the bird on fire

–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.