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Future Minds
suicide is not the outcome, self-esteem becomes the victim. This, said Richard, makes children more risk-averse than previous generations.
Put the phone down while you talk to your kids! By David Shaw
They are all connected all of the time
One of the worst aspects of modern life is that we, as parents, do not always put down our phones, Blackberries and iPads when we talk to our children.
The thing, said Richard, “that marks out the sub-20 generation from everyone else is that they have grown up with this rapid technological change. They are connected. All their friends are connected and that network circulates information which competes with the information they hear from parents and teachers. “
This teaches them something. First, that we care more about our phones than we do about them and second, that it is OK to be on a screen all the time. At least, that's what Richard Watson, author of a new book, Future Minds claims. His main argument is that we need more time to develop deep thinking. We need downtime for our natural creativity to emerge and we need to switch the phones off, to re-build family life. It's not just phones. Those of us with teenage boys will see them move from phone to Xbox to DSi to computer and back to their phone, spending hours at a time looking at a screen.
Watson Richard
Girls are no better: just different, using the computer to check the latest gossip on Facebook while simultaneously texting their friends. Or, increasingly, using the phone for both.
According to Richard, all this technology means, “We are getting better at thinking faster. We can make very quick decisions and we are getting increasingly adept at finding relevant information to support those decisions.” According to Richard, this and other aspects of the digital age are all good. Take time to think and reflect “The bad stuff,” he said, “is that I think we are losing the bigger picture; the ability to concentrate; to focus, to reflect and to do what I call deep thinking, which I think is the heart of scientific and artistic creativity.” Another aspect of this, he said, is that we have moved in the space of a generation away from it being commonplace for a child to leave the house, play in the park, climb a few trees and fall into the local pond and not return until dusk. Instead, most parents now do not let their children out of sight. Whether that is caused by fear of stranger danger, or concern about traffic levels, the result is that children are being kept indoors, where the parents think it is safer . Not only does this encourage the children to spend time in front of screens, but most of the activities available to them are based on predetermined set of rules. When we were younger, we could make up the rules as we went along. We could create fantasy games or make shapes out of clouds or change the rules if they did not suit the situation. Today's generation, taking entertainment from the TV or a computer game have less freedom in this respect. Richard noted, “That is what worries me about the generation we are bringing up now. We are putting them down these rails.” Go out and kick a ball with your children It is difficult, he agreed, with parents trying to hold down a job or possibly two, “but you have to set some rules; set some boundaries and I know it is easy to stick a video on and get some free childcare, but actually you should be out there kicking a ball. Get involved. Otherwise do not complain that they are not talking to you when they turn 18.” A second, and no less damaging aspect of the Facebook generation, said Richard, is that the consequences of making a mistake can be far-reaching. When everyone is connected and every child carries a camera in their hand, a stupid playground mistake might be uploaded to Youtube that evening, and by the next morning every classmate has seen it and commented on it and ridiculed the poor victim. Children have committed suicide over this kind of incident, and even if
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“Parents and teachers are losing the battle,” he said, adding that, “If you think of allowing a 14-year old full, uncensored access to the internet, that is quite a scary thought. You would never do that with a television or video games.” A parent who gives a smartphone (such as an iPhone) to a 13-year old son should think how he will use it, said Richard, “I think there is a reasonable chance he will search for porn. “ My absolute critical point, he added, “is the fact that we have created this stuff which is fabulous on one level, but it has the potential to destroy the things which we value the most and that is human relationships and our sense of self.” This disconnect begins from the very earliest days. Most babies in the 1960s and 70s were transported in old-fashioned prams. Nowadays we have forward-facing buggies. The difference is that those old-fashioned prams have the child facing the adult, permitting conversations and eye contact, whereas buggies do not. It continues into childhood where too-busy parents use the TV or games console or computer as a surrogate childcare. At meal times, we do not sit down together and talk about the day; we use text messages and emails to communicate the basic information, but do not spend the time to talk and think. It continues in the workplace and in shops, where increasingly we shop online or by using computer screens to remove the human contact from the process of shopping and banking.
Advice from the author ! when parents come home they switch off mobiles and spend time with their families. ! If you are collecting your child from school. Switch the phone off. ! When you go on holiday, don't take the office with you. ! Remove screens from children on car journeys and let them stare out the window instead. ! Limit screen time for children ! If you have something to say, make time to say it face to face, not by text or email ! remove TV sets games consoles and computers from childrens' bedrooms ! Serendipity is good Pull-out quotes ! I am a big fan of spontaneity. ! 54 percent of US children age 4 – 6 would rather watch TV tHan spend time with dad. ! need to re-discover the time and space to properly think about our lives and other issues, ! There is too much structured play and not enough free play, especially for young kids. ! I think these digital devices are getting in the way of proper interaction between parents and their children Future Minds, by Richard Watson Published by Nicholas Brealey RRP 12.99 N ove mbe r/ D ec em be r 2 010