Fighting the new ‘norm’?

CMA’s Review Coordinator, Dr Debra Dickinson, shares some observations from an Early Childhood and a parent’s point of view.

I’m fortunate to work with CMA, where we’re keenly aware of the latest news and research on the effects of the digital environment on children and society as a whole. I’m also deep in the trenches of this environment, as an Early Childhood teacher and as a mother to two girls, one nearly 16 and one nearly 13.
I feel like I was heading in the right direction early on with my children. When my eldest started school we made the bold decision to turn off the screens. This was a tricky transition and for a while my daughter often asked to watch something but over time, as her imagination flourished, the ‘need’ for screens diminished.
Chatting with friends, it seemed other children were growing up too fast, whereas I had a sense that I was protecting my girls’ childhood. I recall a well-meaning friend suggesting that I needed to ‘get with the times’ because this ‘online world’ was their world and I just had to get used to that. This didn’t sit easy with me, even back then I was willing to fight against what was becoming the ‘norm’. But I was a minority and, eventually, screens seeped back into our lives, albeit in a small and monitored way.
Fortunately I had CMA’s KBYG movie reviews to help navigate which movies were age-appropriate to watch but nothing could prepare me for the subversive effects the digital environment would have on my girls and our family. Phones in particular cause more disagreements than anything I’ve known. This, I know, is a very common struggle for parents. And it’s not just phones. Social media, Spotify, YouTube –hours of viewing, videos after videos, mindless scrolling. But generally my girls have minimal screen time compared to many others. I imagine it must be really challenging for parents whose children have more serious screen addictions.
The effects on society of these different platforms is disturbing. I recently spoke with a friend whose daughter’s friend had been bullied and threatened on Snapchat by other students she didn’t know, and then beaten up at school the next day. Leadership assured my friend that it was rare for threats to actually result in physical violence? I beg to differ.
What is also concerning is how quickly it seems childhood is being lost or quickened. Many children my daughter’s age are acting as if they’re 18. Drinking, partying, sex! Even some friends of my nearly 13 year old are acting much older than they are, and often copying what they have seen on TikTok or YouTube, and setting their sights on being a famous YouTuber!
What I see in my role in Early Childhood, where we have no ‘screens’, is also worth mentioning. A significant part of learning in the early years is done through imitation. Children imitate what they see. It’s always very interesting to see these little 5 and 6 year olds in their play, using wooden blocks as ‘mobile phones’ or ‘iPads’; putting their ‘devices’ together in a made-up ‘charging station’. Furthermore, part of what we do is to ‘school the imagination’, however, it’s very clear which children have screen time, as their play and drawings often involve Pokémon or Minecraft, or other things they’ve seen or played. Children who don’t have screens in their lives have the most wonderful, imaginative play and drawings.
Another aspect I’ve noticed, in both my role as a teacher and through my parent networks, is that anxiety amongst children is increasing. This seems to be the new ‘norm’ and, through my observations and conversations, it’s apparent that screen dependence is a big contributor. So, we need to look at the potential harms associated with screen use and question, are we going to stand by and accept this ‘new norm’? Or are we going to fight it!?