When digital media is used thoughtfully and appropriately, it can enhance daily life, but when used inappropriately or without thought, screen time can displace many important childhood activities such as face-to-face interaction, family-time, outdoor play, exercise, unplugged downtime, and sleep. As parents, we are called upon to ascertain how screens are being utilized by our children and it's impact on both our family relationships and our children's social, emotional, cognitive and physical development.
Without a strong sense of self control, children have a difficult time limiting their digital usage and choosing other activities. They need our help finding a balanced approach to life in the digital age. And since intimacy and attachment are developed in face-to-face interactions, and not through screen time, if we want strong bonded relationships with our children, we adults have to be available, present. and unplugged to build those vital connections with our kids.
Empathy and social skills are learned through face-to-face interactions as well. In the world of video gaming, children are often rewarded in a game for the exact kinds of social interactions that they are punished for in the real world. Critics of the ever popular video gaming industry believe that the part of the brain where empathy is developed is disengaged when a child plays video games. Instead of developing greater empathy for human beings, there seems to be a muted response to violent images after teenage boys play numerous first-person shooter games. As parents, we must consider which media content and what amount of screen time are teaching the values and skills we hope to instill in our children.
On the other hand, we know that being surrounded by nature is calming to our nervous system. However, in a world of screens, downtime to self soothe becomes nearly impossible to find. Constant digital stimulation and an overactive nervous system become the new normal. In the last decade, the rates of anxiety and depression have risen among teenagers. Are selfies, "likes", and maintaining a digital reality having a detrimental effect on our children's mental health and self image? These are important questions that our culture is just beginning to ask and explore. Therapists have begun to address the addictive nature of digital media and help families set important boundaries for its use (For more info about tech addiction in children, see http://nypost.com/2016/08/27/its-digital-heroin-how-screens-turn-kids-into-psychotic-junkies/ )
Have you begun to notice that screen time is taking over your family time; that you have fewer intimate moments with your children and more arguments over the use of technology? If so, please join our mountain parent community next Wednesday, Feb 15th from 5:30 -8:00 pm at Nederland Middle Senior High School to view the award-winning film SCREENagers. The film will be followed by breakout sessions exploring practical ways to address Raising Kids in a Digital Age. Discuss with other parents how to raise healthy children by encouraging social interaction, creative imaginative play, and engagement with the real, natural world in proportion to the time spent on screens. Please contact ann@teensinc.org (720-561-4861) to request free childcare.
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