Challenges of ‘most connected’ generation
In early August, I began planning for our annual State of the Schools presentation. For perspective, I decided to look at the students of the senior class of 2018, and look at what was going on in the world at the time they were born. Students in this class were either born in 1999 or 2000. Some of the highlights: Y2K, the reality TV show “Big Brother” debuted, and PlayStation 2 was released.
It was also the time frame in which cellphones went from being so-called “yuppie devices” to essential consumer products. In 1999, Bluetooth was released, MySpace was introduced in the UK, and the tragedy at Columbine occurred. It strikes me that this group of students has known nothing but a world of school tragedies, cellphones, technology advances, reality television, and social networking.
Next, my thoughts turned to the youngest group of students, our current preschoolers, the Class of 2030. To begin, I Googled the predictions for this generation, and what I found was not surprising. This generation is going to be the most tech savvy and the most entrepreneurial generation ever. I was, however, struck by the fact that they are anticipated to be the most “connected,” doing most of their shopping online, acquiring most of their education online, networking socially online, yet will have less human contact than previous generations, which leads to psychological challenges as they will feel more alone. So the most “connected” generation will be the most “unconnected” psychologically.
I recently read the article “The Scary Truth About What’s Hurting Our Kids,” which concludes many teens are facing a substantial mental health crisis. The article reports that in 2011 and 2012 kids started to admit they felt sad, hopeless, lonely, and often left out. From 2011 to 2015, the clinical depression rate went up 50 percent. Also during this time, the number of people who own an iPhone hit the 50 percent mark. It is no coincidence that the jump in smartphone attainment and the increase in feelings of depression among teens spiked at the same time. For more information, visit www.yourmodernfamily.com/scary-truth-whatshurting-kids/.
As a superintendent, I see smartphones as a great educational tool and opportunity. However, I have also seen how smartphones can be destructive and contribute to poor decisions. So what is the solution? Families, schools, churches and communities need to get back to what we did before smartphones — spend time with each other and unplug!
Just because Generation Alpha is predicted to be the most “connected” yet “unconnected” generation, it does not mean we have to let this prediction come true. We ALL need to work together to use technology in responsible ways, take time to unplug, and find balance before we end up with a major crisis on our hands.