#143: Passport Drama, Tech Addiction, and Back-to-School Blues

August was quite the adventure! From accidental laundry mishaps involving passports to a black eye courtesy of Jujitsu, it was a whirlwind of unexpected events. And let's not forget the chaos of trying to leave Croatia with the huge “shiner” of a black eye as we say in Blighty; my daughter lives with her mother so that made it a little more challenging also..!

Over the holidays my daughter and I attempted to get to grips with our technology addictions. I jest! I was trying to play with the settings on her iPhone to make her use her phone less and decided after she was safely delivered to her mother that I would also impose restrictions on my app usage. I have so much more time for work and real world things that will make an impact on my life that I won’t go back.

Honestly I didn’t realise how much time I have been wasting on Instagram and other social media apps and when my daughter wanted to Install Snapchat and TikTok I had to put my foot down.?

(With Apple you can control the apps your child can use and for how long).??

She went back to school this week and unfortunately was caught using her phone in lessons twice on the first day of school so I haven’t been able to speak to her at all this week, as her phone has been confiscated.?

Tonight I will remind her that phones aren’t everything in life. Although they are like oxygen in many ways to the addict. We need to be able to detach from our phones and devices in general to grow, especially when we are in our youth, our brains aren’t fully developed yet.?

Here are some points from a recent article by Harvard Medical:

Positive Effects Of Screen Time:

• Community Building: Screens can facilitate connections with peers and family, fostering a sense of belonging.
• Learning Opportunities: Educational apps and websites can provide valuable learning experiences.
• Creativity: Some screen-based activities, like digital art or coding, can stimulate creativity.

Negative Effects of Excessive Screen Time:

• Brain Fog: Constant stimulation from screens can overload your brain, leading to difficulty concentrating and feeling overwhelmed.
• Sleep Deprivation: The blue light emitted by screens can disrupt your sleep patterns, making it harder to fall asleep and stay asleep.
• Social Isolation: Spending too much time online can lead to feelings of loneliness and isolation, as it can replace real-world interactions.
• Mental Health Issues: Excessive screen time has been linked to increased anxiety, depression, and even addiction.
• Physical Health Problems: Prolonged screen use can cause eye strain, neck pain, and even obesity.
• FOMO (Fear of Missing Out): The constant stream of updates on social media can create a sense of urgency and anxiety, leading to a fear of missing out on important events or experiences.

• Sleep Disruption: Excessive screen time, especially before bed, can interfere with sleep patterns, leading to cognitive difficulties and mood issues and damage short term memory.
• Creativity Inhibition: Over reliance on screens can limit opportunities for hands-on exploration and imagination.
• Social Development: Excessive screen time can hinder face-to-face interactions and social skills development.

Balancing Screen Time:

• Set Limits: Establish clear guidelines for daily screen time.
• Encourage Outdoor Activities: Promote physical activity and outdoor play.
• Monitor Content: Be aware of the content children are consuming and guide them towards age-appropriate and educational materials.
• Model Healthy Habits: Demonstrate responsible screen use as a role model.

You can also watch a very informative video below:

Some hospitals treat young people whose excessive gaming, social media, and other online activities are affecting their health and daily lives at home and school. These digital pursuits appear to activate the brain’s reward system. “Virtually all games and social media work on what’s called a variable reward system, which is exactly what you get when you go to Mohegan Sun and pull a lever on a slot machine. It balances the hope that you’re going to make it big with a little bit of frustration, and unlike the slot machine, a sense of skill needed to improve.” Pediatrician Michael Rich. A young person’s brain lacks a fully developed self-control system to help them with stopping this kind of obsessive behavior.

“It’s not how long we’re using screens that really matters; it’s how we’re using them and what’s happening in our brains in response,” says Rich, director of the?Center on Media and Child Health at Boston Children’s Hospital, associate professor of pediatrics at HMS, and associate professor of social and behavioral sciences at the Harvard T.H. Chan School of Public Health.

I would love to hear from you and how you manage to control your screen time personally and how you help your family to do the same.??

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