By India McCarty
Social psychologist and author Jonathan Haidt has some tips for parents looking to scale back their kids’ phone use at home.
“The general attitude was, ‘Well, what are you going to do? The technology is here to stay. This is the way the kids connect. You can’t fight the future,’” Haidt told TODAY.com. “There was a sense of inevitability, the sense that it’s just too late, you can’t put the toothpaste back in the tube. But if your kid’s life depends on it, you put the toothpaste back in the tube, you find a way.”
For parents who want their children to use their screens less while at home, Haidt recommended removing all smartphones, tablets, laptops and TVs from the bedroom. He also told parents to keep smartphones in a designated, visible area while at home, for example, a countertop or drawer.
Related: Social Psychologist Issues Dire Warning to Today’s Parents
“What you do not want to do is give your child their own touchscreen device, because at least 50% will become enslaved to it, and they will miss out on most of their childhood,” he explained.
Haidt made similar comments during a recent speaking engagement at Yeshiva University, saying, “We have overprotected our children in the real world and under-protected them online. Most Gen Z members will say in surveys that social media messed them up and was a waste of their childhood. It’s a trap — and young people know it’s a trap — but they can’t break out of it because everyone is doing it.”
For Haidt, the solution is simple — phone-free schools.
“That means when kids come in, they put their phone in a locked pouch, or a locker, and get it back at the end of the day,” he told People. “As soon as we introduce the technology, scores begin to drop. So we should start with the assumption that these things are not healthy, not helping unless they’re proven to help.”
Haidt continued, “The more you give them gamified educational technology, the harder it’s going to be to have their attention to anything that’s not on a screen…You should try to avoid schools that will put an iPad or Chromebook on your child’s desk.”
It can be hard to cut back on screens, whether at home or at school, but with Haidt’s tips, parents can start encouraging their kids to scale back on their tech use — and start living in the real world.
Read Next: Phone-Free Classrooms for the Win Around the Country
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