinking.
I love how long winded and self reflective your reply is! How far apart are your kids in age? I ask because I have kids 20 years apart and also being raised in much different circumstances than one another. I was naive to what technology would bring Gen Z and allowed oldest nearly free rein. My second will not experience that level of online freedom. But your experiences around guidance and boundaries in other life areas really resonates. Thank you for taking the time to share your experiences.
Thanks for the reply— only 5 years difference between the 2, but a lot happened in those 5 years , lol.
Check out the ABCD study's latest results published by the NIH. (I link to it in this article. https://ifstudies.org/blog/for-families-dumb-phones-might-be-the-smart-choice)
Essentially what we are finding is that about half of kids end up with "high addictive use trajectories." It may be environmental, may be genetic. We are years away from knowing. In the meantime, we have to change how we are raising kids.
Over 90% of the reported negative aspects are literally due to only social media services. We need to ban only social media services for youngsters. Rest is fine.
I returned on this post as the "alarmism must be avoided" mantra resurfaces regularly and I keep quoting it in response.
I’m taking this opportunity to add one comment for one comment: as far as I know, most of the substances recognized as carcinogenic are known to be so thanks to correlational studies. These studies are so numerous and consistent that causation is reasonably sure, just not yet explained.
It’s a bit like saying that, when investigating a murder, we know a bullet killed the victim, even if we don't know if it hit the lung, the heart, or the brain."
Great piece Carl. I like your point about the difference between the phone as hardware and the access to social media. These are often conflated because kids are given smart phones and if they have internet connection they aren't just going to use it to look up bus timetables. I don't see why smart phones can't be age regulated like alcohol or driving. Dumb phones can enable kids to contact parents without access to social media.
For years I have been begging for some nuance and to stop this pointless discussion of the “singular bogeyman of screens” as though that could ever be one thing or one experience or the same to all people of all ages, neurotypes, etc, and to instead begin having nuanced conversation and engaging in nuanced research. Thankfully, this year more published studies seem to be asking much more specific questions and with more careful study design. Your post here, keeping its focus to social media use rather than “screens”, is much appreciated. I’ve been mistaken for being “pro-screen” when I try to point out these issues but I’m actually just pro-“let’s get real evidence” and against emotionally-driven correlational conjecture. I’m a parent of three also 😀.
Terrific post!
Great research work but the question then becomes how do we start? The greatest danger from my perspective as an educator is the moral/ethical one as children at the exact age which most of them are given a smartphone is the same period of time where they start developing their moral and ethical core and social values. This is the golden age of information but what's the point if don't teach them how and for what to use that knowledge.
Thank you for this post. Vital work you are doing. I am working also in the arena of providing through my Classic Film Study Project a mode of teaching and learning for all kids and for all learning settings. we have piloted from detention home to a gathering in Harvard square. Our project includes 12 Angry Men, It's a Wonderful Life and other greats to begin and continue conversation over social isolation. Thank you again from a great grandmother !!!! Onalee McGraw Director of Educational Guidance Institute.