The SmartPhone Tipping Point
Thu Jul 18, 18:00 - Thu Jul 18, 19:30
Forres Preparatory School
ABOUT
The world is experiencing a massive global shift in thinking, as 14 years of research is showing that too much and inappropriate screen exposure is linked to the declining mental and physical health of this generation of tweens and teens. Why now? Just like sunscreen, seatbelts and smoking, what we know now is suddenly not what we knew before!
With the recent publication of his book, The Anxious Generation: How the Great Rewiring of Childhood is Causing an Epidemic of Mental Illness, social psychologist Jonathan Haidt has sounded the alarm of two big (well-intentioned) mistakes we’ve made: overprotecting children in the real world and under-protecting them online. His work has prompted honest discussions around what childhood and teen life can and should look like.
Kate will reveal the latest research around what’s happening with children and their phones, and uncover WHY online safety advocates are calling for a collective swing towards these new norms -
- Delay smartphones until high school
- Delay social media until 16
- Phone-free schools
- More independence, free play and responsibility in the real world.
And then she’ll facilitate a rich conversation exploring –
WHAT we can do about it as a collective school and parent body, and HOW we can start making changes to improve the mental health of this generation!
Kate Farina is the founder of Be in Touch, an organisation focused on empowering and upskilling parents and teachers to keep children safer and saner online. She’s an online safety expert but as a parent of teens, is also a "mum on a mission", helping other parents with practical tools to get the clarity and confidence they need to manage their family’s devices and stay connected to their children. She much prefers solutions to scare-mongering! Kate has launched a petition to the Department of Basic Education to ban smartphones in classrooms and has also played a key part in the launch of the South African chapter of the Smartphone Free Childhood movement. Check out her recent blog The Smartphone Tipping Point.