If you’re like me and my family, you are probably overwhelmed by “screen time” and struggle daily with the barrage of requests to check in and stay connected, whether through social media, emails or messaging apps that bombard us and urge us to turn our attention to our devices. While making our film “Screened Out” I met with many doctors, addiction experts and tech insiders who told us again and again how tech giants are knowingly changing our behaviors and creating addictive patterns in all of us.
One of the worst parts of this manipulation is the fact that they are going after our children to hook them early and create users for life. This “new’ childhood will be filled with creating perfect social media posts, responding to messenger pings and playing endless games that stimulate and provide instant digital gratification. The childhood you remember full of fun playing outside, long imaginative playtime and getting up to “no good” is gone. The Digital childhood is upon us and may be damaging our kids. This war for our attention fueled by app and gaming companies is stressful for adults The problem is compounded for children
Many parents are setting a negative example with our screen use, by checking our devices all day and ignoring our children when they try to communicate with us. They start to think this is a perfectly acceptable way to behave.. It’s important that we learn how to navigate these devices and try to turn our attention away from them. We can then help our kids do the same.