OPINION — Sometimes things change so slowly that we don’t even notice it’s happening.

As a young mom I was often reminded of concerns about TV viewing. There was scrutiny about what TV programs and commercials were not considered family friendly. There was even a common practice of all stations supporting family friendly programming in the daytime and early evenings. Video games were given ratings based on violence. There was even serious research about how much time was healthy for a child to watch TV! All of these concerns were agreed upon by our society to protect children from adult content, both sexual and violent, before they have the maturity to view it. Of course, this was also before cable, satellites, streaming, internet, personal devices and smartphones.

Let’s flash forward to today’s available content to children. We have shifted our concerns for the welfare of our society’s children as a whole, to the idea that parents should be the exclusive protectors of their children. In other words, their children are their responsibility. I’m all for parents’ rights, but this idea has become the excuse for no protection at all. In reality, it is nearly impossible for even the most conscientious parent to control the TV, internet and social media use of their child. Sure, there are some parental controls available that must be constantly monitored to allow each of their children time on Twitter, Facebook, Instagram, YouTube, TikTok, Snapchat – it’s a fulltime job! My question is this: why is our society not helping parents? After all, our society must deal with the unlawful outcomes from unsupervised viewing of extreme violence and sexual content at any age, but especially by our most vulnerable children.

I’m encouraged to see that Utah is among the first few states to enact age controls on social media sites. Not surprisingly, they are fighting multiple lawsuits, mostly from major social media companies. The sponsor of the legislation supports shielding children and teens from content that could threaten their well-being.

In addition to concern about content, is the addiction to actual screen use. Everyone agrees that smartphone use is addictive. It’s right there in your hand and it makes you forget whatever else you were or should be doing. If it’s bad for adults, it’s even worse for children and we have very few safeguards in place as a society. A recent study of students ages 11-17 shows an average smartphone usage of 4 ½ hours a day, including nearly 100 pickups. Most alarming is the cell phone usage during the school day with 97% of participants reporting cell phone usage for an average of 43 minutes while in school. The major apps being used while at school were social media and YouTube.

According to research, screen time increased during the pandemic and did not come back down when schools reopened. This has added to child health concerns including obesity, lack of focus and mental health. Before the pandemic the American Academy Pediatrics recommended daily screen time for younger children ages 2-5 was no more than one hour.

After the pandemic, a survey of teachers and administrators showed that 88% observed increased screen time led to increased learning challenges, an 80% increase in observed student behavior problems.

However, screens and computers are here to stay in our classrooms. One on one devices are considered a must in schools, even elementary. Teachers are expected to use online apps and tools for a large part of the learning today. The amount of time a student is on a computer has increased, as has the amount of screen time at home. Many of our students have unsupervised or uncontrolled use of a device at home. So they can see it as a toy rather than a tool for learning. This poses a challenge for the classroom.

Student’s engagement with computers in schools has changed over the long term. Just as smart phones and devices in the home has become widespread:

• Phase 1: Students are enthused with the unique experience of educational apps on Chromebooks and laptops.
• Phase 2: Students become bored as learning apps require daily usage minutes and more rigor that requires more effort.
• Phase 3: Students have more access to screens at home, sometimes unsupervised, and see them mainly for entertainment: games, social media, YouTube, et cetera.

In my experience as a teacher, my job regarding computer use has increasingly become “policing.” Who’s on what inappropriate site, search or game rather than the assignment given? Computers have been in schools for decades. But I have never seen so many students unable or unwilling to stay on task when using a device. It has become counter productive to even use a device for some students. Students have meltdowns when told to return to the task assigned or are given consequences, such as losing device privileges. The physical reactions look just like addiction withdrawals. Clearly, the great experiment regarding children and screen time has had some terrible results.

Are we at the tipping point where computers in schools have lost their luster? I’m not discounting the necessary basic technology skills needed in the 21st Century, but I am questioning the practice of replacing teacher led learning with educational apps.

With the huge income potential, software companies are not going to stop developing and promising results that they can prove with their own tests and analyses.

Someone needs to ask the question, and it must be teachers and parents. Are we getting the benefit to our children from all the online educational products, large enough to outweigh the negative consequences of so much time on screens?

Multiple studies have been done on the effect of screen time on reading and brain development. Research shows that brain activity during reading is weaker in children who read less printed material and have more screen time. When a child is delayed or struggles with reading, it takes more for them to persist and put in the time and get the exposure needed to improve. With the availability and allure of electronic devices, reading activities often take a backseat.

Our children are true digital natives which means they are used to immediate engagement and quick responses. Reading stamina takes time, patience and persistence to develop. Electronic devices also distract and overstimulate especially young users. Instead of learning to focus, they are learning to be distracted. Instead of learning active engagement, they are learning to be passive.

There is plenty of research available and more longer term studies to come, which point to the negative impact our digital age and uncontrolled screen time can have on the next generation. Long past are the days when all computer use was seen as necessary for our students to keep up with the age of technology. Now we must re-examine what kind of screen time is truly beneficial, how much is excessive, and what kind of screen time is proven to be harmful to our children.

Submitted by ELLEN BENNETT, Washington City. Bennett taught for 27 years in Washington County elementary schools. She attended Brigham Young University and graduated from Southern Utah University with a master’s in education. Besides teaching kindergarten and first grades, she spent the last 10 years teaching fourth grade at Coral Canyon Elementary.

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