Survey: Parents Increasingly Letting Technology Come Between Them and Their Kids
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The amount of time children and teens spend on social media is becoming an increasing concern across the country.
But what about their parents?
A new survey reveals that 69 percent of parents of school-aged children admit to feeling “addicted” to their phones.
The survey, conducted by OnePoll, looked at the screen-time habits of 2,000 parents, as well as those of their kids, according to the South West News Service.
The results showed that parents not only feel addicted to their phones, but that their addiction is getting in the way of quality time with their children.
A survey from The #GeniusofPlay finds that “parents only spend 24 more minutes with their kids than their phones”: https://t.co/WrMpVPHYly #parenting #screentime pic.twitter.com/xJH5U9DiLZ
— The Toy Association (@TheToyAssoc) October 21, 2019
Sixty-two percent of those surveyed acknowledged they spend too much time on their phones while with their children.
“Perhaps because of that, parents spend almost as much one-on-one time with their device as they do quality time with their children,” SWNS reported.
The average parent surveyed spent two hours and 41 minutes of quality time with their children each day, compared to two hours and 17 minutes on their phones.
That’s only a 24-minute difference, and some children seem to be noticing.
Fifty percent of those surveyed, for instance, shared that their child had asked them to put their phone away.
What’s even more interesting, however, is that most parents said they limit their children’s screen time to an average of two hours each day — thus indicating that they recognize how screens impact their kids.
The addicting nature of technology for children is not new information.
Leaders in the tech industry, such as Bill Gates and the late Steve Jobs, even regulated their own children’s screen time.
Some experts even believe a recent report from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention — which revealed that suicide rates in children between the ages of 10 and 14 nearly tripled from 2007 to 2017 — may show the devastating correlation between excessive social media use and a rise in mental health issues among children and teens.
Dr. Albert Wu of the Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health has said the new CDC report “represents a silent epidemic that’s been going on for more than 10 years in the U.S. and which has been gaining force” among our children, teens and young adults.
Floyd Brown and Todd Ceffaratti argue in their latest book, “Big Tech Tyrants,” that tech companies should be held accountable for what they believe is a clear contribution to the increased suicide rates.
Although the OnePoll survey shows parents do monitor their children’s screen time habits, most of the parents surveyed recognize the impact their own relationship with technology is having on their kids.
“Interestingly enough, 79 percent believe that their relationship with their children would benefit if they all spent less time on their devices,” SWNS reported.
It’s easy to see how excessive use of social media and other forms of technology is affecting our children, but it’s often difficult to see the log in your own eye.
This recent survey shows that the impact big tech is having on our society isn’t just isolated to a younger generation; it may be threatening the entire family unit.
The relationship between a parent and their children is one of the most influential relationships humans have throughout their lives.
Should we really let an addiction to technology get in the way of that?
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