Thanks for sharing this insight. I'd like to start a movement of Christian parents saying no to smartphones for their sons and daughters through age 18. Knowing that teen girls are so tethered to their phone and at the same time don't want to be, makes me think we need to take these devices away until they are older and more mature. I believe 14, 15, 16 years old is too young to manage a smartphone. Thoughts?
I certainly support the idea of us being more thoughtful about use of technology (for teens and for adults/parents, too!). I've followed a good bit of Jonathan Haidt's research and agree there's a strong case for social media being particularly harmful for girls under 16. At the same time, I think different teens will be able to manage smart phones well at different ages. I've seen families make the decision for each of their kids to get their driving licenses and smart phones/social media at different ages (and I think they did this wisely). Age is an appropriate factor to consider, and so is maturity. And no matter when smart phones are introduced, teens need to be properly taught and coached to manage them rather than just being handed them with no training.
Thanks for your feedback! I hope you'll subscribe to my substack as I'll be writing more on smartphones next week and I have an upcoming post directed toward youth workers rolling out soon as well! :)
Thanks for sharing this insight. I'd like to start a movement of Christian parents saying no to smartphones for their sons and daughters through age 18. Knowing that teen girls are so tethered to their phone and at the same time don't want to be, makes me think we need to take these devices away until they are older and more mature. I believe 14, 15, 16 years old is too young to manage a smartphone. Thoughts?
I certainly support the idea of us being more thoughtful about use of technology (for teens and for adults/parents, too!). I've followed a good bit of Jonathan Haidt's research and agree there's a strong case for social media being particularly harmful for girls under 16. At the same time, I think different teens will be able to manage smart phones well at different ages. I've seen families make the decision for each of their kids to get their driving licenses and smart phones/social media at different ages (and I think they did this wisely). Age is an appropriate factor to consider, and so is maturity. And no matter when smart phones are introduced, teens need to be properly taught and coached to manage them rather than just being handed them with no training.
Thanks for your feedback! I hope you'll subscribe to my substack as I'll be writing more on smartphones next week and I have an upcoming post directed toward youth workers rolling out soon as well! :)