Brave new world?

This week the New York Times published a study that kind of freaked me out a bit as a new parent. According to "If Your Kids are Awake, They're Probably Online," children between the ages of 8 and 18 spend an average of 7 1/2 hours a day using a smart phone, computer, TV, or other electronic device. And apparently, that does not include the hour and a half they spend texting, and half-hour they spend talking on the phone. (And actually, the very fact that they spend more time texting than talking on their phone is a bit shocking on its own, but that's a different subject). The article goes on to explain that kids are actually packing in an average of 11 hours of media content into their day since they tend to multi-task their technology. Whoa.

Notably, the heaviest users (16+ hours a day) had a C average or lower, and reported feeling lonely and sad. (Perhaps because they surely aren't sleeping much!)

My first reaction to this study was the impulse to shelter little Holden from such devices; to try to nurture him by getting him outside as much as possible, and to take him to museums, and zoos, and parks. But then I realized that this stuff is ubiquitous and unavoidable--and even quite fun. In fact, I'm a little ashamed to admit that I came across this article while I was on my iPhone...while I was breastfeeding. And even though we try to keep Holden from seeing too much TV, I've realized that he's already watched both of his parents tinker away on their laptops endlessly. Our parents' generation never had to contend with the myriad devices out there today. For us as kids, the VCR was the greatest invention ever. I'm not quite sure how we'll tackle this new parenting terrain, but the very fact that it is such a different world than when we were little is food for thought.