Chuck Norris Highlights Worrying Dependence on Technology Among Families
By Movieguide® Contributor
A recent study found that six in 10 parents text their kids that dinner is ready. Chuck Norris finds this statistic worrying and believes it highlights a major problem in America.
The survey, run by Study Finds, also found that the average age that a child receives their first smartphone is 10 years old. Access to technology at such a young age concerns Norris, not only opening kids up to bad actors but also because technology itself is bad for a child’s mental health.
Norris cites a 2019 study from NPR that found “social media use was tied to loneliness…with 73% of very heavy social media users considered lonely, as compared with 52% of light users.”
The study also found that loneliness was most common among Gen Z—those aged 18 to 22—despite, as Norris notes, “being proliferated by technology and every social media platform known to man.
Yet many parents give their children technology so that they can be more social. Study Finds’ research found that 62% of parents believe technology benefits kids’ social skills.
Even if social media did help with social skills, the dangers of these platforms would still outweigh the risks. Norris explains that 73% of children are exposed to online pornography by the time they turn 12, largely due to exposure on social media.
Furthermore, drug dealers and cartels target children and teens on social media, using emojis to sell powerful drugs to millions of adolescents.
Because of these dangers, many parents are deciding not to allow their kids on social media until later than most of society, waiting until they know their kids are mature enough to make truly wise decisions. This parenting decision has become more popular as research continues to show that social media ironically does not make people more social.
Norris isn’t the only celebrity to voice his opinions about the dangers of social media use and how allowing our kids to use it hurts them.
As Movieguide® previously reported:
Other celebrities have shared that they will likely keep their kids off social media forever.
“I told [my daughter] point blank, ‘If you can produce literature for me from a reputable source that tells me social media is good for you, then you can be on it,’” singer Pink said.
Jennifer Garner shares a similar sentiment, telling her kids she needs scientific proof about the positives of social media use before she would allow them to create an account.
HGTV stars Ben and Erin Napier feel so strongly about keeping their kids off social media that they created a nonprofit to encourage, support and connect parents committed to keeping their kids off social media until they graduate high school.
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