Get unplugged: A generation growing up in the technology boom

Here's what you will see zipping through your timeline on social media platforms: updates from a friend's honeymoon, cookery shows, cute animal videos, spoilers on the latest Netflix show, notifications on the photo you put up two days ago, and ad nauseam. Much has been written on the impact of social media and mental health, with opinions varying as to how much is too much.

Yet another paper published online in October in the Preventive Medicine Reports Journal, titled Associations between Screen Time and Lower Psychological Well-being among Adolescents: Evidence from a Population-based study, states "More hours of screen time are associated with lower well-being in ages 2-17."

Yet, a Pew Research Center survey conducted in March-April 2018 says smartphone ownership has become a nearly ubiquitous element of teen life with 95 per cent of US teens reporting that they either own a smartphone or have access to one. 45 per cent of teens also added that they are almost constantly online.

The Preventive Medicine Study claims that users who spend seven or more hours online are more prone to depression and anxiety. The association between well-being and online screen time was higher in adolescents than in younger children. However, non-users and low users did not differ in well-being, thereby showing that a limited browsing time may be allowed without causing harm, but it must be limited, preferably to a single hour, according to the study.

FAMILY TIME

This is something that some families managed to get right, even before these studies flooded the online space. Mother of two, Sohini Ray, who was a lecturer at Santa Monica College, California, USA, and is now about to give her bar exam from the state, believes in a limited screen time for her kids at home, since they are exposed to them in school. At 11 and 13, her daughters are not on any mainstream social media sites, and neither are they in any hurry to be. They are both too busy playing their cello and violin to be interested in putting up boomerangs on Instagram like some of their peers. "While we don't ban them from screens completely, and let them watch a couple of shows online, we limit screen time at home to around 45 minutes daily," says Ray, adding that she is not completely averse to apps that augment creativity, such as Musical.ly, which complements their education in classical music, but that she does not believe in becoming dependent on them. "We also make sure to give enough time to outdoor activities, reading and downtime."

As a Bengali living in California, far from her hometown Kolkata, Ray is determined that neither of her daughters lose their linguistic heritage. As such, she engages her relatives and also takes time to speak in Bengali with them.

"There are also some educational Bengali cartoons online that help with this along with old children's tales. So, while I do not completely ban screen time for my kids, I regulate the content and also ensure that more time is spent doing other activities than fixated on a phone or screen."

Closer home, in St Patrick Town, Pune, a family of five lead a life that doesn't include cable TV. "We have a flat screen but not cable television or set-up boxes," begins Anjali Falleiro, mother to three kids – Nikhil (24), Sonali (22) and Deepa (16). "We use it to watch good movies and serials which we buy," Anjali adds. For current affairs, the family flocks to newspapers and magazines, finding it more fruitful than TV, which in Anjali's opinion is "quite mindless".

And the rules were just as watertight when it came to cell phones. "My kids didn't have mobiles right up till the age of 18. My youngest still doesn't have one because she's in junior college and doesn't need it. They [the kids] only use Facebook Messenger to connect with a few friends, but nothing else."

Come exam time, every parent needs a leverage to get the kids to study. The Falleiro family had library privileges that were regulated. "At one time, we were members of three different libraries and our house is still overrun with books. Birthday and Christmas gifts were mainly books. The only thing now is that they have outread whatever has been written. When they were in school, I would take away their story book time because they were addicted to reading."

Yet, the joy of reading overcomes all the differences she notices between her own and other kids. "We can't talk about the latest TV show or movie or latest actor and actress, but with reading English, Hindi and Marathi novels, missing out on a little TV doesn't make much of a difference," says Deepa.

EXPERT ADVICE

While it may seem that these families are going against the flow in an era driven by technology, they may actually be onto something. Psychiatrist Harish Shetty from Dr LH Hiranandani Hospital, who specialises in child psychology, lists the reasons why an early exposure to screens can be harmful to a child's growth. "First of all, they build several unhealthy habits and associations. They may equate play with the screen, which is harmful. Secondly, they are exposed to unhealthy and violent content, which can cause anxiety. Their social interactions are also limited to the screen, so their real life relationships may be stunted, even with their parents," says Shetty. Screens, according to the child psychiatrist, should only be a part of education, and never an outlet for leisure.

Handing children smartphones to distract them from a tantrum or a weepy spell is one of the most harmful tactics that parents use today. "Let them throw tantrums, scream and cry. That's perfectly normal behaviour for young children," says Shetty, who adds, "Even in terms of tactile communication, children should be growing up experiencing different textures and also physical contacts like hugs from parents and family, not with their primary tactile experience being plastic and silicone."

HOLISTIC STUDIES

Following the model of minimised screens, Waldorf in USA's technology-ridden Silicon Valley, has completely banned the use of screens. Their argument: the early years of child development should be free of screens as that may hamper growth. The Waldorf website states, "Our 'unplugged' approach is backed not only by current research, but by the hundreds of thoughtful, creative, successful students who have graduated from the Waldorf School of Lexington during its 46-year history."

However, long before Waldorf realised the importance of holistic learning, Rabindranath Tagore had set up his school in Santiniketan, where students learn arts, music and academics in harmony with nature. The idea here is not to cancel out screens, but create an atmosphere for holistic development in children, according to Debjani Sen, lecturer at Vishwabharti University, Shantiniketan, who herself went through Tagore's unique schooling system here.

"A lot of classes are taken in the open, under the shade of trees," she explains.

Screens are not completely banned, but used only in classes that absolutely require them. "Of course, we have computer science and other science subjects that require computers and don't shun technology. The CBSE board has also been following a similar module lately of holistic education instead of just bookish learning."

AT THE SOURCE

Realising the need of the hour is to switch off or disconnect with the online world, technology giant, Google is also working on addressing this issue. A survey conducted by the company revealed that over 70 per cent of the participants wished they could disconnect more easily and free up their time. "We believe in providing features and tools that help people use technology responsibly," a Google spokesperson says.

Pixel 3's Digital Wellbeing App Dashboard helps to understand phone usage by displaying the time spent on apps. Another App Timer curtails app usage and when you're close to the limit, "it will grey out the app icon to help remind you of your goal." Other features by Google include Do Not Disturb and Wind Down that either remove unnecessary notifications or fade the screen to greyscale at bedtime.

"We have been working hard to add key capabilities right into Android to help users achieve the balance with technology they're looking for, with a focus around awareness of their current behavior, and controls to help them interact with their devices," adds Google's spokesperson.

With Google slowly tackling the problem right at its source, and the education scene also changing, are we looking at a more balanced future in the offing?

Parenting Gen Z

Journalist Ketaki Latkar conceptualised her comic book Raising Rihaan while working with kids in schools and conducting elocution. Launched at the end of September, the book will appeal to millennials, whose parenting styles are vastly different. “The stories are about daily lives of parents and children, with respect to helicopter parenting, technology and its impact on kids’ lives and how they are more aware of things because of social media,” says Annushka Hardikar, the book’s illustrator.

The series strives to tell Rihaan’s story of growing up in a technology-driven world. Hardikar also notes the switch in the generation from a world without screens to one bursting at the seams with technology. There are also interviews from psychologists and experts intertwined with the comics. “It’s an attempt to take a breather and capture millennial parenting techniques and understand if these are helping or if they will cause us more trouble in the long run.”