Worry of kids’ ‘digital divide’ Over children’s screentime
A study reveals the average 8-year-old is spending too much time on devices, with concern most are passively using them for entertainment instead of education. Sarah Catherall reports.
Five-year-olds are turning up to school with American accents. When teachers ask them if they’ve been overseas, that’s not the case: instead it’s because they’ve watched so much Netflix or YouTube.
It’s one of the consequences of primary school-aged kids being on screens at home that Paul Cartlidge, the principal of Waimate Main School in rural Canterbury reels off when asked about a new study showing how often 8-year-olds are on screens for recreational purposes.
The Growing Up in New Zealand study, based on a cohort of almost 60 8-year-olds, found they were on screens for an average of three hours a day (not including time at school), exceeding Ministry of Health guidelines of two hours of passive screen time for five to 17-year-olds; 27% used a screen every day for gaming; 40% watched TV, videos or movies daily. The time spent doing these activities wasn’t calculated.
By the age of eight, 40% of children had their own tablet, 20% had a computer or laptop, and about 15% had a smartphone.
Leading the study, Auckland University research fellow Dr Maria Corkin is concerned about a digital divide. By the age of eight, children can be split into those becoming digitally competent, using technology at home to create and aid their education (sending emails, coding, making music, taking photos), against two-thirds who are ‘‘limited users’’, often passively staring at screens for entertainment only.
Many principals think the screen time figures are conservative. Cartlidge argues far more children that age are blobbing out in front of screens or gaming. At his 120-pupil, decile 2 primary school, Fortnite – a game recommended for ages 13-plus – is so ubiquitous that a Timaru social worker wrote a column warning parents kids are inappropriately playing the game, and Cartlidge posted it on the school newsletter.
Excessive screen use in middle childhood is not a problem confined to that school. Other primary schools report the same problems with children who spend too much time on screens at home, and often watch inappropriate content or play games recommended for teenagers a decade older. They come to school tired, unable to concentrate, showing aggressive and addictive behaviour, and often replicating behaviours they see online.
Cartlidge this week had a parent express concern about an abusive group chat on Snapchat between 14 students.
‘‘As an educator, I totally see a value in kids being digitally proficient because that’s the world we live in. But I’m seeing lessening attention spans, concerning behaviours, and a lack of age-appropriate screen and device use.’’
He says six-year-olds are re-enacting the ‘‘Blood Eagle’’ execution from the series Vikings, while Grand Theft Auto, an R18 console game with violence, prostitution, drugs and theft, is being played by pupils aged six and older. Many pupils are on TikTok, Snapchat and Instagram, despite guidelines of a 13-plus age minimum.
‘‘It’s pretty rare for me to meet a child that hasn’t had access to social media at school. When I was a child, you couldn’t go to a video store and hire an R18 video. We’re seeing a difference in parenting. Some parents have a hands-off approach and don’t monitor their children’s use . . .
Putting out fires online is becoming an increasing part of our role as educators. Device use should be graduated.’’
Ex-Wellington city councillor Sean Rush tries to limit screentime for his eight-yearold son Nickbut says it is difficult. The iPad can function ‘‘like a babysitter’’, admits Rush, who says monitoring screentime is a modern-day parenting dilemma for busy working parents. Nick loves the game Roblox, and also has a phone that he can use to text or call his parents on the way to school. His rules are no iPads or screens before school, and no devices until 6pm. However, ‘‘I’ve just come back from holiday and I got the iPads out when I was with friends and the kids got bored.’’
Nick also does trampolining and plays rugby so he gets plenty of physical exercise.
Rush says: ‘‘We live in a time of technology . . . and they are skills these kids need in the modern world. But what I find is that if you want to get things done, and you want to get the kids off their screens, there’s a lot of howling and wailing and grumpy moods.’’
A Wellington single mother has a 7-yearold daughter and 9-year-old son who she parents part-time. Her 9-year-old is so addicted, she says, that if he goes out, he is desperate to get home to his iPad or gaming console. She tries to monitor content but calculates her children spend about five hours a day on screens once they are home. ‘‘I feel such mum guilt . . . But the whining if they’re not on them is incredible.’’
Corkin’s report comes at a time when New Zealand’s literacy rates have slumped. By the age of 15, two out of five children are only just meeting standards, which some attribute to screen use.
Schools are encouraged to use devices in the classroom but can decide when and whether pupils bring their own devices, how often they’re used or if the school provides them. The digital technology curriculum is being revamped next year.
Gavin Beere has been a principal for 28 years, and now heads decile 7 Hillcrest School in Auckland’s Manurewa. He has never seen children with such poor literacy rates, which he links partly to screen use. He has also had pupils with American accents. ‘‘It’s still a minority of kids, but it’s increasing. It’s irrespective of cultural background. Parents in a lot of cases . . . wouldn’t have a clue what their child was up to online. There are a lot of very scary things happening which parents have no idea about. The addictive nature of gaming is a worry, and the way that gaming deliberately gives its users a dopamine hit if they win.’’
Hillcrest provides computers rather than asking children to bring a device from
Year 5, like many other schools. The policy is deliberate, both because it’s too much of a cost burden for many parents, and it also allows the school to control what content children can access in the classroom.
Karen Brisco, principal of Omata School in Taranaki, is limiting the use of devices in her junior classrooms. ‘‘When devices first came in, we were all excited and giving it all a go. We felt like we had to teach them how to use them and ourselves. But now (the pupils) are. . . learning about technology at home and in everyday life, so we use it when it enhances learning.’’
Instead, juniors are given more time outdoors and given activities that develop their social and creative skills. ‘‘We really feel it’s important for children’s brain development neurologically and to develop strong personal relationships until they’re at least nine. We only use technology to enhance some of the learning that we’re teaching.’’
Erika Murray won’t let her seven-yearold daughter do much more than listen to an audiobook on her iPad at home. The Wellington mother doesn’t want her daughter to have a phone until she is much older. She is one of ‘‘the radical parents’’ who is concerned about devices being used in the classroom.
In Year 3, her daughter is already learning some maths on a device in the classroom.
‘‘If it was up to me, I wouldn’t want her to learn on a device until she’s at high school. I don’t see why they can’t just do practical activities using blocks and getting outside in nature. Why rush them into needing to be on a computer? She’s part of a generation which will be tech-savvy and once they do get online, it becomes so excessive.’’
Associate Professor and co-director of the Digital Education Futures Lab, Cheryl Brown, points out that parents can struggle to know what is learning and what is recreational content online, as children have apps and online programmes they use at both home and school.
She is supportive of digital technology being taught in schools, as long as it is not something that should be taught in a traditional way. She also says younger children are usually unable to self-manage their time on screens, so parents need to set rules and expectations.
Corkin found 13% of 8-year-olds used a device for homework daily and 12% worried about their safety online. But with a third of 8-year-olds far ahead with their digital ability than their peers – able to create digital art, make a film, a song or a sound recording – schools should be mindful of helping those who are missing out to catch up, Corkin says.
On recreational use, though, she says: ‘‘I do think the Ministry of Health guidelines provide parents with a good indication of an upper limit, especially as some children may have been on devices during the day.’’
‘Parents in a lot of cases don’t have adequate safeguards and they wouldn’t have a clue what their child was up to online.’ GAVIN BEERE, HILLCREST SCHOOL PRINCIPAL