i-gen

[HALL85]

Had the opportunity to see a presentation by Dr. Jean Twenge today who is the author of I-Gen, and most of the book is about trends that she has been tracking over the past 20 years with high school students. It was so fascinating I immediately ordered the book. It’s about what we would term generation Z.

While we joke about stereotyping and making fun of each generation, seeing this data was a real eye-opener. She has tracked a number of things over that period from 1999 to this year, including students that got their drivers license, started dating, got jobs, and drank alcohol in high school. All signs of exerting independence. Over that 20 year period there has been a gradual decline in all of those actions until 2012 and then everything has dropped dramatically since. The most telling number was that the percentage of students that read something that is NOT assigned each day. (News, a book, blog, etc.). In 1999, 60% of HS students surveyed read some type of content on some type of media. Last years survey was ONLY 10%! Reported HS depression and unhappiness gradually has increased since 1999 but has spiked dramatically since 2012. Students are hanging with friends less often, venturing out with parents less often.

What happened in 2012 was that smart phone use by teens took off dramatically. Her survey indicated 6-8 hours a day last year....Average first smart phone age is now 10 years old. Those are just some of the highlights or lowlights. Looking forward to reading the book, but it sure seems related to the high school violence, suicides and shootings that have been on the uptick.

 

[Merge]

Navigating the world with you and all your friends having a cell phone from age 10 is something I am not envious of at all. Hard to argue that it has not caused a rise in depression and suicide risk factors for kids. I'm not so sure some of the items you mentioned in the decline on getting a drivers license, drinking etc necessarily is a bad thing regarding establishing independence but it is an interesting topic I'd like to read more about.

As a parent of a 4-6 yea old we try to limit screen time as much as possible but it's going to be a struggle over the next 10 years or so. My 6 year old did just tell my wife that we can't visit her when she gets older because she is going to move away and not tell us where her house is, so apparently we are nailing the independence building portion of parenting. lol

 

[shu09]

The last 10 years have seen transformational change in American behavior. The proliferation of cell phones and social media is the prime culprit in my opinion.

I'm almost 14 years out of high school and almost 10 out of college. Even in that relatively short period of time, I have noticed huge differences in the way the younger generation behaves and communicates. It's almost unrecognizable to me. I play basketball at my gym and it's a good mix of ages, but when you watch and talk to the younger crowd (18-24 year olds), their experiences seem to me to be far different than what I experienced when I was that age and younger.

 

[HALL85]

Navigating the world with you and all your friends having a cell phone from age 10 is something I am not envious of at all. Hard to argue that it has not caused a rise in depression and suicide risk factors for kids. I'm not so sure some of the items you mentioned in the decline on getting a drivers license, drinking etc necessarily is a bad thing regarding establishing independence but it is an interesting topic I'd like to read more about.

As a parent of a 4-6 yea old we try to limit screen time as much as possible but it's going to be a struggle over the next 10 years or so. My 6 year old did just tell my wife that we can't visit her when she gets older because she is going to move away and not tell us where her house is, so apparently we are nailing the independence building portion of parenting. lol

Don’t let you 6-year old read your posts.

Raising young children with this rapid change in technology is going to be more difficult than we probably think. Someone in the audience asked her what she felt the appropriate age is for a first smartphone. After giving a disclaimer about every child is different, she said HS graduation. Parents like their kids to have phones for safety, but she said a flip phone with serve that purpose. After seeing the data it was hard to argue with her.

You strike me as a responsible and engaged parent. Just make sure they know how the family Org chart works!

 

[seton1996]

I try to limit the amount of time my kids are on their tablets/ipads, but it gets harder and harder. I watch them completely zone out watching stupid YouTube videos. My 7 year old ask Santa for a smartphone, obviously Santa did not bring it, but I know several 1st/2nd graders that have their own phones for some reason.

It does seem these days most kids around 10 are getting a phone, i hope to push that back a few years for my kids.

 

[Merge]

You strike me as a responsible and engaged parent. Just make sure they know how the family Org chart works!

Thanks, I'm probably a bit over engaged at times but I try my best.

Someone recommended a $1,600 at 16 incentive where if they can agree to skip having a cell phone until 16 we will give them a check for $1,600 on their 16th birthday. I don't love the idea but we may go that route if they need the incentive to stay away from a phone until then.

 

[HALL85]

Thanks, I'm probably a bit over engaged at times but I try my best.

Someone recommended a $1,600 at 16 incentive where if they can agree to skip having a cell phone until 16 we will give them a check for $1,600 on their 16th birthday. I don't love the idea but we may go that route if they need the incentive to stay away from a phone until then.

