"Virtual Reality is Sensory Deprivation"
http://ttfuture.org/files/2/pdf/mm_A%20is%20for%20App.pdf
It seems to me that screen time is being promoted to educators everywhere you look. After all, it makes learning fun, doesn't it? And it completely engages the kids while they sit quietly. Who could ask for more? And there are some simply amazing educational videos and interactive learning games out there. When I post a question on a homeschool network asking for resources on a particular topic, usually people want to share their favorite online resources and videos, even when I specifically ask for books only. And many of them are fantastic.
But honestly, giving my son any kind of screen time has always made me uncomfortable. I find it very hard to strike that balance between giving my son what I worry is too much screen time, and utterly depriving him of it. I'm just not sure where that balance lies for me. There certainly is some amazing content out there. I readily dismiss the concern that kids that don't get lots of computer time, especially when they are very young, will be behind their peers when they enter the job market. I have to laugh at the memory of the computer they brought into my middle school, and how it compared to the computer I first sat in front of at a job. I doubt very much that any computer we have in use today will bear much resemblance to the ones that will be in use when my son enters the job market. And if anything the trend is to make them more intuitive and user friendly.
It seems to me that screen time is being promoted to educators everywhere you look. After all, it makes learning fun, doesn't it? And it completely engages the kids while they sit quietly. Who could ask for more? And there are some simply amazing educational videos and interactive learning games out there. When I post a question on a homeschool network asking for resources on a particular topic, usually people want to share their favorite online resources and videos, even when I specifically ask for books only. And many of them are fantastic.
But honestly, giving my son any kind of screen time has always made me uncomfortable. I find it very hard to strike that balance between giving my son what I worry is too much screen time, and utterly depriving him of it. I'm just not sure where that balance lies for me. There certainly is some amazing content out there. I readily dismiss the concern that kids that don't get lots of computer time, especially when they are very young, will be behind their peers when they enter the job market. I have to laugh at the memory of the computer they brought into my middle school, and how it compared to the computer I first sat in front of at a job. I doubt very much that any computer we have in use today will bear much resemblance to the ones that will be in use when my son enters the job market. And if anything the trend is to make them more intuitive and user friendly.
This morning I was forwarded a link to an article that puts it all in perspective for me, and really nails down why screen time for my son makes me cringe. There is definitely a new argument here that I had never heard before, that explains why screen time has drawbacks regardless of content. I have been forwarded so many links over the years to essays about "how my son learned Japanese and advanced mathematics from playing video games every day!" that I feel it doesn't hurt to share a different perspective. (And, seriously, how many hours of video games produce fluent Japanese speakers and advanced mathematicians? Egads!) It's not a bad idea to consider that screen time can be an educational tool to standardize children's brains and create citizens who are more easily controlled and made to conform. As always, for every expert there is an equal and opposite expert! So I know you will decide for yourself. Definitely something to think about! http://ttfuture.org/files/2/pdf/mm_A%20is%20for%20App.pdf
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