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Josh Knox

Just Joshin' #103 (Screens)

Published 23 days ago • 4 min read

1 Family Photo:
Screens

This week, we only stopped once on our seven-hour drive to Truckee. In travel-dad golf, that's shooting birdie on a par 3.

[*insert joke about drivers*]

The boys passed some of the time looking at their books, drawing on little pads, singing songs, and napping. Mostly though, they just gazed out their windows, occasionally asking questions about things we passed.

I don't know if it makes any difference to life-outcomes (and I don't judge anyone else's parenting choices), but aesthetically it makes me happy that Calvin and Lawrence can sit in a car for hours without begging to be distracted by a tablet.

It's probably a one-way door though. If we ever do introduce screens to their car rides, we'll never be able to take them back.

--

Last week, Jonathan Haidt had a compelling Conversation with Tyler on Adjusting to Smartphones and Social Media. Haidt's position is "it's going to be a complete disaster for human development," though I'm not clear on if 'it' is kids with smartphones, or social media, or access to the open internet at an early age. Tyler's position seems to be 'it' isn't a problem because "AI will solve it" and kids will get smarter over time.

I think they're both wrong: the space between kids with screens being a "complete disaster for human development" and "not a problem at all" feels like a pretty safe bet.

Tyler asked if COVID created a natural experiment. When the schools closed, kids had less face-to-face time with other kids and more screen time. (Or should I say...less face time and more FaceTime™). Could we measure child wellness to see the effects of increased screentime?

Haidt said this doesn't work because there are too many variables. American schools are "depressogenic". The schools make kids depressed. The schools make kids depressed, so we can't study the effects of increased screentime on kids during COVID because the kids were also not in school...which was making them not as depressed...which might be as beneficial to their wellness as the harms of more screen time.

If this is a serious argument, we need to be studying schools more and screens less.

1 Dad Joke:
Wellness Screening

Highlights:
More Screen Time

​Jonathan Haidt on Adjusting to Smartphones and Social Media | Conversations with Tyler​

HAIDT: The problem with screens is that they’re so attractive.​
​
The main argument in the book is that we have taken the healthy, normal, play-based childhood that all mammals need, and we swapped it out and gave them a phone-based childhood, once we gave them an iPhone. The issue isn’t like, “Oh, you have a screen. Let’s have AI get rid of the screen.” No. The issue is, you are on this thing, which we can call an experience blocker. A phone is an experience blocker. That means you spend a lot less time talking to other people, in the presence of other people. You’re not with your friends. You are sleeping less. You’re out in nature less. You have less of almost everything. You don’t read books. You have no time for anything else.

​Childhood and Education Roundup #4 by Zvi​

​Babies need people, not devices. Stop giving them screen time. Easy for her to say, but also yes. This seems clear. Being a parent has made it abundantly clear that screen time must be minimized, even when the uses are ‘educational’ or otherwise curated, that too much of it too early is not healthy.
​
Such screens of all sizes are also, of course, immensely useful to you, the parent. With all the demands placed on parents now, some compromise on this will be necessary. And I wouldn’t be terrified of the television being on, or anything. But, yeah.
​
Somehow the statistics get worse every time on what kids are allowed to do. A survey found half of parents of 9-to-11 year olds won’t let their kids go to another aisle at the store. Utter madness.

​The Origins of Overprotective Parenting by Brett McKay​

In 1935 in the U.S., there were 450 deaths per every 100,000 children under the age of four; today there are fewer than 30 deaths per the same cohort. Many, many parents centuries and even decades ago, did not just see stories of children dying through their screens, they experienced it firsthand. In their neighbors’ families, in their own families.

​College Students Don’t Know How to Read Anymore. We’re in Denial Over How Bad It’s Gotten. by Adam Kotsko​

It is probably no coincidence that the iPhone itself, originally released in 2007, is approaching college age, meaning that professors are increasingly dealing with students who would have become addicted to the dopamine hit of the omnipresent screen long before they were introduced to the more subtle pleasures of the page.

​I Didn’t Want It to Be True, but the Medium Really Is the Message by Ezra Klein​

Smartphones brought the internet everywhere, colonizing moments I never imagined I’d fill. Many times I’ve walked into a public bathroom and everyone is simultaneously using a urinal and staring at a screen.

​

iamJoshKnox Highlight:

​Days of Music and Dancing - A reflection from when Calvin was two.

Smart speakers - another ubiquitous technology - have given us access to every song ever, whenever we want. I think this is net positive.

Funny story: When we got to the cabin, Calvin started yelling at the router - a device he's never seen before: "Alexa, play music!"

--
Also, my book is still available on Amazon here – or reply to this email and I'd love to gift you a copy.

Want to Share Screens?

Grab some time on my calendar to share a funny story from this week:

​Let's Chat!​

Book some time even if you don't know what you want to talk about:
​https://calendly.com/iamjoshknox​

Until next week,
​iamJoshKnox​​

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Josh Knox

Hi! I am Josh Knox. Read more of me here: 👇

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