Is your child addicted to technology?
It’s not his fault…it’s yours
I confess: I’m writing this on my cell phone while my six-year-old son plays Nintendo Switch next to me. The irony doesn’t escape me, but perhaps that’s exactly why I need to write this article. We’re all hypocrites when it comes to technology and parenting, and it’s about time we admitted it.
Two weeks ago, at a parents’ meeting at my son’s school, I witnessed something that deeply disturbed me. While the teacher was talking about the dangers of excessive screen time, I discreetly counted: 15 of the 23 parents present were fiddling with their cell phones. Some disguised themselves under the table, others didn’t even bother. The same scene we criticize in our teenagers was playing out in a room full of adults supposedly concerned about their children’s digital addiction.
According to a recent study by Common Sense Media, parents spend an average of 9.1 hours a day in front of screens, while they condemn their children for spending 4.5 hours. Let that sink in for a moment.
Jonathan Haidt, in his new book “The Anxious Generation”, presents alarming data: since 2012, when smartphones became ubiquitous, child well-being indicators have fallen dramatically in all developed countries. It’s no coincidence that 2012 was also the year in which the number of…
