There is nothing really brave about this experiment we are engaging in with our lives, our relationships and the future of our children. A more accurate description of a Huxley-esque world would be “dangerous new world.”
As a mother, my instinct warned me that children in front of screens was wrong. Every fiber of my being bucked against it. And regardless of what I saw everyone else doing around me, I insisted on being a “screen-light” family.
The American Academy of Pediatrics recommends that children do not see a screen of any kind before age 2. Only 3 percent of Americans do this. I am one of that 3 percent. Last year, following pressure, they updated their guidelines to allow “limited, high-quality programming with parents present for ages 18-24 months old.”
Remember Baby Einstein? You thought it would make your baby smarter. The truth was Disney’s Baby Einstein videos are no more educational than crayons are nutritious. The company refunded anyone who purchased their insanely popular videos, arguably caving under the pressure of a complaint to the U.S. Federal Trade Commission (FTC) by the Campaign for a Commercial-Free Childhood. The CCFC filed the complaint back in 2006, based on the lack of credible evidence that screen-based media can educate children under 2. It wasn’t long before Disney removed educational claims from its Baby Einstein products.
Remember brain games such as Lumosity? You thought it would sharpen your mind. Forget that. The shine has come off Lumosity with an announcement by federal investigators that the makers must pay $2 million to settle a charge that it made fraudulent claims and “preyed on consumers’ fears.” The company has also been handed a $50 million penalty for harming consumers – but the fine was suspended because the company cannot afford to pay it, according to the FTC.
And yet, I see babies in shopping carts with iPads looking like zombies, kids hanging out in schoolyards huddled over a device, parents ignoring their kids because they are either in front of a TV or computer or have their faces buried in their smartphones, people eating meals with their devices instead of with each other.
Let’s face it: There is a serious problem bubbling up here. But don’t take my word for it.
“Actually we don’t allow the iPad in the home. We think it’s too dangerous for them (referring to his children) in effect.” - Steve Jobs
Mounting evidence is being presented by scientists, cultural anthropologists, behavioral specialists and addiction treatment centers, suggesting that screens are addictive and they are designed to be behaviorally irresistible.
Irresistible: The Rise of Addictive Technology by Adam Alter shows how all the top tech giants – including Steve Jobs (Apple), Evan Williams (Twitter), Lesley Gold (SG Group) and Chris Anderson (Wired) – are aware of the dangers of screens, perhaps more than the rest of us, and as a result, they enforce strict limits on every device in their homes, because they have seen the dangers of technology firsthand.
What do their lifestyles look like? No screens in the kids’ bedrooms, no iPads, instead buying their children books and give them opportunities to interact with the world and be cultured. These kids did not get addicted to screens.
“It seemed as if the people producing tech products were following the cardinal rule of drug dealing: Never get high on your own supply,” Alter writes.
“The problem isn’t the absence of willpower, it’s that there are a thousand people on the other side of the screen whose job is to break down the self-regulation you have,” says design ethicist Tristan Harris.
Essentially, we are all one product or experience away from becoming addicted. The truth is, not only have many become addicted, but these obsessive behaviors cultivated by the screens, clicks and flashes lead to more troubling behaviors such as obsessive gambling, shopping, pornography and social media consumption – and this is only the beginning. What is scary is that we are only now learning about the power of these hooks. What is scarier is what it is doing to our children.
Glow Kids: How Screen Addiction is Hijacking Our Kids – and How to Break the Trance by Nicholas Kardaras is another book warning of evidence that suggests device usage has significant negative clinical and neurological effects on children. Brain imaging shows that glowing screens, like that of the iPad, are stimulating to the brain’s pleasure center, and are able to increase dopamine in the brain as much as sex does. For adults, addictive enough. For children with still-developing brains, a violation.
“Most shocking of all, recent brain imaging studies conclusively show that excessive screen exposure can neurologically damage a young person’s developing brain in the same way that cocaine addiction can,” Kardaras writes.
But there is a light at the end of the tunnel, and it’s not from the glow of a screen. The good news is much of the damage is reversible. The bad news is, as with a drug addiction, it may not be a possibility, so it is imperative to take this seriously and to act quickly. It starts with a strict and extended electronic fast; cold turkey, or abstain completely from screens. This will reset the super stimulus.
What is a supernormal stimulus? Problems instincts create when disconnected with our natural environment, and connected to the virtual environment. The essence of the supernormal stimulus is that the exaggerated imitation can exert a stronger pull than the real thing. In order to reset that, we need to unplug.
Keep in mind that the onus of responsibility is on us, the guardians, to provide the fill-in of the time to being killed with tech. Take them to the park, enroll them in classes, go on bike rides, get them involved in sports, volunteer, visit a museum, see a concert, play an instrument, cards, board games, find a hobby.
After that, when we gradually introduce tech back into our lives, we need to consciously monitor whether technology is serving our needs, social or informational, or whether it is introducing supernormal stimuli to once again hijack our brain. In the latter case, we need to step away from the 2-D world of the screen and into the 3-D natural world to reconnect with real life. This is important now more than ever with virtual reality on the horizon. Brace yourselves against this dangerous new reality.
Ria Greiff is a host of You Inc., an NPR show. She is a master trainer for a nationwide firm and has been providing wellness seminars for the past 15 years. She is also the clinical director of her own benefits consulting firm. Ria is a regular contributor to Healthy New Albany Magazine. Feedback welcome at adeperro@cityscenemediagroup.com.