That’s an interesting strategy. I don’t want to suggest that we have been hard ass parents, because we certainly have indulged our kids over the years. Parenting as you know is a fine balance from not compromising your values yet allowing them to become independent and learn from mistakes. In retrospect, would definitely do some things differently.

The smart phone is by far, not at the root of all our societal problems, however, I also don’t think we realize the effect it is having, especially on our children. The data was really fascinating which is why I want to see more.

 

[Section112]

I don't envy parents raising kids today with all the technology. We go to restaurants and routinely see parents talking to each other or more usually engaged on their phones not talking to anyone while their kids are totally engaged on their iPads or smart phones not talking to anyone either (technology is a great babysitter right?). I went to Japan about ten-twelve years ago and watched as Japanese business men would sit at a restaurant table all looking at their cell phones not talking to each other at all and I didn't like it. Just a few years later I see that at every restaurant table now here with families and their kids. My kids are in their early to late 20's now and I give it to them at the table all the time when they come home. They sometimes get it more because one is a school teacher and she sees how tough it is to reach her second graders who almost all have phones now which is crazy IMO.

It's tough. Don't be afraid to do what you think is best in limiting screen time and sometimes remembering how important your time together is with your kids - you've heard this but the time really goes very, very fast. Limit your own screen time first and try and engage them in conversations. It will also help them as they get into HS and college and know how to speak to an adult and know when to pay attention. Tell them even though other kids do it all the time there are times when it is very rude to be buried in your phone and pay attention to what is around you (like walking around on a busy street - lol). Has to be tough but remember you set the example. Best of luck to all the parents out there.

There is also another article out there that indicates all the screen time is rewiring kids brains and that may be leading to all the increased anxiety with kids these days. If I find it I will post it.

 

[Pirata]

Not to mention texting and driving. Perhaps in the future, self-driving cars will mitigate some of that.

 

[Pirata]

I am also of the belief that while the concerns raised in this post are valid, every generation has had their disruption. Overtime, parents and society will figure out how to deal with this. We may not get it perfect, but at some point it will fade into a different problem.

My parents spent family time listening to the radio because there was no television. My generation had TV and my parents feared we would go brain dead because we would spend to much time watching TV. They would limit then limit TV time. Sound familiar.

People might react to this and say, "yeah, but this is different". It is different and it is also the same.

TV is just one example. Go back through history and you can identify many similar societal changes.

While we joke about stereotyping and making fun of each generation, seeing this data was a real eye-opener.

Well said.

1. I think it good for one generation to not judge another.
2. Staying abreast of disruptive technology and societal shifts is a smart thing to do.

 

[Section112]

I am also of the belief that while the concerns raised in this post are valid, every generation has had their disruption. Overtime, parents and society will figure out how to deal with this. We may not get it perfect, but at some point it will fade into a different problem.

My parents spent family time listening to the radio because there was no television. My generation had TV and my parents feared we would go brain dead because we would spend to much time watching TV. They would limit then limit TV time. Sound familiar.

People might react to this and say, "yeah, but this is different". It is different and it is also the same.

TV is just one example. Go back through history and you can identify many similar societal changes.



Well said.

1. I think it good for one generation to not judge another.
2. Staying abreast of disruptive technology and societal shifts is a smart thing to do.

I agree that each generation had their thing. I can sing the entire Green Acres, Beverly Hillbillies, Brady Bunch and more opening songs of the TV shows I used to watch.

The difference is the TV stayed in one or two rooms and you could not bring it with you everywhere. Also kids are so impressionable and care too much about what everyone thinks and social media makes them believe everything is honky dory all the time. They get those messages reinforced every second because their phone is with them all the time. I've seen studies where kids check their phones 100+ times a day (I'm sure us adults do too).

The other thing I notice about the upcoming generations is they need immediate gratification and a lot of this is based on the reward mentality or immediate gratification because someone liked their Instagram etc.

A study published earlier this year out of Universtiy of Texas in Austin found people's cognitive functioning on tests diminished the closer they were to their phones and the people who did best on the tests were the ones who had their devices in other rooms.

There are countless articles based on studies by pschology and mental health professionals talking about how our brains are being rewired by cell phones. Kids brains are the most at risk because they are forming. I thought this was a good article for young parents - https://www.psychologytoday.com/us/...04/what-screen-time-can-really-do-kids-brains

It is hard to try and do the right thing especially when your kids gravitate to technology. Awareness of the risks is a good start.

 

[Stevie_H]

I don't envy parents raising kids today with all the technology. We go to restaurants and routinely see parents talking to each other or more usually engaged on their phones not talking to anyone while their kids are totally engaged on their iPads or smart phones not talking to anyone either (technology is a great babysitter right?). I went to Japan about ten-twelve years ago and watched as Japanese business men would sit at a restaurant table all looking at their cell phones not talking to each other at all and I didn't like it. Just a few years later I see that at every restaurant table now here with families and their kids. My kids are in their early to late 20's now and I give it to them at the table all the time when they come home. They sometimes get it more because one is a school teacher and she sees how tough it is to reach her second graders who almost all have phones now which is crazy IMO.

