The digital divide between generations is growing and, as much as parents try to keep up, today’s children are more than digital natives. Their way of relating to technology shapes their relationship with the world: while the generation of parents is still debating the concept of “screen time” – that is, how many minutes or hours a day of devices are tolerable or allowed – for them the concept is simply inconceivable: they have never experienced a world without screens.
Former US technology education department chair Richard Culatta explained in his recent article how to change our approach to children and devices, replacing the clichés that you find yourself repeating too often with an open dialogue that points to the quality rather than the quantity of the “screen time”, reducing the technological isolation and finding new ways of use that better balance life on and off screen. Saying “you have been playing the same game for too long”, for example, is an understatement that doesn’t get to the heart of the matter. If our child had been watching a movie for over two hours, for example, would we have to complain about the duration? We need to understand what is bothering us about the time spent with a video game: probably the quality of the game chosen, and that’s what we should talk about rather than set time limits.
Also “Stop sitting at your computer all day and read a book rather” it may seem like a straightforward statement to us, but for an entirely digital generation it makes little sense. First of all because books do not have paper as their only means of fruition, and therefore that time spent in front of the screen could also be reading, as far as we know. And then why proposing to replace a static activity with an equally static one does not go to the root of the problem. Here, too, we must work to make people understand why the time spent on the computer seems unbalanced compared to that spent doing other things. Make sure that there is time dedicated to reading during the day, on digital or analogue media, and more time for physical activities, avoid blaming the device and insert it within a range of daily activities.
Or a great classic of those with teenage children: “put the phone down and interact with others ”. Ridiculous for those who are using their smartphone to interact with a number and variety of people unthinkable in an analog world. Here too we need to understand what it is that makes us perceive an imbalance and makes us feel the need to intervene. Rather, saying “Your family would like to spend time with you too” or “Wouldn’t it be nice to see friends live from time to time” helps to shift the focus and realize if the time spent on the phone really compromises “real” social relationships ”Or if it is just an additional element. What matters most in the end, explains Richard Culatta, is to find a shared balance in the family on the times and ways of using the devices, and also and above all with a comparison on the type of content.