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Message: Social media is toxic for kids

According to research from Common Sense Media, teens now spend an average of nine hours a day glued to their devices, and tweens aren’t far behind at six. And that doesn’t take into account the use of technology in our nation’s classrooms, nor all the required computer assignments that follow our children home after school.

Considered a learning tool, many teachers now incorporate Twitter and video games into their lessons, negatively impacting attention span and critical thinking, along with spelling and writing skills.

As for teachers who refuse to jump on the educational technology train? They are called “tough” and are often criticized for being old school and very backward.

Fortunately, they are not alone.

Among those concerned are Steve Fischer, eBay’s chief technology officer, who sends his children to a Waldorf school rather than the local high-tech public school; so do many Silicon Valley employees.

That’s because founder Rudolf Steiner designed the Waldorf curriculum to focus on the academic, artistic, and practical with an eye toward developing students’ imaginations and preparing them for the real world, without the need for screens.

However, the result for everyone else’s kids is a world driven by technology, both in and out of school.

In fact, Common Sense Media CEO and founder Jim Stryer says the amount of media technology in children’s lives is “mind-boggling.” As he points out, he rules their world and they can’t seem to resist his appeal.

One result: multitasking. Now, 50% of adolescents say that they “often” or “sometimes” use social networks or watch television while doing their homework; 60% say they text and 75% + listen to music at the same time.

However, the pushback is growing with ensembles like Truth About Tech: How Tech Has Kids Hooked. “Sponsored by Common Sense Media, the Center for Humane Technology and others, it held an event in DC earlier this year. Its mission is to expose the techniques that technology companies use to hook our children and find a way to ensure their digital well-being as well.

As the Center points out, “technology is taking over our minds and society.”

And everything has been done on purpose.

In fact, Facebook’s founding president, Sean Parker, has admitted that he and other top brass created “a social validation feedback loop” that makes the social media platform addictive.

At one point, another FB executive, Chalmath Palihapitiya, accused his company of creating “short-term, dopamine-powered feedback loops that are destroying the way society works.”

And even though he tried to back away from that statement, he still has legs, so to speak.

Even Apple CEO Tim Cook gets it. Although he is childless himself, not only does he set firm limits for his nephew when it comes to social media, but he doesn’t consider it a success if we all use technology all the time.

As it is, 50% of teens are addicted to their cell phones, and 60% of their parents agree.

One teenager told her, “I’d rather not eat for a week than have my phone taken away. It’s really bad.”

Additionally, Jean Twenge, a San Diego State University psychology professor and author of iGen, says heavy device users (more than 5 hours a day) are:

  • 56% more likely to say they are unhappy;

  • 27% more likely to be depressed; Y

  • 35% more likely to have a suicide risk factor.

These numbers are backed by numerous experts and also backed by brain imaging studies.

However, Dr. Nicholas Kardaras, author of Glow Kids: How Screen Addiction Is Kidnapping Our Kids, notes that none of us want “some to tell the truth that they kill the buzz and tell us the emperor has no clothes” and that the devices we are so attached to pose a problem, especially for the developing brain of children. kids.

However, regardless of the disturbing evidence, Facebook will not stop, not even remotely.

Not satisfied with his current 2.13 billion users, presumably all 13 and older, he is now aiming lower with Messenger Kids, created with children as young as six in mind.

This video, calling and messaging app allows kids to connect with friends and family via tablet or smartphone, and boasts that countless parents and child advocates participated in its design.

However, many of those contributors received funding from Facebook …

Meanwhile, among Messenger Kids boasts: Parents must first approve all contacts, and this causes children and parents to converse with each other in “a safe and controlled environment.”

Safer than what, face-to-face conversations?

Countless child development experts and others disapprove.

Organized by the Campaign for a Commercial-Free Childhood, several of them recently sent a letter to Facebook CEO Mark Zuckerberg, urging him to take down Messenger Kids. Citing its potential for harm, they noted that young children are developmentally unprepared to handle social media, online relationships, or the misunderstandings and conflicts that can arise from them.

However, Messenger Kids is still working, so …

Bottom line: keep it personal, not virtual.

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