It's tough. Don't be afraid to do what you think is best in limiting screen time and sometimes remembering how important your time together is with your kids - you've heard this but the time really goes very, very fast. Limit your own screen time first and try and engage them in conversations. It will also help them as they get into HS and college and know how to speak to an adult and know when to pay attention. Tell them even though other kids do it all the time there are times when it is very rude to be buried in your phone and pay attention to what is around you (like walking around on a busy street - lol). Has to be tough but remember you set the example. Best of luck to all the parents out there.

There is also another article out there that indicates all the screen time is rewiring kids brains and that may be leading to all the increased anxiety with kids these days. If I find it I will post it.

I finished The Coddling Of The American Mind last month. Much of the discussion here is touched upon. Pretty thorough and well supported by data. Read and try to not lose the will to live...

As for screens/devices, it’s a tiny sample size and annectdotal, but I see the change in kids via youth basketball. There’s a noticeable difference (to me) in the kids from when I was working camps and clinics in HS and college to today where I’m coaching my kids’ youth teams. In speaking with the gents who run the league for 20+ years now (and are teachers too) they see it. I can tell who is being parented with purpose and has limited or no screen use vs. those raised by an iPhone.

 

[HALL85]

I think it’s fair to say technology during the formative years has had a major impact on each of the past three generations :

Baby Boomers - Television
Millennials - Computer/Internet
Generation Z - Smart Phone

One interesting positive consequence from this book is that teen pregnancies have dropped dramatically. If you are not leaving the house, hanging out with friends as much and not dating it’s all pretty logical. Never thought of the smart phone as a birth control device ....

 

[knowknow456]

Thanks, I'm probably a bit over engaged at times but I try my best.

Someone recommended a $1,600 at 16 incentive where if they can agree to skip having a cell phone until 16 we will give them a check for $1,600 on their 16th birthday. I don't love the idea but we may go that route if they need the incentive to stay away from a phone until then.

As a former child I think I am uniquely qualified to weigh in on this subject. Growing up I lived in a (processed) sugar free household. All was well until Joey's (not his real name) 8th birthday. He had a vanilla cake with strawberry filling and lots of butter cream icing. I was the hit of the party as I ate three pieces of cake that day, never having had that kind of food before. The mom even let me eat the blue flower decoration which was a sure problem when I went home with blue stains all over my lips and teeth, leading to a couple of phone calls between my mother and Joey's.

From there on out I was hooked. My mother tried every trick in the book to eliminate sugar from my diet but ultimately she lost that battle. And battle we did for almost a decade. I still loved my mother and had a great relationship with her right up to the end and today I am a 400 pound diabetic who hasn't climbed more than three steps in almost eight years.

The moral of the story is you won't be able to control your children much longer as it relates to the internet and phone usage. Embrace it and regulate it but never delude yourself into thinking you can control it.

 

[Merge]

The moral of the story is you won't be able to control your children much longer as it relates to the internet and phone usage. Embrace it and regulate it but never delude yourself into thinking you can control it.

Indeed. I won't stop them. I am trying as much as I can to teach them that technology can be a powerful tool but also has the potential to be harmful for them. I don't want them to have their own phone until they are mature enough to understand all of the related risks. It's a balance for sure and I don't expect I will always get it right.

 

[HALL85]

Indeed. I won't stop them. I am trying as much as I can to teach them that technology can be a powerful tool but also has the potential to be harmful for them. I don't want them to have their own phone until they are mature enough to understand all of the related risks. It's a balance for sure and I don't expect I will always get it right.

I think you’re doing the right thing. Parents can’t control everything but are ultimately most responsible for developing their children’s values. Someone asked the speaker what the appropriate age wise for a child to have a smart phone.

While she said every childs development is different, there is really no reason that you should wait until high school graduation to get their first smart phone. If you are worried about their safety, a flip phone is all you need.

 

[Stevie_H]

I think it’s fair to say technology during the formative years has had a major impact on each of the past three generations :

Baby Boomers - Television
Millennials - Computer/Internet
Generation Z - Smart Phone

One interesting positive consequence from this book is that teen pregnancies have dropped dramatically. If you are not leaving the house, hanging out with friends as much and not dating it’s all pretty logical. Never thought of the smart phone as a birth control device ....

No Gen X?

Gen X - Cable/Video Games? A huge expansion in choice, perhaps the quick sprouting seeds of increased instant gratification desire and decline in attention span?