Smart Phones as a Mental Health Crisis

[jpd]

Originally Posted by Davis Webb

You can do all this with a home computer or laptop. It does not mean we have to walk around with Smart Phones all day long glued to us. Which is what is happening with kids. Using technology is one thing, having it use us is another. We cannot adjust, the phones adjust us. They are hard wiring the brain, that is the concern.

IMO, it's as symptom of change,and the youngest are always the first group to be exploited because of their innocence. It did not start out this way. Remember the fear of cancer from the phones radiation?....That has been quietly subdued as larger screens and more "games" have grabbed the focus of the bored.

[guitar george]

[rokdog49]

Originally Posted by guitar george

Wow!
Thanks for posting that.

[Otterhound]

Originally Posted by Davis Webb

You can do all this with a home computer or laptop. It does not mean we have to walk around with Smart Phones all day long glued to us. Which is what is happening with kids. Using technology is one thing, having it use us is another. We cannot adjust, the phones adjust us. They are hard wiring the brain, that is the concern.

The question arises as to how all of this was accomplished before the smartphone , and it was .
You are correct about how the brain is being hard wired to the phones and that the phones do not adjust to us . Dead on !
It appears to be common knowledge that the bulk of silicon valley shakers and movers do not allow their own children access to a smartphone or screen without stern time limits and site access . Many of them don't even have a TV or cable/satellite .
Slavery does not require chains and/or a whip .

[Otterhound]

Originally Posted by rokdog49

Let's test that theory. Everyone with minor children at home, take their cellular phones away from them for a week.

How about you do the same ?

[frankmcr]

Originally Posted by rokdog49

Let's test that theory. Everyone with minor children at home, take their cellular phones away from them for a week.

Originally Posted by Otterhound

How about you do the same ?

Anybody seen Children of the Corn?

[KevWind]

While I think there is no argument that changes in the brain take place with any prolonged focused behavior or interaction with environment .. (Playing Music being one of them BTW) . But I would suggest the term Hard Wire is being misused.
According to the research into neuroplasticity, Very little brain function is actually "hard wired" and based more in instinct (with some inherited tendencies possible also) So in this discussion , I think Re-wired or Soft -wired is arguably the more accurate term (which yes can be either negative or positive over all )

I completely agree with the concept in the video
It is up to the parents and the bosses to set phone use policy

But I also agree with Otterhound there is no better leadership or influence than by example

[robj144]

I teach at a university, so I'm surrounded by younger kids. Yes, between classes, they are staring at their phone a lot. However, during class, they mostly pay attention answering a text every once in a while. During office hours, they never look at their phone at all when talking to me which can sometimes be for the duration of my office hours.

Yes, they do use their phone more than we do, typically. However, that's to be expected. The kids I observe can still function normally.

[rokdog49]

Originally Posted by Otterhound

How about you do the same ?

I could do it easily...but take away my IPad oh no-o-o-o !

[Dirk Hofman]

Originally Posted by Otterhound

The question arises as to how all of this was accomplished before the smartphone , and it was .
You are correct about how the brain is being hard wired to the phones and that the phones do not adjust to us . Dead on !
It appears to be common knowledge that the bulk of silicon valley shakers and movers do not allow their own children access to a smartphone or screen without stern time limits and site access . Many of them don't even have a TV or cable/satellite .
Slavery does not require chains and/or a whip .

Well living in Silicon Valley and working here, I can assure you that's not the case. Jobs famously didn't let his kids use the iPad, but I've not seen evidence that "the bulk" of Silicon Valley execs follow this pattern. Quite the contrary.

We restrict out kids' use of devices, and if it were just me, we'd restrict it more but my wife likes being able to text them at any time for safety. Let's not go there, but I'll say we see it differently.

Fact is that kids' social lives revolve around texting the same way we did around the phone, and I can tell you that all my friends and I had to hear "get off the phone" from our parents more than seemed rational. I'm not saying it's the same, but it's not as different as folks want to make it out to be.

Yep, good parenting matters. And it's a great reminder to be the best example to our kids.