It’s weird to think about the extent to which the minds of modern kids are shaped by technology.
Indeed, a life without smartphones or social media would be unthinkable to many of today’s teens.
Although tech brings many educational and creative opportunities, there are many dangers which we don’t always consider.
A new book entitled Screen Schooled: Two Veteran Teachers Expose How Technology Overuse Is Making Our Kids Dumber hopes to ‘educate and empower parents’ about the perils of ‘screen saturation.’
Written by co-authors Matt Miles and Joe Clement, this book challenges modern technology education, asserting the need to regulate smartphone use.
Miles and Clement, who have over thirty years teaching experience between them, make the following argument:
[…] with all this talk of “paradigm shifts” and catchy slogans like “meet kids where they are,” everyone was glossing over the most important question: Is this what is best for students?
Educators have become so consumed with how to incorporate more technology into the education of young people that they forget to ask, Should we do this?
Ed-tech firms, with their large marketing budgets, had convinced parents and educators alike that their products are necessary for future student success.
The argument continues:
However, these messages contradicted everything Matt and I were seeing in children.
It seemed obvious that students weren’t benefitting from the technology in their lives.
Rather, they were quickly transforming into technology addicts. They were consumed by video games and social media.
Technology seemed to be shaping their social interactions and even how they thought.
Interestingly, this book explains how iconic tech giants such as Bill Gates and Steve Jobs didn’t push tech use on their children while they were growing up; showing an understanding of the effects of tech on a teenage mind.
Gates, famously a former Microsoft CEO, introduced a screen time cap back in 2007 when his daughter developed an unhealthy video game obsession.
The Gates kids also had to wait until they turned 14-years-old before they received a mobile phone. Consider how much younger many kids are when they are first given a smartphone…
Late CEO of Apple Job, told The New York Times back in 2022 that he had prevented his own children from using the latest iPad.
They haven’t used it,
We limit how much technology our kids use at home.
Hopefully, this revelation will make more people think twice before letting their kids have unlimited access to iPads and other devices.
Jules studied English Literature with Creative Writing at Lancaster University before earning her masters in International Relations at Leiden University in The Netherlands (Hoi!). She then trained as a journalist through News Associates in Manchester. Jules has previously worked as a mental health blogger, copywriter and freelancer for various publications.