OPINION: For youngsters, cellphones are not harmless
I recently purchased a cat toy that was basically a stick with a string attached to a toy mouse. On the packaging were a series of warnings instructing me how to use the toy so that my cat wouldn’t be harmed. This got me wondering ... Do cellphones come with warnings? Should they?
I would like to initiate a public discussion in this newspaper about the potential problems that cellphones can cause for kids (and adults).
It has been my observation that gadgets in the hands of kids are not harmless, and with a new school year on the horizon, it is a good time to think about how our kids use technology.
To satisfy my hunch based on personal observation, I decided to see if there was any scholarly research on the matter. The most compelling book that I have found is “Making Room For Conversation, the Art of Talk in the Digital Age.” The book is written by Sherry Turkle, a professor and researcher, at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology. Her specialization is on the relationship of technology to society.
I recommend that every teacher and parent read the book twice.
In the nutshell, she outlines how cellphones adversely affect:
1) Person-to-person communication skills.
2) Concentration and situational awareness.
3) Creativity.
4) People around us.
I wonder if any readers have noticed this trend in your own lives? Are you or anyone you know preoccupied with their gadget?
To illustrate (humorously) how we inadvertently weaken our skills, I will refer back to my cat:
I am playing with my cat, and suddenly the cat stops playing. I now I have to make a choice:
1) (concentration) Do I keep trying, and allow short intervals of wait time? ... Too much patience is required, so I feel compelled to check my email or the news.
2) (communication) Do I just hang out with kitty, read her body language, spend quiet time together, perhaps follow kitty to the window to watch birds feed? Boring. Time to check the computer again, it is always bright, full of sensationalism and controversy that gives me a jolt!
3) (creativity) Do I take a moment to invent a new more interesting kitty game? ... Takes too much thinking to be creative ... time to see what’s happening online.
4) (people around us) “Sorry honey, I can’t talk now, I’m watching funny cat videos online”
Now, imagine that a kid has a smart phone in school. Need I say more?
In her book, Turkle explains how we become dependent and even addicted to our gadgets.
I am an advocate of what I call digital mindfulness. The basic premise is that we orient kids (and ourselves) to take ten seconds before reaching for a gadget and have them ask themselves, “Do I really need this? What are the alternatives? What part of real-life am I trading off for gadget time?”
Fortunately, there seems to be a groundswell of concern this issue. Here are some interesting resources:
1. The British newspaper the Guardian in May published results of research entitled, “Schools that Ban Cellphones See Better Results” https://www.theguardian.com/education/2015/may/16/schools-mobile-phones-academic-results
2. Here is a company that specializes in helping people get a grip on their digital habits. https://digitalmindfulness.net/
3. Digital Mindfulness Questions for Discussion — Based on Turkle’s book, I have created a list of questions to help families, help their kids think about how to use their gadgets in appropriate ways. Please feel free to print out the list and use it for family conversation. The list is online at http://digitalmindfulness.blogspot.com/
There is no doubt that technology can be a useful tool, but, as demonstrated in the cat stories, grabbing the gadget is always easier than 1) conversing face to face, 2) being patient enough to generate a creative idea or, 3) taking time to learn something. By choosing the easy alternative — that bright, warm, smooth, addicting gadget — we may be robbing ourselves of the opportunity to strengthen our concentration, communication, and creative skills, and we may be avoiding or distracting those around us.
Let’s hear your stories.
Eckels is a resident of Kalispell.