Blog Post #10

I worry about Gen Alpha. I have been a teacher’s assistant, I have worked at multiple summer camps, and I have two nephews, 8 and 6. I love my sister, and I think she is a great mom. But, she doesn’t know. Millennials don’t know. 

So far, I have found only one sentiment that my generation universally shares: kids should not have ipads. Now, don’t get me wrong. I am all for the occasional game on mom’s phone, or the occasional cartoon while you need some downtime, but– kids should not have ipads.

I am not— by any means—judging these parents. After being a nanny for four years (and being the second oldest of six), there is nothing on earth that exhausts me faster than trying to make sure little kids stay alive and healthy.

Advancements in technology have skyrocketed the last ten years, faster than ever before. My generation, Gen Z (1996-2010) have always known about technology. I will not claim that we had a technology free childhood (as most of us had a DS and a Wii) but I will say that we were the last generation to remember childhood without social media. 

Most of my generation received a phone around middle school, but all we did was take pictures on our camera rolls. At the start of snapchat, all it had was fun animal filters. Nowadays, snapchat has filters that make your skin clear, your body skinnier, and your teeth whiter. At the start of Instagram, it was a photodump app that you only posted with your closest friends and family. Nowadays, people spend hours on a post, making sure the photo is perfect (Should I make my butt look curvier?) and hoping the caption is not too much (emoji or no emoji?!), then spending days anxiously reading comments and checking the like count, as if it was some sort of competition. 

My attention span was already bad having Attention-Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder (ADHD), but I have noticed it gradually got worse as entertainment videos got shorter and shorter. When I was a kid, I was able to watch a 30 minute cartoon. When I got a computer for middle school and started watching Youtube, ten minutes was all I could do. When Tik Tok launched, 3 minutes was the absolute most I could retain attention. Nowadays, after moving to Instagram reels, I can only do 1 minute videos if they have a split screen with one side of a person playing a distracting game like Subway Surfers, and only 10-20 seconds without them. I know— it is depressing. I agree. But at least I can hold on to the times when I could sit outside and be entertained by the clouds moving, or making up an imaginary game. 

Gen Alpha (2010-2024) never even had a chance. They were literal babies when they had a screen shoved in their faces. A study conducted by the American Academy of Pediatrics in 2015 showed that over 75% of toddlers had a tablet, with most having gotten one before their first birthday. Similarly, a 2020 study by the Pew Research Center found that around 65% of parents felt that it was completely okay for their child to have a tablet before the age of twelve. 

However, research directly negates this sentiment. According to the American Medical Association of Pediatrics, excessive screen time in young children was associated with numerous developmental and cognitive delays, such as: insomnia, vision problems, headaches, anxiety, depression, as well as affecting their development of their prefrontal cortex, the part of the brain that regulates emotions, time-management, planning, organization, and decision-making. 

The issue is not the technology itself, but more so that it is being used as a babysitter. It often begins with being used as a learning tool, then as a reward once the child is exposed to a game or activity they like, and then— eventually— a pacifier. When their child throws a temper-tantrum, millennials (likely over-exhausted from work) finally give in and give them their screens back. Aside from the child learning that temper-tantrums get their way, it is also detrimen
tal to their future. If they are handed technology as a young kid to handle their difficult emotions as a toddler, as they grow up they will turn to technology as a coping mechanism as well. 

A childhood completely devoid of screens is simply no longer attainable anymore with school integrating technology into education. Technology has its benefits, but for young children the less time spent behind a screen, the better. As such, there are plenty of alternative activities that can be both beneficial to your child as well as provide the parent with a little rest. When they are very young, they need more supervision. However, when they are old enough to play on their own, it encourages boredom. Foster creativity. Independent play is important for both your child, and for you. Once your child gets to be old enough to have their own device, set parental controls that limit screen time and educate them on the importance of responsible use and digital literacy. Technology has its benefits, but excessive use can be detrimental, to both your child and to you. 

Sources:

https://www.thedailybeast.com/why-gen-z-wont-be-raising-ipad-kids#:~:text=As%20Gen%20Z%20become%20parents,raising%20an%20%E2%80%9CiPad%20kid.%E2%80%9D

https://www.vice.com/en/article/93k8kv/ipad-kids-gen-alpha-childhood-development

Exposure and Use of Mobile Media Devices by Young Children | Pediatrics

https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC10353947/

https://healthmatters.nyp.org/what-does-too-much-screen-time-do-to-childrens-brains/

https://jamanetwork.com/journals/jamapediatrics/fullarticle/2808593

https://www.nicklauschildrens.org/campaigns/safesound/blogposts/why-are-kids-so-addicted-to-screens#:~:text=Kids%20who%20are%20addicted%20to,as%20severe%20as%20brain%20damage.