A few weeks ago
I had the opportunity to talk with more than 500 high school
students in an assembly. As I delivered my presentation
I noticed many of the students were using their cell phones
to send text messages while I was up on stage. By the time
I was done it seemed like half - and that's a conservative
estimate - the members of my audience were staring at their
phones instead of at me. It was tough to deliver the presentation
with my usual enthusiasm.
After the morning sessions were over, I discussed what I'd
observed with a few teachers. They told me that they have
the same problem in their classrooms. And it's driving them
nuts. Texting in class is distracting, insulting, and bewildering.
And sending text messages doesn't just disrupt education
for the student with phones. It sabotages the classroom
for the other kids as well. Strangely, the students don't
seem to understand what they're doing to themselves and
others.
"Young people's technical expertise can often exceed
their understanding," according to a new report from
the Institute for Public Policy Research, a leading UK think
tank. And that's a problem considering another of the report's
findings,that kids are increasingly plugged in. In fact,
they spend 20 hours a week on Facebook and other social
networking sites alone, the report states. The report calls
this all-day immersion in technology "being raised
online." In fact, many of the young people surveyed
reported keeping their phones on at night so they wouldn't
miss out on any messages. That doesn't sound like anyone's
idea of a good night's sleep.
Kids love new technology. They always have. And they're
right to love a lot of it. The latest technological innovations
offer amazing new possibilities. But when my experience
at that high school has become the norm for many teachers,
it's hard not to think that technology is taking over kids'
lives.
Another new report, this one from researchers at Northeastern
University in Boston, explains how marketers plan to take
advantage of kids' technological dedication. According to
the research, there is one device teens can't stand being
without: their cell phones. And marketers are poised to
take advantage, sending marketing messages at all hours
of the day.
When you think about all the time today's kids spend texting
and using other technology, you have to wonder: what are
they NOT doing? One thing we know a lot of kids aren't doing
is paying attention in class. Other research has shown that
when students use a lot of media, they don't study as much
or as well. Technology is crowding out important activities
like exercise and even face-to-face-socializing.
There's nothing wrong with kids having cell phones. It can
be a great way for parents to keep in touch with them during
the day. But we have to help young people understand how
to keep technology use inside the bounds of respectful and
reasonable behavior. Tell your kids to turn off the phones
in school and at night. There's a time and place for everything.
David Walsh, Ph.D. is the founder of the
MediaWise Movement, a program of the National Institute
on Media and the Family (www.mediawise.org).
His latest book, No: Why Kids - of All Ages - Need to
Hear It and Ways Parents Can Say It (Free Press) is
available in bookstores.
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