Young people may be criticised for spending too much time on devices – but it is parents who use them as a babysitting tool that are creating the problem for the future, Vern Toakley believes.
The Armidale School Year 8 student’s plea to parents to realise the long-term damage of introducing screens to children almost as soon as they can sit, has been short-listed by judges of the national ‘What Matters’ Writing Competition.
“We could write about anything we felt was important and it’s something I feel strongly about – I’m sick of going into a café or restaurant and seeing little kids playing games on their ipads or parents’ phones. Especially as there will be more and more parents who grew up in the digital age – it is up to them to give their kids a good start in life,” he said.
In his piece ‘More Outdoor Time than Screen Time for Kids’, Vern said physical, social and mental health all come at a cost, the younger a child is introduced to a screen.
“Most parents nowadays are shoving a screen in front of their children’s faces as soon as they are old enough to comprehend what is going on, on the screen. When children do nothing but look at screens all day, they do not develop any social skills, any knowledge on how to meet new people and talk to them, which means they will struggle to make friends later on in life. Their physical state is even worse, gaining no muscle tone or athletic ability,” Vern writes.
“What is the solution? Get kids outside with fresh air, sunlight, greenery and no screens. Sign them up to a sport, teach them how to act in a team environment” things that, he says, will create strong friendships, improve physical health and improve social skills.
Vern said he was surprised but pleased to have been shortlisted in the competition, given the number of entries.
“I thought perhaps what I wrote about may not be as appealing to the judges, but it was different to the themes a lot of others wrote about, such as climate change,” he said.
The competition is run by the Whitlam Institute at Western Sydney University. The state and national division finalists will be named in September.
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