We all are dependent on our technology now for so much of our daily lives. But, when is our use of tech helpful and when is it becoming a problem. Our PTSA, in coordination with LWHS, is launching a campaign to help all of us find balance in a digital world and learn strategies to keep us on track.
What: In coordination with National Day of Unplugging, Eyes UP, LW! is our local awareness campaign that promotes increased knowledge around digital wellbeing and a challenge to reduce our technology or social media consumption culminating with a 24 hour respite. Observed the first weekend in March, this movement is intended to inspire healthy life/tech balance.
Mission: Increase awareness of technology use and resulting emotional wellbeing and create a movement of collective presence to illuminate our relationship with technology and pledge to elevate personal connections and whatever lights up your life!
Tuesday, February 16
1. Blue light given off by screens suppresses your body's ability to make melatonin, a hormone that helps you sleep. a reduction in melatonin interferes with your body's natural circadian rhythm and makes it harder to fall asleep and stay asleep.
2. Being on your phone right before bed keeps your mind active and engaged, making it hard to relax and fall asleep. Surfing the web, or seeing social media images that excite or upset you can make it hard for the mind to settle down and tricks your brain into thinking it needs to stay awake.
3. Dinging and chiming through the night leads to less sleep. Even if notifications are turned off the mere presence of a phone beside the bed can be too much for some teens to resist and can lead to checking phones during the night.
Some tips to help you and your teens avoid nighttime phone use and get better quality sleep:
1. Get an old-fashioned alarm clock or clock radio and keep your phones in another room while you sleep.
2. Set a technology curfew and ask all family members to charge phones overnight in a common place that's away from bedrooms. Phones and other screens should be turned off at least 30 minutes before going to bed.
3. If you must sleep with your phone in your room, use downtime apps or put it in airplane mode to avoid getting notifications while you sleep.
4. Be an example! Commit to staying off your phone for at least 30 minutes before bedtime and keeping your phone out of your room at night.
Fifty percent of teenagers feel they are addicted to their cell phones. The majority of parents agree, and approximately one third of parents and teens say they argue about device use on a daily basis.
How can you tell if you (or your teen) is addicted to your phone? Some signs include:
Click here to a take a quiz and find out if you're addicted, and get some tips on how to be phone smart and reclaim hours of your life each week!
Control the Scroll
Tuesday, January 26th
Teens spend an average of 7 hours and 22 minutes per day on their screens (not including doing homework). Often mindless minutes of scrolling turn into vanishing hours. How do we break this habit and reclaim our lives? The human brain is specifically wired to love endless scrolling, and younger generations are entering the digital landscape feeling the weight of device addiction. The first step is admitting that you want things to change. Not surprisingly, teens often think about their phone usage and have really great insights about how it affects their education, emotional life and relationships. That’s why it’s important to make this topic a two-way conversation to find incremental steps that can help you figure out what works best for you and your teen.
A few strategies for managing screen time include:
A few tools that can be helpful:
This weeks Tech Tip centers on Social Media and its impact on mental health. What you see on social media doesn't always tell the whole story of what's going on in a person's life. The following edition from the Screenagers Tech Tip Tuesday series gives examples of how social media can impacts on our teens and provides some conversation starters.
The Curse of Body Image Concerns — SCREENAGERS (screenagersmovie.com)
Half the Story is a global community that encourages people to share parts of their lives outside the standard social media story. Talking about the false reality that exists and striving to live life unfiltered is the first step in ending the negative culture social media sometimes creates. Visit HOME - HALFTHESTORY (halfthestoryproject.com) for a Parent’s Guide to Social Media and stories about living life unfiltered.
Three tips for a healthy digital life during the coronavirus outbreak – digitalwellbeing.org
The key is to use digital actively (rather than passively) … For example, you could consider time-boxing your passive screen-time (streaming, viewing, scrolling), and balancing passive viewing with active interaction, where you – and not the screen – are in control.
Digital Wellbeing through technology | Google find a balance with technology that feels right
Digital Well-Being Guidelines for Parents During the COVID-19 Pandemic (humanetech.com)
