We use cookies to give you the best possible experience on our website. By continuing to browse, we assume you agree to our use of cookies. Click here to learn more about cookies and how to manage them.
News & Events
Back

Article in The Times

27 December 2018

The-Times

By Anthony Wallersteiner

Today’s children, dubbed the “phigitals”, since they draw little or no distinction between the physical and the digital world, are the first to have the entire store of mankind’s knowledge literally at their fingertips. Smartphones also mean that friends and relatives can easily be in touch with each other wherever they are in the world. And social media has given people a new way to keep up with the news and a platform to express their opinions.

But it is also the case that screen addiction is an issue of enormous and growing concern to parents and teachers everywhere. British children now typically have access to as many as five different screens at home (sometimes watching more than one at the same time, playing a game on a phone while the TV is on in the background). On average, they are spending nearly five hours a day in front of them.

Yes, some of that is because they are using computers or tablets to do homework or reading, which is a good thing, particularly since most will need to be adept at using them in the workplaces of the future. But most of the increase is due to the relentless rise of smartphones. Many parents report that given half a chance, their children would willingly spend the whole day checking Instagram or playing Fortnite.

There is little doubt that this is having an impact on the way children behave and interact, with potential consequences for their mental health. A study from the University of California found that children who went five days without exposure to technology were far better able to read human emotions than those who had access to their computers and phones. Learning to read body language is important in developing empathy with others, and too much time gazing at a screen can dull children’s abilities to read non-verbal signals and engage actively with people around them.

Some experts have likened screen addiction to alcoholism, with online stimulation triggering the addictive release of dopamine in the brain. There is also an obvious link between high levels of screen use and physical inactivity which contributes to obesity, type two diabetes and cardiovascular disease.

Even those in charge of big digital companies recognise that there’s a problem. Apple’s Tim Cook recently said he would not want his nephew on a social network, while child health experts wrote to Facebook warning that excessive use of digital devices and social media is harmful to children and teens.Facebook’s Mark Zuckerberg posted an open letter to his newborn child, urging her to make time to go outside and play and read books – the antithesis of a childhood spent glued to social media.

All schools have experience of how negative experiences on social media – for example, online bullying or becoming overly concerned about your appearance compared to others – can affect some children. Some can face a double whammy of being bullied at school, and then coming home to find that their social standing is defined by how many likes or retweets they have received.

At Stowe School, we have implemented various policies to try to address the problem. All phones now have to be handed in at night by lower school boarding pupils, while years 9 to 11 are required to give up their phones at the start of lessons to prevent distractions. Our pupils are also taught to create a positive digital footprint by using the principles of “THINK before you post” (T, is it true; H, is it hurtful; I, is it illegal; N, is it necessary; K, is it kind?).

All schools should consider “SOS” (switch off screens) days for staff and pupils in order to boost teamwork, resilience, character, imagination, creativity and problem-solving abilities without recourse to Google.

However, there is little point in adopting a King Canute approach and trying to keep children off the internet altogether – not least because there is some evidence that controlled use of social media can bring benefits.

A University of Oxford study of 120,000 UK 15-year-olds found that while heavy use of technology was linked to lower wellbeing, among those who were the lightest users a limited increase in time online was associated with better mental health, perhaps because social media is now important for maintaining friendships.

In seeking to ensure that children strike a sensible balance, parents and schools need to work together. That means adults leading by example. According to the Office for National Statistics, the average working parent now spends only 19 minutes a day interacting with their children. Yet on a typical weekday, adults spend six hours looking at screens including smartphones, tablets, work computers and televisions. Children are well aware of this hypocrisy, with more than two-thirds complaining that their parents spend too much time online.

Screen-addicted parents need to recognise that being so busy checking work emails or the latest sporting news that they fail to listen to and engage with their children during precious family time is a form of neglect, however unwitting. As we seek to ensure that the next generation appreciates there is more to life than time spent hunched over computers and smartphones, we should take a long, hard look at our own screen habits.