Depending on where your family stands with the pandemic, screen time limits have been relaxed or may have been completely removed during the craziness that was 2020.
The initial quarantine that kept us indoors for months encouraged additional household screen time so that everyone could interact with their friends, neighbors, and family members. We embraced it Now, twelve months later, it feels like we are seeing a light at the end of the tunnel. Implementing those original screen time limits will not be easy, especially because spring hasn’t yet sprung so getting outside can still be difficult. It may be time for a “digital detox” to help your family shake off the cloud of electronic energy hanging over your home.
Taking A Break
The summer months provide parents a fantastic opportunity to implement a “digital detox” with their kids. Since summer is still a few months away, you’ll have to find a week this spring to work with. Taking a break from the beeps, pings, and buzz of social media is something everyone should consider due to the adverse effects it can have on your neural pathways. Certain aspects of social media have proven to be addictive. Various research studies have shown how the brain releases small amounts of dopamine when we receive a like, a favorite, or upvote on something we’ve posted online. We get a small, short lived high from how that public, social acknowledgment makes us feel.
It’s more than just the chemistry in your brain though. Those likes, tweets, and chirps offer a connection to the rest of the world. It is hard to resist taking that quick glance at your phone to see who or what is vying for your attention. As an experiment, try not looking at your smartphone for a short period. Ignore its persuasive pings and alluring alerts. This simple assignment is much harder than you might imagine and it speaks volumes to the need for a family-wide tech disconnect. I’ve seen it with my own family. They are so attached to their devices that the idea of going out to do anything can be perceived as an annoyance!
I’m suggesting a digital detox this spring to help get families back to square one. This detox consists of no smartphones, no tablets, and no video games. Watching a movie or a show through a streaming service is acceptable, assuming it’s done as a family. The ideal disconnect would last three to five days. Let’s look at how you can make this idea work for your household (without strangling everyone within arms length).
You’re the Worst
Parents should be prepared for an enormous pushback on this idea. Taking technology away from kids is a common form of punishment for breaking the rules. Now, you’re going to limit its usage for a few days for no logical reason other than you read it was a good idea. Generation Z views the virtual world much differently than previous generations. They don’t see a significant difference between the physical and virtual worlds. In their eyes, you are isolating them from their friends, community, and everything outside of the house. FOMO, the fear of missing out, will be a driving force behind their adolescent concerns. Your offspring may quickly believe “you’re the worst, meanest parent in the whole world and you don’t care about your kids” or something like that. The best advice is to explain your reasoning to your family with the expectation that it will probably fall on deaf ears.
Making It Work
Implementing a digital disconnect is not going to be an easy task for most households. There are some strategies parents can use to increase the likelihood of success.
Model It — For a digital detox to be effective, we as parents need to model the behavior we want our children to emulate. Show your kids how vital a disconnect can be by putting your device down. Lead by example! Stop checking Facebook, Instagram, and email every time your smartphone chirps. As a working adult, you probably won’t be able to cut off your access completely, but you should limit it as much as possible. Imagine a few days without a Zoom meeting... wouldn’t that be glorious?
Plan It — Schedule a few activities with friends to get the kids interacting with the real world. Plan an event like going bowling or bouncing at an indoor trampoline park. COVID restrictions may limit your options, however, creative parents can come up with some socially distant activities. Renting a movie theater for a private group made up of your family and a few friends is a phenomenal (and economical) option. You could consider taking your crew to the library, a museum, or aquarium. The goal is to get the kids into an environment where they can experience the real world and interact with it. You know your threshold for exposure, so plan accordingly.
Ease Into It — As mentioned above, the ideal disconnect would last three to five days. Starting your digital detox with that goal in mind may be perceived as a major shock to your environment. It does not have to be though. Start small by limiting usage during dinner time a few nights a week. If your busy schedule prevents family meal times, look for other opportunities to restrict tech usage for an hour or two. Parents should consider using this strategy for a week or two before pulling the plug for several days in a row. The whole family has been using tech much more than usual for over a year so go slow.
Be Prepared — Teens and young adults often struggle to make smart decisions when it comes to technology use. A digital disconnect can quickly bring out some sneaky behaviors as kids try to find a way to beat the system. You may need to go as far as to change the Wifi password or use an app to prevent your children’s devices from connecting to the internet.
Outcomes
Children who have taken part in a digital detox reported that they appreciated the disconnect once they got past the initial smartphone withdrawal. Teens said they felt happier, slept better, were more relaxed, and could be more focused during the downtime. Additionally, kids interacted with their friends in a face-to-face setting more often when virtual communication was not an option. The reality is that most teens will go right back to their old ways when given the opportunity. Don’t get too frustrated by that though. Social media is a mainstay of how Generation Z communicates and interacts with the world.
The goal of this disconnect is to make your kids aware of how technology can change your thinking, mood, and behaviors. Use this as an opportunity to reestablish norms for what is and is not acceptable in terms of screen time. Lastly, don’t forget to take a few minutes to reflect as a group before you return them to their digital devices.
Mike Daugherty is a husband, father of three young children, author, speaker, Google Innovator, and possible Starbucks addict. He is a certified educational technology leader who has served in a variety of roles through his twenty-year career in public education. Currently, Mike is the Director of Technology for the Chagrin Falls Exempted Village School district in Northeast Ohio. As an IT director he has developed creative, well thought out solutions that positively impact teaching and learning.