Tech Tips: When Technology Becomes Too Much
Headline and logo of the actual article which appeared in the Sheridan County Journal Star on December 4, 2024.
When I was a high school teacher, my students and I talked about our phones all the time: apps we couldn’t live without, the way our phones made things easier for us, and the isolation an overeager phone user can experience while still believing they’re “connected.”.
Sinek taught them
Because I wanted my classes to recognize what’s okay and what’s rude to do with their phones, we watched a YouTube video by Simon Sinek called Dealing with Smartphone Disrespect. In it, Sinek says, among other things, “Holding your phone is a visual cue telling someone they are not as important to you as the phone. Put it down. Put it away.”
It sunk in
This past week I received a text message from a former student who realized how true the video was as he was home for Thanksgiving. He told me the majority of his family members usually had their phones in their hands and if a notification came through, “boom, they’d have to look.” He said it drove him nuts. This came from a 19 year-old.
You might be surprised to learn that a lot of kids don’t love being tied to their phones. Year after year I was saddened to hear that my students felt the pressure of being a part of every social media platform their friends were involved in for fear of being left out.
Right there and there and there
Look around you. I bet you won’t have to look far to find someone on their phone. We’re addicted to them and that’s no accident. Apps are designed so we feel like we need to use them daily: we can’t miss our Snap streaks, we jump at notifications, and we relive memories on a daily basis.
Someone’s doing something
One man is trying to make a difference in kid’s cell phone usage. Jonathan Haidt is a school counselor and author of The Anxious Generation. He claims that technology has rewired children’s brains and has caused an epidemic of mental illness. I worry he’s right.
Haidt is trying to get a bill passed in Congress called the Kids Online Safety Act (KOSA). The bill would require internet companies to protect our children from dangerous online content and take responsibility for the harm their platforms can cause. The bill has been supported by both parties, but big tech doesn’t want to lose the money they continue to invest in our children’s technology use.
We can help make a change
“KOSA focuses specifically on platforms’ design - not their content. If this bill passes it’s the first step on a path to stopping the exploitation apps knowingly use on the still-developing brains of children,” Haidt says. Imagine if we all supported this bill (by calling or emailing our local representatives). If we can get our children off their phones, isn’t there a chance for us all?
You can find out more about Jonathan’s Haidt by finding him online at anxiousgeneration.com.