–A Blog Survey
The showing of the movie Screenagers on campus last Wednesday got us talking about the impact of computers, laptops, tablets, smart phones, video games, and television on teenagers. Many families, educators, and psychologists worry about the effect of teenagers staring at a screen for hours a day. Thebirdonfire Blog team wanted to know: Who calls the shots in your life? You or your Smart Phone?
We asked around the PVS Upper School, “Do you think you’re experiencing enough face-to-face social interaction? (Or, are you just staring at your screen all day?)
54% in the Upper School surveyed said, “Yes,” they get enough face-to-face time.
23% said, “Yes and No. ” They thought they met with enough interaction IN SCHOOL, but OUT OF SCHOOL, they were spending significant time in front of the screen. Henry Huang said, “In school, we have all these people we talk with about life, school, events. We have friends outside of school, but, perhaps ironically, we converse with them via text, email, SnapChat, Twitter.”
15% surveyed said, “No,” teenagers today are not connecting enough with humans.
We asked, “Hey! Whose responsibility is it to pay attention in class?”
54% answered resoundingly, “The student’s!”
46% said, “It’s BOTH the student’s and teacher’s responsibility.” Jordan King answered, “It’s up to the student to not use devices. It’s up to the teacher to engage students.”
NOBODY thought it was the teacher’s job exclusively. Everybody thought the student should take at least some responsibility for attentiveness.
When asked if cell phones should be banned in schools, the PVS Upper School responded 62% of the time, “NO.”
31% thought there should be parameters, or, yes, ban them in class, but not on campus.
Only one person answered, “Yes, ban ’em.”
When asked how much intervention do you want from parents and adults in monitoring your screen-time, 39% answered, “None. Leave me alone.”
54% thought a gentle reminder might be helpful or welcome. Jacob Langlois said, “Monitoring would be acceptable, . . . If I was 8!”
One adult said, “Monitoring is important.”
When asked if indeed our “lives” on social media have become a competitive sport and a popularity contest, 86% of females polled said, “Yes, of course.” Every boy, on the other hand, scratched his head and asked, confusedly, “What do you mean a competitive sport?”
The documentary Screenagers states kids spend on average 6.5 hours a day in front of screens BEYOND doing their homework or school work. When we asked “How much time do you spend in front of a screen daily (excluding class/homework time),” responses ranged from 2 to 6.5 hours a day.
When we asked how many hours do you spend daily playing video games, the girls overwhelmingly said, “0.” The boys averaged 1 to 3 hours a day gaming.
So, if you’re not zoning out in front of a screen, what are you doing? We asked. The replies? “Reading.” “Playing guitar.” “Snacking.” “Talking to my parents.” “Hanging out with my friends.” “Researching the stock market.” “Playing baseball.” “Doing homework.”
Does it add up? 8 hours a day in school. 6.5 hours in front of a screen. Hours a night doing homework, playing baseball, guitar, talking, eating. These are long days in the Digital Age. Perhaps our days are long because studies show our Digital Age has extended into our nights. Three quarters of young people fall asleep at night with their cell phone within reach (Huffpost Healthy Living) . . . so they can check Instagram one . . . last . . . time.
airports with whose terminals and gates he knew not about; moreover, he suffered much by bad seats and whining kids while trying to fly comfortably and bring himself safely home in one piece; but do what he might he could not conquer the tiredness, for he suffered through his own sheer folly in sitting next to an 18-month-old baby, so his brain prevented him from ever taking a nap. Tell me, too, about all these things, O daughters of Zeus, from whatsoever source you may know them.
bodies (think of those Word Refrigerator Magnets we use to phrase and re-phrase). We used Applause-o’-Meter to determine the winners. 1st place? Adam McDonald and Elliot McGrew for their sung (yes, in harmony) haiku “Hippopotomonstrosesquipedaliophobia (fear of long words) TABLE.” 2nd place went to a Dr. Carr-orchestrated “To enchant, to travel, to . . . fantasize.” Giant bars of chocolate were awarded the two teams. A bowl of taffy went to the Honorable Mention provided by the Baseball Team: “Hold on! Shake and Bake!” The delightful day was the brainchild of Mr. Griffin in celebration of National Poetry Month. 
e is the fact that so many people accept the wrong, misguided images of China or Chinese people without thinking or researching. The comic-strip caricature of the evil Fu Manchu, for example, was perpetuated by the media and politicians. I can live with all the racist jokes, but it is the disrespect and unfair judgement to my motherland that hurts me the most.
Jesus Christ, and maybe Sherlock Holmes. So, I opened the book. I was curious to find out who is the most influential person. Muhammad. The book said, “Muhammad.”
some food, we drove to the train tracks. As soon as we dropped the tailgate, hungry villagers appeared out of nowhere. We sliced turkey, dished potatoes, and handed out oranges. At first it was awkward; I had never done anything like this before. I couldn’t understand them; they couldn’t understand me. One by one the Mexican children smiled; I smiled back. Later, I surprised myself by playing football in the desert.
1+1 = 2, my math teacher confirmed, with an indisputable tone, “That’s truth. Just remember it.” I was once scolded by my teacher because my score held back the overall GPA of my class. As we entered upper grades, the academic workload became increasingly heavier and most of our spare time was occupied by being tutored. School was no longer the paradise I had expected, and teachers were not the angels I had hoped. Gradually, I felt like I was becoming a puppet–doing what the teachers expected me to do and believing all that the teachers said without questioning or experimenting. I even put away my interest in drawing to save time for the heavy academic burden. 1+1 must = 2! No room for argument.
