Are we helping students take advantage of powerful tools of technology, or losing them to entertaining pleasures of distractions?
This question haunts me day and night. Yet, the answer already seems clear. Increasing research assures us that the screen-entertained brain begins to rewire and become complacent, and links addictive screen time usage to decreased self-esteem, focus, motivation, test scores and physical performance. This so-called "Smart Revolution" is, in reality, creating a numbingly dumb and under performing generation. Bright, creative, potential-rich students fall prey to the beeping and buzzing poisons of cellular fixations.
Humans are wired to seek experiences that result in pleasure, and the feel-good neurotransmitter called Dopamine is a chemical that is released into our bodies as a reward. It creates desire and motivation to repeat the stimulus. Digital devices offer these rewards instantaneously and continuously - instant messaging, video games, advertisements. Over time, even the sight of a device that delivers these stimulants can create a desire as powerful as the actual stimulant (think Pavlov’s dog). Psychological and physiological addictions of this nature develop when other parts of the brain that mediate behavior are not adequately developed. So what are the long term effects on the child who grows up with a screen instead of a Stratocaster (or other healthy alternatives that stimulate neurological development)? That has not definitively been determined; but based on the short term results, the outlook is not a positive one. In short, passive screen time creates apathy, and placates an otherwise creative mind and active body.
If you are wondering how this wiring affects the developing brain as related to learning, it is devastating. Recent research likens it to the undernourished brain of a starving child; and we do know the long term effects from this.
So, as responsible adults, why are we so afraid to remove these devices from our young growing charges? Perhaps it is the whining, pleading, irritability, or outright anger - all direct correlations to behaviors exhibited by people addicted to other inhibitors like drugs or alcohol. The most disturbing piece of this puzzle is that these vices are commonplace and are provided to children by the people who love and protect them.
The answer to this growing problem is complicated. Digital devices are not going away any time soon. They are incredibly powerful tools and can be used for learning, problem-solving, and communication. But without proper guidance, limits, and instruction, they can also be powerfully destructive. Just as one would not give a razor sharp butcher knife to a toddler, or the keys to an car to an unlicensed driver, the proper instruction must also be given regarding cell phones, tablets, and television. The possibility of harming oneself with a knife or vehicle may be more obvious in the short-term, but the less obvious harm that digital devices can silently impart upon the developing brain will become evident in the long term.
Let us strive to exercise caution and guidance as we place these powerful ubiquitous tools into the hands of our children. Here are a few suggestions to help exercise limits:
Improve sleep and melatonin production by eliminating screens in the bedroom. Do not use them 1 hour after waking in the morning and 1 hour prior to sleeping at night.
Improve attitude by decreasing usage throughout the day. Build the ability to mediate decision-making as to whether a stimulus is constructive or destructive.
Have lively conversations at the dinner table by eliminating all devices.
Encourage healthy activities that build discipline, delay gratification, and provide healthy rewards.
As always, the overarching goal is to nourish a developing mind, body and spirit, and to instill long-term values of patience, mindfulness, self-motivation, self-discipline, autonomy and creativity. The resulting rewards of delaying immediate gratification for a few moments each day are well worth it. “Smart is, as smart does!”
Happy Learning!