“¡Ay Dios Mío!” my niece shouted during our family dinner. Everybody froze. Alana was the last one at the table to draw any attention. She is the least social person I know. She has no friends, no social life, only her smartphone. Her life is pretty much confined to that 14-inch piece of metal. “My phone died, no battery, no battery, need a charger,” she tearfully mumbled. I looked at her and remembered me at her age and my wire-free childhood.
What happened to this generation? How did all the kids become digital media slaves?!
The anxious generation
I don’t want to sound old and talk about unplugged family dinners, tree houses, and the good times, when we did homework in an actual school library. I also have to admit that I am a big fan of digital media and definitely don’t miss the tormenting sounds of a fax machines. However, when it comes to kids and teenagers, they may have taken it 1000 steps too far.
Jonathan Haidt, a social psychologist, painfully describes what 1000 steps too far look like.
” They hooked children during vulnerable developmental stages, while their brains were rapidly rewiring in response to incoming stimulation.”
Jonathan Haidt, The Anxious Generation.
Haidt claims that this “profound rewiring of childhood” has impeded children’s social and neurological development. These encompass a range of factors, including sleep deprivation, attention fragmentation, addiction, loneliness, social contagion, social comparison, and perfectionism.
This shift from a “play-based childhood” to a “phone-based childhood” is rapidly increasing, and it is our duty to take action.
Cruel optimism
Sometimes, the action is clear, but its magnitude is a matter of question.
On one end of the spectrum, there are solutions based on “cruel optimism.” I first learned about this concept while reading Johann Hari’s bestseller, “Stolen Focus.“
“This is when you take a really big problem with deep causes in our culture — like obesity, depression, or addiction — and you offer people, in upbeat language, a simplistic individual solution. It sounds optimistic because you are telling them that the problem can be solved, and soon —but it is, in fact, cruel because the solution you are offering is so limited and so blind to the deeper causes that for most people, it will fail.”
Johann Hari, Stolen Focus
Tech companies are using this concept and attempting to tackle digital media addiction with various solutions, such as screen time trackers, apps with time limitations, and increased parental monitoring. Essentially, these solutions shift responsibility onto individuals without placing limitations on the tech industry. But is this enough to protect our children? Or maybe with should go to war with the head of the snake?
Radical solutions
“If we don´t form a movement and fight, what is the alternative?”
Johann Hari, Stolen Focus
Maybe we should consider taking drastic measures from the start. Simply treating the symptoms of the disease without addressing its cause might not lead to a solution. If we want to tackle the root of the problem, we need to investigate the excessive influence of tech companies over users.
Aza Raskin, the inventor of infinite scroll, suggests entirely banning the control and monitoring associated with surveillance capitalism of tech companies. This means not allowing them to have any knowledge about us. It would completely ruin their business model. Maybe this measure would lead to a better digital media environment, one with fewer ads, limited notifications, and controlled scrolling.
“These business model can only be changed by regulation imposed on these companies by governments.“
Johann Hari, Stolen Focus
But, and there is a big “BUT” here, we want to make sure we don’t cause too much harm. Our goal is to injure, not to kill. Surveillance capitalism has some positive aspects, and if this is the main source of income for these companies, there could be devastating economic, political, and social consequences. Increasing regulations may lead to bankruptcies, widespread layoffs, and have a deep negative impact on the global economy and mental health.
Florida has the solution… seriously??!
There is a broad gray area between those two ends of the spectrum, overly optimistic and highly radical solutions. The best approach to safeguarding our children lies somewhere within this gray area.
Jonathan Haidt delves into this concept in his book “The Anxious Generation.” His proposed measures include no smartphones before high school, no social media before the age of 16, phone-free schools, and no unsupervised internet browsing on phones before ninth grade.
This was music to the ears of the Florida government. They were the first ones to approve phone-free schools, and the results were striking. Marc Wasko, a high school principal in Orlando, says that with the new phone ban, students make eye contact and respond when he greets them. The students even seem more engaged in class. Nikita MacCaskill, one of the teachers, admits that students became more talkative and collaborative in class.
So perhaps Haidt is correct? Should we consider extending Florida’s regulations to the entire nation?
Conclusion
My mama says that banning never works. People will always find ways to break the rules and find the loopholes. You never want to do something unless you are banned from doing it.
In my view, prioritizing education and responsibility is the key weapon in our battle. When people ask my mom why she doesn’t carry her phone with her all the time, she confidently responds, “I didn’t grow up with that technology. The education I received ingrained in me a sense of responsibility that is more important than constantly scrolling through my phone.”
To conclude, we have many weapons in our toolbox. All we need to do is gather our forces, acknowledge the imminent threat, and take the first step in this long battle. I’m already in. Who would like to sign up?
