By Kaitlynn Christiansen
We live in a society that has access to such amazing technology. At the click of a button, we can instantly communicate with people around the world, or just down the street without leaving our home. Texting has taken the place of handwritten letters and deep phone conversations, emojis are used to communicate emotion, and playing with friends has turned into a child alone in a room with a gaming console.
Technology
With a lack of screen time limits and children being given phones at younger ages, many children are now “free” to live their lives online, yet slaves to these new addictions. Walking the grounds of a high school campus, you will see many groups of teens not actually talking to each other. They may be sitting with each other, but each of them is in their own world.
In a study conducted on teenage students, they found, “People are becoming more reliant on communicating with friends and family through technology and are neglecting to engage personally, uninhibited by phones and devices, even when actually in the presence of others. A majority of individuals felt the quality of their conversations degraded in the presence of technology.” Our phones have become security blankets of sorts. They prevent us from having to engage directly with one another. That buffer can keep us from learning how to read body language and facial cues. It can also inhibit our ability to practice empathy.
The Importance of Face-to-face Connections
Our connections with people who are closest to us are suffering because of the amount of time we devote to our screens. In the case of children, especially those with no screen time limitations, this is their life.
During their formative years, children begin to learn how to communicate and will continue to learn throughout their adolescence. In the transition between middle adolescence into teenagers, much of what they have learned in their childhood has already taken shape, such as:
- Teens start becoming less self-centered and begin developing a more “adult” mindset when thinking of others.
- These are years when they can truly begin to learn how to communicate and interact with others, regardless of differences.
- Important lifelong friendships can grow that will help fortify them.
- As they interact, they will learn how to react to different people’s emotions and body language.
- They will get to experience the joy of laughing and spending time with other people.
This is the time in their life when they can learn appropriate behavior for different events and be more prepared for adult life.
How to Balance Technology Use and Face-to-face Communication
Technology is a wonderful tool. However, there needs to be a balance. Technology should not replace your ability to interact with those who are physically present with you. The best thing is to set boundaries and to help teach your children about setting boundaries when it comes to technology use and face-to-face interaction. Examples of those boundaries may look like
- No technology at family dinner
- Limits on daily screen time
- Family outings or friend outings with no technology except for emergencies
- Have a meaningful conversation with a set number of people a day
These are just a few of the examples of boundaries that your family can set to help you learn how to interact and have quality time with the people who are present. It is wonderful to be able to talk to friends wherever they may be, but make sure you aren’t missing out on people and the life that is going on around you
For more ideas on how to use technology in healthy, appropriate ways, check out our book: Noah’s New Phone: A Story About Using Technology For Good.
Kaitlynn Christiansen is an elementary teacher who is pursuing a bachelor’s degree in Marriage and Family Studies from Brigham Young University-Idaho. She loves to learn and is passionate about educating families about healthy relationships.
Citations:
Chan, M. (2022, December 21). The dying art of conversation – has technology killed our ability to talk face-to-face? The Conversation. https://theconversation.com/the-dying-art-of-conversation
Drago, E. (2015, January 1). The effect of technology on face-to-face communication. Inquiries Journal. http://www.inquiriesjournal.com/articles/1137/2/the-effect-of-technology-on-face-to-face-communication
