March 23, 2021
Parent Resource Series:
Screen Use and Its Implications for our Students
Part 2
Dear Wesleyan families,
In Part 2 of this series, we will continue to share our initial research as it relates to screen dependence and potential addiction. While this series is a priority for many reasons, it's important to note that this one, and future ones like it, are part of several long-term strategic initiatives laid out in our 2020-2025 Strategic Plan that was mailed to you last month. Specifically, as part of our strategic goals for the ongoing development of Christian Community, it is our desire to continue partnering with families to equip our students to influence the world for Christ by providing Wesleyan parents and students with culturally relevant resources and training.
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"The ScreenStrong Solution"
As we can all likely agree, it is becoming crystal clear that screen time is an activity that must be monitored and limited to ensure the healthy mental, emotional, physical, and spiritual development of our children. To support your efforts, this week we are sharing more resources with you to assist you in making important decisions for your family, beginning with Melanie Hempe's new book, The ScreenStrong Solution, and the podcast by the same name.
Though Hempe's book is the first of a variety of resources that we will recommend, at the end of this letter, you'll find a page of other resources on the topic, including specific ones about preventing and reversing childhood screen addiction.
A Hard Truth
In her book, Hempe humbly shares that the development of her oldest son's battle with screen addiction grew
" … on my watch and with my permission". Hempe also shares an abundance of research she uncovered in working to help her son find freedom from this addiction. Specifically, she unpacks data about the impact of screen use on the developing brain alongside suggestions for parents who desire a better, counter-cultural path.
Being cognizant of these impacts can help us better understand how critical it is to protect our children's brain and heart development. Below you'll find two preliminary groundbreaking findings from a study conducted by the National Institutes of Health (NIH ABCD Study, ABC 60 minutes 12/9/18) involving nearly 12,000 children that Hempe shares in her book:
- The first round of MRI tests with (4,500) kids who are on their screens over 7 hours a day (including school screens) reveals premature thinning of the cortex, which is the area of the brain responsible for processing the information our five senses gather from real-world experiences.
- In the group that spends more than two hours a day on screens, early results have shown lower scores on thinking and language tests.
Hempe is not naive to the pressures parents face, including their own exhaustion and feelings of powerlessness, not to mention the belief that if our children don't participate in social media, etc., they will be considered outsiders. In fact, she effectively addresses these issues head-on by outlining common misconceptions that parents have about enforcing and reducing screen time, delaying its use, or discovering alternatives.
Screen Use Invites Chemical Dependency, Physical Stress, etc.
In the first chapter, titled "The Brain Science" Hempe helps readers understand the disruption screen use causes for the brain development process. She provides a clinical overview of the actual effects of excessive social media and gaming on a child's brain, including chemical dependency.
Hempe explains, "Much like drugs or alcohol, interactive screen activity stimulates the reward and pleasure center of the brain by releasing a mix of neurochemicals such as dopamine (the feel-good chemical) and oxytocin (the love/bonding hormone)." It's not surprising then, that the pragmatic solution for screen addiction is similar to that for alcohol and drugs: minimize early exposure and maximize healthy family relationships based on a biblical mindset and cause.
According to neurologists, it takes 25 years—not 15 or 16—for the frontal cortex, or the executive function area of the brain which helps us make logical, wise decisions rather than impulsive, emotionally-driven decisions, to mature. This fact alone helps us understand why adult guidance is still needed to help teach our teens how to eat well, set sleep schedules, make priorities, drive, or manage other adult-like responsibilities in life. The same holds true for the kind of access and setting limits for screen time.
What Now?
If you believe that your children and family need a shift in your use of screens, we encourage you to make that change. Reading and applying the recommended steps found in The ScreenStrong Solution is an excellent first step. There are several more highly recommended books, podcasts, and resources from our principals that are noted below.
We also want to encourage you that while making any kind of change in the home will be challenging, it is worth the effort...be encouraged that the souls of our kids and the adults they will become are worth the expected battle! To reconnect with family and see your child thrive in his and her relationships and endeavors is a gift from God—and one that we pray for daily over all of our families. We are here to help, encourage and provide as many resources as we can on this incredible and awesome journey of partnering together in "Knowing and living the truth."
For His Glory and our children's good,
Dr. Rob Brown
Head of School
ADDITIONAL FAMILY RESOURCES
Books
Links are to Amazon, but you can likely find these in local bookstores as well.
- The ScreenStrong Solution: How to Free Your Child from Addictive Screen Habits, Melanie Hempe
- Will Your Gamer Survive College?, Melanie Hempe
- Screen Kids: 5 Relational Skills Every Child Needs in a Tech-Driven World, Gary Chapman
- The TechWise Family: Everyday Steps for Putting Technology in Its Proper Place, Andy Crouch
- My Tech-Wise Life: Growing Up and Making Choices in a World of Devices, Andy Crouch
- 12 Ways Your Phone is Changing You, Tony Reinke
Podcasts
- ScreenStrong Podcast, Melanie Hempe
Media / Videos
(Please understand that we cannot control the advertisements that may be included in YouTube videos as they are closely related to each device user's specific patterns of use online. To move past these quickly, click "Skip Ads" when given the option.)
- The Social Dilemma (Link is to Netflix Official Trailer). This might be a good avenue that parents of older children may want to consider watching together so you are not the only one providing the warning and data to your kids.
According to Netflix, its movie, The Social Dilemma, "is a documentary-drama hybrid (that) explores the dangerous human impact of social networking, with tech experts sounding the alarm on their own creations." Tech executives and creators represented in this docu-drama are from a wide swath of social media platforms including, but not limited to, Facebook, Pinterest, and Instagram and offer helpful suggestions toward the end of the credits. To watch, visit Netflix.com - Netflix's The Social Dilemma: Filmmaker and Tech Experts in Conversation with Katie Couric
In this interview, Katie Couric sits down with the tech experts and filmmakers of "The Social Dilemma" to better understand their motivations in creating the film in addition to exploring some of the issues raised.
- (Early Education / Elementary-specific): Why Screen Time for Kids Needs to Be Controlled
Other Helpful Links from Our Partner, AXIS
- Cultural Translator, a free weekly email that offers biblical insight on all things teen-related.
- Smartphone Addiction Parent Guide
- 30-Day Smartphone Family Reboot
- A Parent's Guide to Smartphones
Alternative Phone Solutions
- The Gabb Phone - Gabb Wireless is a phone that looks like a smartphone but has no internet access, no social media, and no games. The phone is designed to enable children and adults to "live life outside the screen, free from the pressures and distractions of cyberbullying, screen addiction, and more." Some apps are allowed including ones for music, phone, messaging, contacts, camera, video, gallery, calendar, calculator, clock, voice recorder, FM radio, and file manager.
Web Monitoring & Management Applications
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Wesleyan Christian Academy
1917 North Centennial Street • High Point, NC 27262 • (336) 884-3333
www.wesed.org