Project 1 Polished Draft

      

          This is my first research writing since 2004. It really helped me get back into writing, and made me very aware that we as humans could've never fathomed the impact mobile device usage would have on the world; every aspect of life as we know it, is affect by mobile device usage.

       Unmeasured use of mobile devices can affect the well-being of children and social skills

Within the last 3 years, 52% of parents believed they spent too much time with mobile devices, with mothers leading the category. Parents with daughters spend more time on mobile devices than parents of boys. Over half of parents believed their child spent too much time with mobile devices, however, the percentage has dropped meagerly. (The New Normal: Parents, Teens, Screens, and Sleep in the United States. Common Sense Media. 2019 pg. 14-15 table 4).

With new technology, one could argue that increase time on mobile devices by parents are mainly due the convenience of daily task, done with the touch of your finger, such as bill paying or setting the alarm from home if you forget. Another explanation of increased use of mobile devices by parents come from monitoring children online with parental apps, and or tracking the whereabouts of children and pets. While watching Hill, Kashmir, and Surya Mattu. “What Your Smart Devices Know (and Share) About You.” TED Talk, I realized you don’t have any real privacy, using mobile devices.  Even when you aren’t directly using them, its constantly collecting data. Vizio Electronics paid out a settlement to the government because their smart tv selling collected dated to companies. The fact that I may be watched from my television scares me and invades my privacy; for security use, its fine, but complete intrusion of monitoring how I entertain myself is complete intrusion. That factor alone could be why mothers are more likely than fathers to try to cut back on mobile device usage at 55%, compared to 47% of fathers (The New Normal: Parents, Teens, Screens, and Sleep in the United States. Common Sense Media. 2019 pg. 14, table 2). More than half of parents have tried cutting back on mobile device usage occasionally, while the lesser percentage rarely tried, or haven’t.

Mobile device usage by children should be governed and managed by parents to prevent breakdown of parental guidance. According to George & Odgers 2015, “poor sleep has been linked to a number of mental and physical health problems, as well as diminished academic and cognitive performance.” (see pg. 4). “Short-term effects of inadequate sleep include sleepiness, irritability, reduced alertness, poor motors skills, and attention problems; inadequate sleep over longer periods of time can affect how the body functions”. (Eunice Kennedy Shriver 2014, National Institute of Child Health and Human Development, www.nichd.nih.gov). Teens are more likely to keep their device within reach of bed than their parents. A child would be more inclined to utilize their mobile device usage during sleeping hours, from their parents, against their better judgments. Most social media apps are used at night, or evening hours, into early morning hours. Assuming parents want their children in bed at a reasonable hour, those that have mobile devices in hindsight without parents’ knowledge. It’s easy to engage risky online behavior; despite just how much you trust your child, parents should have restrictions on such freedoms online.  This is conducive to the breakdown in authority in adults. Parents should govern screen time by only allowing a certain amount of time during the week, and maybe unlimited time during the weekend. Over half of parents saying mobile devices are distractions (pg. 8), of daily activities, such as homework, driving or getting to bed on time. (pg. 9, major findings table).

When it comes to social skills, mobile devices have taken the place of the authenticity of getting to know others. “The phones in our pockets are changing our minds and hearts because it offers three gratifying fantasies: we can put our attention where we want to, we will always be heard, and we will never be alone.” (Turkle, Sherry. “Connected, But Alone?” TED Talk. Feb. 2012. https://www.ted.com/talks/sherry_turkle_connected_but_alone/up-next?referrer=playlist-our_digital_lives. The validity and originality of on the job training, pep talks, coaching, disciplining, tutoring, even personal training for health and fitness have taken a back seat to mobile device usage in one way or another. Technology appeals to us when we are most vulnerable, the elimination of emotions, ability to communicate or reciprocate, reluctance of confidence in each other, demonstrates the lack thereof.

Works Cited 

1.       The New Normal: Parents, Teens, Screens, and Sleep in the United States. Common Sense Media. 2019, pp. 2-32

2.       Hill, Kashmir, and Surya Mattu. “What Your Smart Devices Know (and Share) About You.” TED Talk.  April 2018. https://www.ted.com/talks/kashmir_hill_and_surya_mattu_what_your_smart_devices_know_and_share_about_you/up-next?referrer=playlist-our_digital_lives.

3.      Turkle, Sherry. “Connected, But Alone?” TED Talk. Feb. 2012. https://www.ted.com/talks/sherry_turkle_connected_but_alone/up-next?referrer=playlist-our_digital_lives

4. Klass, Perry. “When Social Media is Really Problematic for Adolescents.” New York Times, 3 June 2019. https://www.nytimes.com/2019/06/03/well/family/teenagers-social-media.html