This summer there are many opportunities for kids to be plugged in, but also many are getting the unique experience of unplugging because they are going to away to camps or in day camps that don't allow devices. There was a study done out of UCLA that shows that children who spend even 5 days without their devices, in tech-free camps, have restoration of the capacity for empathy.
I picked up my daughter after 2 weeks at sleep away camp and she seemed recharged and more present. That said, first thing she did when she got home was check into social media to see what she missed. One of her biggest anxieties about going away to camp this summer was, to quote her, "FOMO"— fear of missing out. We talked about this on the way to camp and that seemed to help. During that conversation she divulged that she was worried about loosing her "streaks" ** on Snapchat. She told me that some of her friends even give someone their Snapchat password to maintain the streak while they're unplugged.
** This is how Snapchat explains a "streak":
"You're on a Snapstreak - meaning you and your friend have Snapped each other (not Chat) within 24 hours for more than one consecutive day. ... To keep up a Snapstreak, both people must send a Snap (not Chat) back and forth to each other within 24 hours. "
Here are some questions to talk about this week for Tech Talk Tuesday:
As well as our weekly blog, we publish videos like this one every week on the Screenagers YouTube channel
This summer there are many opportunities for kids to be plugged in, but also many are getting the unique experience of unplugging because they are going to away to camps or in day camps that don't allow devices. There was a study done out of UCLA that shows that children who spend even 5 days without their devices, in tech-free camps, have restoration of the capacity for empathy.
I picked up my daughter after 2 weeks at sleep away camp and she seemed recharged and more present. That said, first thing she did when she got home was check into social media to see what she missed. One of her biggest anxieties about going away to camp this summer was, to quote her, "FOMO"— fear of missing out. We talked about this on the way to camp and that seemed to help. During that conversation she divulged that she was worried about loosing her "streaks" ** on Snapchat. She told me that some of her friends even give someone their Snapchat password to maintain the streak while they're unplugged.
** This is how Snapchat explains a "streak":
"You're on a Snapstreak - meaning you and your friend have Snapped each other (not Chat) within 24 hours for more than one consecutive day. ... To keep up a Snapstreak, both people must send a Snap (not Chat) back and forth to each other within 24 hours. "
Here are some questions to talk about this week for Tech Talk Tuesday:
As well as our weekly blog, we publish videos like this one every week on the Screenagers YouTube channel
In the New York Times this last week, there was an article about social media and teens. The article's brilliant graphic captured our young people's digital and emotional reality. The image is all the notifications on their phones, laptops, tablets, etc. like texts from “mom” reminding them to be safe, a new grade posted, a Snapchat arrival, a missed Facetime, a troubling news headline, etc. Stress flies at them in so many ways. Today, I suggest a way to have a notification intervention.
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So often, we talk about “pushy parents” — those putting too much pressure on their kids to straight As, take all AP classes, etc. The fact is there is an incredibly high percentage of kids who are primarily putting this pressure on themselves. All kids and teens experience anxiety at times. It is our bodies’ reaction to fear and stress — it is a part of being human.And then there is anxiety that has gone astray — clinical anxiety. This kind of anxiety is often missed or ignored in youth who are extremely preoccupied with their academic performance — an obsession with getting straight As and the like.
READ MORE >for more like this, DR. DELANEY RUSTON'S NEW BOOK, PARENTING IN THE SCREEN AGE, IS THE DEFINITIVE GUIDE FOR TODAY’S PARENTS. WITH INSIGHTS ON SCREEN TIME FROM RESEARCHERS, INPUT FROM KIDS & TEENS, THIS BOOK IS PACKED WITH SOLUTIONS FOR HOW TO START AND SUSTAIN PRODUCTIVE FAMILY TALKS ABOUT TECHNOLOGY AND IT’S IMPACT ON OUR MENTAL WELLBEING.
