WHY YOU AND YOUR KIDS MIGHT HAVE
MORE IN COMMON THAN YOU THINK
As pointed out by global policy, education and
parenting expert Jordan Shapiro, one of the
big problems with parents choosing to clamp
down hard on their children’s screen time is the
fact that their own habits with their devices
often aren’t much different. Observing his own
kids’ relationship with their screens, Shapiro
has noted that “almost everything about
adolescent gaming culture annoys me. But my
kids and I have a lot in common and I see the
irony in our parallel habits.”
Hecontinued:“First,theconsumerism:mychair
andheadphones—purchasedafterreadingso
manyonlineproductreviews—are no different
than YouTube star PewDiePie’s branded Clutch
Throttle Series gaming chair and his cat-ear
Razer Kraken headset. Then, there are the
many hours they spend each day staring at a
screen. I can criticize my kids, but ultimately,
their behaviors look a lot like mine. When kids
concentrate on screens for hours at a time,
parents worry. But this is precisely what we
consider to be good professional behavior.”
THEN, THERE ARE THE HEALTH AND
PRACTICALITY ANGLES
But it’s not just potential charges of hypocrisy on
your part that should give you reason to think
again about how your view your kids’ hours
spent on their smartphones and tablets. That’s
because it’s also crucial to note that screen time
isn’t as easy to limit or control as you might
initially imagine – and in any case, a high level of
screen time isn’t necessarily as unhealthy as you
may believe.
Image: Kiichiro Sato