The Country School is an independent, coeducational, Pre-K through 8 school founded in 1934.
News
iGen Part II
Last week I wrote about Jean Twenge’s article in The Atlantic entitled “Have Smartphones Destroyed A Generation?” that cited research concluding that the more time teenagers spend using their electronic devices, the less likely they are to report high levels of happiness. She further noted that teens who frequently use social media apps (like Instagram — on which many adolescents post their frequent, enticing, and perfectly curated social activities) report higher levels of loneliness, anxiety, depression, and isolation. Twenge’s article is a sobering and important read.
Another unintended consequence of the ubiquity of smartphones is that typical teens now report sleeping fewer than seven hours most nights. As Twenge writes, “Sleep experts say that teens should get about nine hours of sleep a night; a teen who is getting less than seven hours a night is significantly sleep deprived.” Yet “57% more teens were sleep deprived in 2015 than in 1991…[and] in just the 4 years from 2012 to 2015, 22% more teens failed to get seven hours of sleep. The increase is suspiciously timed,…starting around when most teens got a smartphone.”
Of course sleep deprivation is tied to many health, learning, and emotional issues: irritability; mood disorders; depression; anxiety; impaired thinking, reasoning, and reaction time; weight gain; and high blood pressure. Interestingly enough, kids who read books and magazines, even past their bedtimes, have been shown to have more and better quality sleep than their peers who find “the allure of the smartphone is often too much to resist.”
The timing of one’s screen use also seems to impact the quality and duration of sleep. As Twenge notes, “Children who use a media device right before bed are more likely to sleep less than they should, are more likely to sleep poorly, and are more than twice as likely to be sleepy during the day.” Although causation is difficult to establish, “smartphones could be causing lack of sleep, which leads to depression, or the phones could be causing depression, which leads to a lack of sleep… but the smartphone’s blue light glowing in the dark is likely playing a nefarious role.”
What are some solutions to the negative impacts significant smartphone use seems to cause? Here are some that come to mind:
What are some solutions to the negative impacts significant smartphone use seems to cause? Here are some that come to mind:
- Moderation.
- Limits.
- Screen-free periods of an hour or so before bedtime.
- Insisting that kids be involved in a variety of activities, including outlets that give them plenty of exercise and get them outdoors.
- Making certain that kids have ample opportunity for face-to-face, in-person communication.
- Practice interpreting facial expression, tone of voice, and body language.
- Not allowing devices in bedrooms overnight.
- Whole family screen-free periods.
- Kitchen, mudroom, or laundry room charging stations into which all of a household’s devices must be plugged after a certain hour.
Twenge’s article clearly articulates what is at stake when we are not mindful and deliberate about smartphone use by teenagers (and probably by adults, too). She asserts, “What’s at stake isn’t just how kids experience adolescence. The constant presence of smartphones is likely to affect them well into adulthood. Among people who suffer an episode of depression, at least half become depressed again later in life. Adolescence is a key time for developing social skills… In the next decade, we may see more adults who know just the right emoji for a situation, but not the right facial expression.”
Recent News
List of 5 news stories.
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Kindergarten Students Serving Others!
Kindergarteners have been participating in a 3 part HOHO (Helping Others; Helping Ourselves) project lead by Ferris and Laura Butler. Students packed boxes to be shipped to veterans and their families. The boxeswere filled with child friendly, donated items. Also in the boxes were handwritten letters from the students along with a handmade American flag craft. The Butlers carefully orchestrated this project, and we are very grateful for their time and efforts. -
Spring Athletic Award Winners
Congratulations to all our spring athletics award winners and to all our Cougar athletes who participated in sports and clubs! This spring, TCS offered Boys’ and Girls’ Lacrosse, Pickleball Club, Running Club, and Volleyball Club. Providing so many athletic opportunities took a village—thank you to our amazing coaches, volunteers, and parent drivers for making it all possible! And thank you to our students for setting an example of dedication and sportsmanship!Read More -
Summer Trips for Upper School Students in 2025
It is with great excitement that The Country School announces the addition of 2025 summer trips for our Upper School students!Read More -
The Country School Celebrates 90 Years and Installs Jay Parker
Read MoreThe Country School is proud to be celebrating its 90th school year. This milestone year also marks the beginning of a new chapter with the appointment of Jay Parker as the 7th Head of School. -
Conversation & Homecoming - Saturday, February 24, 2024
Read MoreThe Country School, Talbot County Free Library, and the Avalon Foundation, sponsors, join with fourteen other community organizations to present Conversation & Homecoming with Carole Boston Weatherford and her son, Jeffery Boston Weatherford, a program free and open to all.
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