I am the father of two teenage sons, only without smartphones in their respective grades. Their pictures – and the “Cool Factor” – hit because I won’t let them get these digital drugs.
As a psychologist with decades of experience in the field of addiction, I tell my kids, “I take care of your brain, not your image.” The contemptuous eye rolls and the uncomfortable withdrawal presumably follows.
According to the American Academy of Child and Adolescent Psychiatry, today’s teens spend up to nine hours a day on a screen or smartphone, while children between the ages of 8 and 12 spend four to six hours. Many teens spend more time on the screen than they sleep, and some admit that they use them too much.
As a practicing physician, I know that attachment is the most important element of “healthy” development. Children’s attachment increases in response to where their attention goes. Our 86 billion neurons evolve according to the inputs they receive, and neurobiological pathways are refined and mapped in adolescence.
The amount of time teens spend on their devices is particularly worrying.
There is no shortage of recent and frightening stories and studies about the mental health status of our children, with reduced attention and a decrease in empathy from weak emotion control and a significant increase in perceptions of frustration, anxiety and suicide.
The U.S. Surgeon General declared a national crisis in mental health last December. The correlation between the deterioration of mental health and the increase in smartphone ownership has not been lost on me.
Excessive use of digital devices can make an entire generation nervous as adults, reading novels such as Tolstoy’s “War and Peace” or neurologically processing complex problems that require sustained attention.
Not lazy but incompetent – a terrible calculus.
As our kids learn to connect through digital devices, this is an unprecedented phenomenon – and I am concerned that it is radically changing the developmental circle of our ancient brains.
Anxiety is one of the brightest symptoms of adolescent mental health, and it strengthens my firewall against giving my kids smartphones.
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About five years ago, when I was taking my then elementary school kids to school, I was shocked and high school students were stuck with their phones – their consciousness was basically taken hostage. The external “real” world could not compete with the hypnotic greed of their phones. I got angry, then worried.
I was already aware of the concerns of teens about using social media, but it made me feel very different. It was clear to me that the devices had turned into extra provocative portals, intoxicating the rabbit holes that the kids couldn’t help but go down. Tunnel social media and other platforms.
Their smartphones are basically digital medicine. Technology and social media companies specialize in marketing every advancement related to them as a positive and cool must. And since information and data are important for human survival, it is understandable that people want instant access to the millions of bits of information that technology / smartphones offer.
But there are costs. The devices are not neutral. Devices always demand something from us – first and foremost, our undivided attention.
As our kids learn to connect through digital devices, this is an unprecedented phenomenon – and I am concerned that it is radically changing the developmental circle of our ancient brains.
I don’t let my kids gamble or watch violence because they will be riveted and exploited, their brains will be electrified by dopamine dumps. Intuitively, I understand that it is both irresistible and dangerous, and why children’s brains are unable to integrate such stimuli in a healthy way.
Smartphones, in my view, fall into this same category.
For the past three years, the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill has conducted longitudinal scientific research focusing on the neurobiological effects of devices on brain development through the Winston National Center for Brain and Psychological Development, funded by the My Family Foundation.
We’re creating tools for parents, carers and teens to make well-informed choices about technology and how they interact with social media.
Our research examines how the use of technology may be associated with changes in adolescents’ brains and social development, including an increased risk of behavioral health disorders such as depression and anxiety.
In addition to contributing to our research, UNC-Chapel Hill’s Department of Psychology and Neuroscience teaches undergraduate courses in social media, technology and the adolescent brain, consistently one of the department’s most popular courses. This course has spawned a wide-ranging community conversation on campus about the dangers of overuse of the device.
We need to do more to protect our children’s emotional and cognitive development. Technology companies have hidden destructive and addictive elements in smartphones, making them the Trojan horse that kids now carry in their pockets.
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That’s why we need to raise awareness with parents, warn them about the dangers of these devices, and educate them about their children’s vulnerabilities and how technology companies are building their bottom line on our children’s future values.
In a very short time, smartphones have been woven into the fabric of almost everyone’s life. Managed responsibly, they are incredible tools. At the same time, recognizing our children’s natural curiosity and inclination towards innovation makes it all the more important that we protect their healthy developmental paths.
If we want to overcome this deeply troubling trend, we must recognize the problem. Resources and support are needed to help parents navigate the path to using the right device for their children.
While our guidelines on safe vehicle operation or even any movies are developmentally appropriate for our children to watch, we should have protocols to help parents make the right decisions on how to introduce and manage our children’s technology.
A good place to start with age restrictions and even time guidelines for smartphones. In fact, that movement has already begun, such as Wait until 8th, which encourages parents and guardians to delay smartphone purchases for kids up to 8th grade.
Parents – and ultimately, lawmakers – must work to keep this digital drug out of the hands of young children who are not able to handle it responsibly.
Jim Winston Jr.A practicing psychologist with extensive experience in the treatment of addiction, he is its founder and chairman Winston Family Initiative In North Carolina.
Produced by this piece about children and smartphones Hatchinger report, A non-profit, independent news organization focusing on inequality and innovation in education. For registration Hatchinger’s newsletter.
