Technology has altered how our teens communicate and what information they are find. As parents, we have come to expect frequent interaction between our teens and their devices. We view it at the mall and witness it in our own homes. We see it when our teens are by themselves and when they are in groups, sometimes seemingly unaware that they are surrounded by friends.
According to a recent report from the Pew Research Center, 92 percent of teens report going online daily; 87 percent say they have access to a computer; 81 percent use a game console; 91 percent text message on their phones with an average daily number of 30 – which goes up for older teens.
Tom Tozer and Bill Black pose for a portrait Monday, March 28, 2016 at the Chattanooga Times Free Press.Seventy-one percent of teens use Facebook; 52 percent use Instagram; 41 percent use Snapchat; 11 percent report using anonymous apps like Whisper, Yik Yak and Ask.FM, where questions, texts or images are anonymous.
It’s an epidemic.
We’re introducing the e-world to ever younger children, and research reveals cause for concern. Studies show that reliance on electronic devices can negatively impact development and expression of language. In an article in JAMA (Journal of American Medical Association) Pediatrics, Anna Sosa, Ph.D., reports that playing with electronic toys can decrease quantity and quality of language development compared with books or traditional toys.
When we were growing up, we used imagination to invent characters, create stories and develop our own worlds. We spent hours in the fort, under the tent or at the park. We had wooden toys and bedtime stories. As we grew older, our mental and physical activities enriched our imagination, creativity and language.
A recent study reported by Mind, Brain and Education examined parents and children playing with electronic and traditional toys. Researchers found that, even though parents talked an equal amount, they used less spatial language with the electronic toy and had higher-quality conversations with traditional toys.
In other words, when adults and children play with electronic toys, adults are less responsive to children’s needs for attention.
Furthermore, when parents read e-books to their children, the kids are less likely to follow the plot.
The study concludes, “Play that is 90 percent toy and 10 percent parent-child is not as ‘educational’ as play that is 90 percent parent-child and 10 percent toy.”
So what to do?
* Get involved. Sure, electronic toys have some value and our kids’ phones are almost body parts. But being engaged with your kids when they are young will build a stronger relationship.
* Include the tried-and-true. Read paper books to your kids. Encourage their own reading. Use the public library. Engage your children in conversation about what is read. This will help them think about situations and draw conclusions rather than have the thinking computed for them.
* Promote creative play. Get your kids outdoors, under the tarp, in the pool, out on the trail. Arrange for group interaction with other kids. This will help foster their imagination and creativity.
Tom Tozer and Bill Black are authors of “Dads2Dads: Tools for Raising Teenagers.” Like them on Facebook and follow them on Twitter at Dads2Dadsllc. Contact them at tomandbill@Dads2Dadsllc.com.