a cell phone to make it easier to contact them when they weren’ t together. Now parents buy them smart phones. Why does a twelve year old need such constant contact with the internet?
There are many issues wrapped around teens having smart phones and too much access to the internet. One I’ d like to address is the disconnection teens experience with themselves, others and nature because of their obsession with social media.
When we are absorbed in a compulsive relationship with an object that serves as a way to connect us with others, an unhealthy social disconnection seems to arise. Communication becomes fragmented, and the use of the five senses is watered down. The body perceives external stimuli through the faculties of sight, smell, hearing, taste and touch. When young people spend a large amount of time with a piece of technology, such as a phone, what senses are being activated? Sight is limited to what is on the screen. The sense of smell isn’ t activated by the environment. Hearing is reduced to listening for the pinging noise that lets one know there’ s another message. Taste becomes stale— the mouth hasn’ t opened for hours because they aren’ t talking. And touch is no more than the handling of a hard piece of material that has no warmth or feeling.
Before the internet and social media were a part of daily life, we found different ways to entertain ourselves. We were engaging all of our senses throughout the day. When I was young, sitting outside in the grass talking with a friend engaged all five senses.
I think we all want a connection with the earth and each other.
When we aren’ t connected, we feel alone and isolated, leaving us with an unnameable sadness. Even though teens say they are feeling connected because they are communicating with their friends 24 / 7, what are the some of the downsides of not connecting face to face? One is the current rise of teen depression. More and more teens are complaining of being unhappy and depressed. I believe this is associated with a false sense of connection through social media that has replaced real opportunities to be with each other, especially in nature.
Scientific research has shown the benefits of being outdoors. A study conducted by the University of Essex and published by the metal health organization Mind, found that taking a walk in nature can reduce depression by as much as 71 percent. The medical community also recognized that too much screen time can make it difficult to sleep at night due to eyestrain and other side effects. Additionally, damage to the retina has been associated with prolonged exposure to the blue light that emanates from screens.
A study published by Computers in Human Behavior noted the differences exhibited by sixth graders after a five-day period during which some were allowed access to phones, television and computers and others were sent to the Pali Institute, an outdoor education camp in Running Springs, California. Those who went to the Pali Institute did not have access to technology and showed significantly better perception at reading human emotions and other non-verbal cues than those who continued to use their devices.
In my practice I have definitely noticed a difference between youth who are dependent on technology and those who are not. The teens that are limited in their use of technology tend to engage more in personal interaction, seem more passionate about their environment, and tend to participate more in retreats and mentoring. The high-use social media teens seem to have less passion for life and energized by posting selfies.
I created a little exercise recently with a few of my mentees asking them to alter their technology usage. My first mentee was a 17 year old who is studying to finish high school early and begin college sooner. She has a lot of stress in her life, not only because of school but also because her family life is very difficult. She said it was taking longer to finish her homework because of the frequent interruptions on her phone. I asked her to try putting her phone in another room for a week and turning it off during her study time. At first, she was very resistant to this idea because she felt like she might miss something. But she did it anyway, and she said that her stress diminished dramatically and was much more productive, getting her homework done in half the time. But the biggest shift for her was she felt less anxious and happier. She said she was going to start limiting her cell phone use and turning it off on a much more frequent basis.
Another teen came to one of my mother / daughter three-day retreats. In this retreat, I ask for a commitment to not use cell phones or other devices. I noticed on the first day, this teen had her phone close by, and she would look at it quiet often. I reminded her of the commitment to not use her phone, and she said she had not personally committed to that. However, after I discussed this with her, she seemed to
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