It's time to listen to the real screen time experts: our kids
Issue #15
I think kids are pretty incredible. They're smart and resourceful—and adults often don't give them enough credit. In fact, this belief is foundational to the work we do at Kinzoo: we aim to respect and empower kids by building technology that meets their needs. And one of the most important ways we can understand those needs is to listen to kids. It sounds simple, but it's something that's often overlooked. That's why I was so excited to see this article from culture writer Anne Helen Petersen. In a refreshing break from the usual "screen time" articles, this one features interviews with kids. We get to hear directly from children about how they use screens to play games and what they enjoy most about gaming. In the introduction to the article, Peterson astutely points out that, "as a society, we often spend a lot of time worrying about how a cultural product is affecting a group of people — kids, teen girls, grown-ass women — and very little time actually talking to the people actually consuming it." But before we get into some of the most interesting quotes from children, I think it's important to talk about why this kind of insight is so important.
Most parents will tell you that the screen time debate is divisive. For years, we've seen headlines comparing screen time to heroin and read articles filled with quotes from addiction specialists. We've been cautioned to restrict screen time and conditioned to be anxious about allowing our kids access to technology. But then, every so often, we hear that screen time is no more harmful than a potato. So yes, it's a debate of extremes with very little common ground—but given the way extreme content spreads online with the help of algorithms, I'm not especially surprised that it's devolved to this point. But when we stop for a moment to listen to the kids at the center of this, we're able to access a different side of the subject.
"Kids don’t know everything. But they often do know themselves," writes Peterson. "So I wanted to hear them talk about their own relationship to the games they play: what they like about it, when they like to play, how games make them feel, who they like to play with, and how they respond to anxiety about their gaming/screen time." And reading what the kids had to say was pretty inspiring.
For many, their favorite part about gaming was connecting with far-away family members or friends. Kids are learning to read and code. They're having fun and enjoying a sense of accomplishment when they build a working calculator in Minecraft or "whoop" their uncle at Mario Cart. According to one 10-year-old girl, Animal Crossing "teaches you how to build a nice secure community, and how to build relationships with celebrations, compliments, gifts, kindness and building skills. It teaches you about how the economy works by showing you how loans and debts work. It teaches you about designing your own materials, including things you’re very passionate about." What could be more wholesome than that?
Anne Helen Petersen, the author of this piece even shared the interview questions she used on Twitter. I was inspired to ask my own daughter Kaylie these questions, and here's what she shared with me:
I am 10 years old and my favorite games to play are Minecraft, Roblox and Among Us. My favorite game of all is Roblox because you can play lots of games, customize your avatar, meet your friends and message them. If I only had an hour to play, I would spend it playing the Accurate RolePlay game. It is a game on Roblox where you can play roles like a jester and landlord. I usually role play as a janitor. I clean up all the trash like banana peels and put them in the garbage because I get game cash for completing the task. My favorite time to play is when my friends are online, so I can play with them. The worst thing that can happen in the game is when no one is working at the ticket stand because I can't become a civilian. The best thing that's ever happened in the game is when I became a leader.
It makes me sad when adults think playing with screens is bad for me, especially in the pandemic. It means I get to play with my friends less. I think we need a class for gaming in school because we might want to be YouTubers when we're older!
When I sit back and read her answers to the questions, virtually none of it is scary or alarming, though I will talk to her about YouTube as a career choice :)
At the end of the day, most of what our kids do online is because it is fun, allows them to be creative and to hang out with their friends. Those sound like the same sorts of things I enjoyed as a child, though the world has absolutely changed. Obviously, kids need guidance when it comes to online gaming, but that's not anything new. I needed guidance when I was a kid, and my parents taught me not to get into a car with strangers. Today, I tell my kids not to chat with strangers online. I do everything I can to equip them with the critical thinking skills and smarts to use technology safely, and I ensure they feel comfortable coming to me if they ever feel unsafe. And a big part of that is listening. I encourage you to share Peterson's questions with your kids. If nothing else, talking to them about how they use technology might be an antidote to the panic-inducing headlines.
TL;DR
Too long; didn't read. It shouldn't be a full-time job to keep up on industry news, so here is a mercifully quick summary of some other notable developments:
There is an upcoming privacy change in the works, whereby Apple will force developers to get permission to track users across apps and websites. The update will undoubtedly challenge a dominant tech business model that runs on data tracking—and Facebook is none too happy. In advance of the update, they're serving users with a prompt encouraging them to opt into tracking, and explaining that "doing so will make ads more personalized and help support businesses that rely on advertising." Facebook and Apple have been exchanging barbs over the new privacy update for a while, and the two companies' CEOs have been making increasingly hostile public statements on the topic. It'll be interesting to see what kind of an impact the Apple privacy update really makes!
I'm a strong believer that technology can unlock worlds of potential for our kids. When we give them access to the best of it and help guide them towards creative, constructive uses, anything is possible. That's why I love seeing stories like this one, where a young girl's curiosity and passion ignited when her father showed her a coding trick. Since that early introduction to coding—and a few frustrating attempts to learn with some online tools—she's developed a set of board games designed to help beginners grasp the basics. She realized that her experience was common for people new to coding, who often “start with the hardest problems first, and that intimidates them.”
Okay, that's it from me until next week. If you enjoyed this newsletter, and know of another parent who would as well, please feel free to forward it along.