Teenagers and the Evolution of the Smartphone

From this:

Image: Huffpost.com

To This:

Image: Personal Photo

Smartphones

Our technology world has developed so quickly over the last few generations.   I love this infographic from McCrindle.com.  In this infographic one part that I enjoy looking at is the timeline showing the incoming and outgoing technology.  I remember the days of transiting from a walkman to a discman.  A CD meant you could switch to whichever song you wanted to hear and not fast forward/rewind hoping you land on that song.  But the discman skipped a lot so that made way for digital storage of music as MP3s.  Cellphones to smartphones shows the transition from a large "Zac Morris" sized phones to now ones that can connect us to the whole world.  As I look at the end I think so much about what is ahead for us as a society especially my children.   

I see lots of students on their phones in the morning and after school (with a little sneaking in their locker for a text or two) as a middle school teacher.  Since I didn't grow up with a cell phone it is hard for me to imagine how much and often a teenager will use their phone and for what purpose.  The article Constant Companion: A Week in the Life of a Young Person's Smartphone Use by Common Sense Media.org provided some great insight on what that usage looks like for this age group and what smart phone usage really looks like.  

Is the phone an extension of a teenage?

One of the most interesting data points was how often a teen will touch their smart phone.  Per the Constant Companion article, "And for most of the teens in our sample, their smartphones were close at hand and picked up and checked frequently throughout the day—a median of 51 times per day, ranging from two to 498 times per day."  When I shared this statistic with my lunch room, I asked them to guess what they thought this number would be.  They guess it was somewhere between 50-70 times a day.  When I told them the above stat, their response was "Not surprised".  The students did say how much they interact with the their phone would depend on the day and what was going on.  They stated further that they knew when they should or should not interact with their phone but sometimes they were not able to help themselves.  

Parents Restrictions: helpful or harmful

When most parents get their child a phone they typically add apps in order to help control or restrict their child's access.  CommonSense.org found that: "Surprisingly, parental control apps sent the highest number of notifications during school hours, sending a median of nearly 30 notifications to young people, with 70 notifications/school day at the top end."  While these applications may be helpful for certain reasons, it seems that the amount of these notifications end up becoming harmful to the teenager.  

Another thing that CommonSense.org found was that teenagers were more apt to want to learn to self-regulate their smartphone usage.  This quote really stood out as what is the normal progression for most teenagers.

"For me, my parents were concerned about my phone usage time for a while, but any time they tried to put the restriction, it didn't really work out that well. But when I put on my own restrictions, they lasted a lot or they have been lasting a lot longer and actually worked ... I think, in a sense, my parents being really into it was a little bit counteractive because it made me less willing to do it 'cause I felt like I didn't want them to take away my phone really, and I just used it more. And then when ... The further we got out from COVID, I realized how much time I was spending on my phone and that I think I could have come to a little sooner if I didn't feel the need to go against my parents. "—10th grader 

As this 10th grader pointed out, when his or her parents put restrictions they were more inclined to rebel.  But when the teenager was asked to self regulate they were able to learn to find a balance on their smartphone because the desire to rebel was not longer a reason to interact their smartphone.  Regardless of what generation you look at there is always a way for a teenager to rebel against his or her parents (i.e. Beatles, long hair).  

Between the "helpful" notifications and rules and restrictions, teenagers will need to find a way to self regulation that removed their parent.  The number of notifications especially during times that they should not on the phone as well as the desire to do opposite of what their parents want causes more confusion and issues.  Maybe in this case technology isn't the solution to learning how to manage a smart phone.    

What Does this Mean?

What does this all mean?  For my professional field, it provides me with more understanding on my students.  When I see a student hiding in their locker there might be truth in to their statement they are texting or communicating with their parent.  And if I regulate some of the tech too much it becomes more of a desired thing.  As the STEM teacher having new technology and giving them opportunity to play and self regulate is helpful to each student's development.  On my personal side, these articles also provide helpful insight on how to handle technology in my house.  The teenagers I work with right now are the tail-end of Gen Z and my children will be part of the Alpha generation per McCrindle.com.  While the technology may change, many of the bigger picture issues discussed will not.  Teenagers will always look to rebel against the rules and teaching my child how to self regulate in the technology world is an important skill even if that means I let go of the reigns and focus on developing a zone of proximity witha focus on release of responsibility.