I agree with your suggestion, 'It is imperative to equip children with human skills before they even see a screen.' I think part of the problem is not having hobbies, interests, and skills to fall back on. I leave my phone behind on Sundays when I'm going out with the husband or I leave it in mu bag. I believe it's because I know it's a distraction when I want to do something fun. But if a phone was all I knew, it'd not be the case. In a way, these kids are having a hard time.
Thanks Raksha - yes, it can be hard enough to turn away when you have lots of other experiences to remind you of life away from the screen. For many youngsters now, everything is digital.
A very profound subject. Interest you article as My next one deals with these impacts, even amongst adults.
The best results have been from schools that enforce smart phone restrictions. I am in favour of more. I fear that we will not do enough.
I’m not sure a hybrid (human and computer) approach, especially in younger students is right. I believe it is not.
One can always add technology later in their proper role as a tool of augmentation. Especially now there is just the slightest of learning curves.
As another colleague just pointed out - referring to Clark’s laws - it is the people with the least amount of digital literacy and AI knowledge that are AI’s biggest advocates.
Thanks for this article. I will refer to it in mine
Glad this resonated, and I look forward to reading your article, David. I'm definitely for less exposure to technology early. But then the point your colleague made is quite scary. Restriction can make something more attractive.
Thank you for this article, and for the thoughtful way you are grappling with this issue with schools, teachers, and families. This is an important and ongoing topic for us to tend. You're right, it's not going away so we need to gain capacity together to deal with it and deepen our human interactions.
We’ve underestimated how early and how deeply screens rewire the way kids relate to the world, and to themselves. In Trinidad, they pushed for one laptop per child, thinking it would close the equity gap, and now they’re scrambling to protect attention spans.
Though I would say it's less of a problem there than, say, in America.
Yes, we thought that the priority should be access to technology, but it's turning out to be switching off that's the real challenge for many, Neela. Have a great week!
I just read a post the other day where the author pointed out the dramatic difference in social media usage across different SES. Given the direction things are heading, especially here in the U.S., that divide is likely to get even bigger. It’s hard for parents to focus on something like that when they’re just trying to make ends meet.
I used to work for a cell phone company about 20 years ago, and it was rare to see a 5 or 6 year-old with a cell phone. Every once in a while, a parent would come in and people would really notice. Now, it’s incredibly common.
If you have to work long hours to survive and childcare costs are high, devices can seem like a necessity to keep children occupied. Everything is connected. So true, Bette.
Thanks, Hans. It's an issue that affects all of us, but its impact on young minds is huge. If we handle the challenge well, it represents a massive opportunity to get the best from ourselves as well as technology. But we have to act fast. The risk of losing what makes us human is real.
I agree with your suggestion, 'It is imperative to equip children with human skills before they even see a screen.' I think part of the problem is not having hobbies, interests, and skills to fall back on. I leave my phone behind on Sundays when I'm going out with the husband or I leave it in mu bag. I believe it's because I know it's a distraction when I want to do something fun. But if a phone was all I knew, it'd not be the case. In a way, these kids are having a hard time.
Thanks Raksha - yes, it can be hard enough to turn away when you have lots of other experiences to remind you of life away from the screen. For many youngsters now, everything is digital.
And the need to access places and menus with QR codes isn't an incentive to detox. I am happy you are educating and helping parents to find ways.
Good point, Raksha I always prefer paper or a blackboard! 😊
A very profound subject. Interest you article as My next one deals with these impacts, even amongst adults.
The best results have been from schools that enforce smart phone restrictions. I am in favour of more. I fear that we will not do enough.
I’m not sure a hybrid (human and computer) approach, especially in younger students is right. I believe it is not.
One can always add technology later in their proper role as a tool of augmentation. Especially now there is just the slightest of learning curves.
As another colleague just pointed out - referring to Clark’s laws - it is the people with the least amount of digital literacy and AI knowledge that are AI’s biggest advocates.
Thanks for this article. I will refer to it in mine
Glad this resonated, and I look forward to reading your article, David. I'm definitely for less exposure to technology early. But then the point your colleague made is quite scary. Restriction can make something more attractive.
Thank you for this article, and for the thoughtful way you are grappling with this issue with schools, teachers, and families. This is an important and ongoing topic for us to tend. You're right, it's not going away so we need to gain capacity together to deal with it and deepen our human interactions.
You're right, Hans. It's up to the whole community to consciously tackle the issue. And it's too big for individuals to solve alone.
We’ve underestimated how early and how deeply screens rewire the way kids relate to the world, and to themselves. In Trinidad, they pushed for one laptop per child, thinking it would close the equity gap, and now they’re scrambling to protect attention spans.
Though I would say it's less of a problem there than, say, in America.
Happy New Week Lisa...
Yes, we thought that the priority should be access to technology, but it's turning out to be switching off that's the real challenge for many, Neela. Have a great week!
thank you so much Lisa :)
I just read a post the other day where the author pointed out the dramatic difference in social media usage across different SES. Given the direction things are heading, especially here in the U.S., that divide is likely to get even bigger. It’s hard for parents to focus on something like that when they’re just trying to make ends meet.
I used to work for a cell phone company about 20 years ago, and it was rare to see a 5 or 6 year-old with a cell phone. Every once in a while, a parent would come in and people would really notice. Now, it’s incredibly common.
If you have to work long hours to survive and childcare costs are high, devices can seem like a necessity to keep children occupied. Everything is connected. So true, Bette.
Thanks, Hans. It's an issue that affects all of us, but its impact on young minds is huge. If we handle the challenge well, it represents a massive opportunity to get the best from ourselves as well as technology. But we have to act fast. The risk of losing what makes us human is real.