Tag: addiction

Social media is bad.

We have all heard the negative headlines in relation to social media and children however as with most stories there are two sides to the coin, and as much as there are negative implications there are also positive ones.   I therefore thought it was appropriate to share my views on the benefits which our children may find in social media.

We have all read about how social media, and related screen time, impact on the sleep patterns of children, how it may result in greater occurrences of mental health issues, that it reduces students ability to concentrate and that it may reduce achievement levels but what about the other side of things.

We live in a more stressful world than ever before.   When I did my standard grades and the odd O-level I wanted to achieve the best results possible but looking back I don’t feel there was any significant pressure.   I don’t remember discussions of leagues tables or comparisons of countries against other countries or even wide scale coverage of the headline results or subject by subject analysis.    These are all common theses days.   Our children are constantly having the narrative reinforced, that exams will shape their future and that they are therefore of massive importance.   This adds stress but where can students go to share their feelings of stress, to vent, to express and to get support and advice?    They could go to their parents, teachers or other adults but our children often find this difficult due to concerns about being judged or about the resulting impact of sharing.  Sharing with a teacher may result in being “put” in extra lessons or being seen to be “less able” whereas sharing with parents may result in having some of their liberties taken away in order to help them “focus” or “put in more effort”.     They must also consider that adults views on things will be based on their experiences which happened some years in the past and therefore do not fully have a bearing on the current world context and on the environment that the students find themselves in.   Social media provides a better option as students can share with their peers and get advice and support from people going through the same situation, in the same, current, context.   A quick look at social media heading up to A-Level and GCSE results day showed plenty of examples of students expressing their stress and worry over the impending results envelope, and/or text message.    This shows a concerning trend but may also have positive implications in that the students can use social media to vent their concerns and frustrations.   Social media also has plenty examples of students sharing words of support, comfort and advice with one another.

We now live in a world where students movements are more closely controlled and monitored.   Gone are the days of the lone instruction being to be “back before the street lights come on”.   Now parents seek to know where children are.    Parents may also ban students from some locales on the basis of perceived risk.  You also have shops banning groups of youths loitering and in some cases even installing devices to make such loitering painful.     There are less opportunities for our children to be social with each other.   Once again social media steps in.    Social media spans the gap allowing children to be social, to discuss and share their thoughts and feelings, even when the adults in their life and society in general is continuing to further curtail the opportunities they have for being social, for fulfilling a basic human instinct which I suspect is all the stronger in a youths teenage years.

I am not saying social media is all good nor am I willing to accept it is all bad.    In the world we now live in it simply “IS”.   What we therefore have to be mindful of is considering the positives and negatives and doing our best to maximise the positive opportunities while reducing as much as is reasonably possible the negatives.

 

 

iPADS helping students manage distraction?

We have all read the various media reports in relation to concerns about children’s screen time, use of social media and also how technology can be distracting and negatively impact the ability for children to focus and concentrate.    I have never really signed up to these concerns, although I have always accepted that at extreme levels of screen time and use negative consequences are likely, that however can be said for most things in life, that an over indulgence will have negative results whether it is over eating, over exercising, over dieting or over use of technology.

A recent visit to a school however casts this whole subject into another light and highlighted a potential benefit I hadn’t really considered.     I was talking with students about the apps they use in school and the group of boys I was talking to where confidently and excitedly describing various apps which they used in different subjects.   It was then that one student turned his iPad so I could see it and pronounced that he used HeadSpace.     He apparently found he got stressed or distracted at times and that the HeadSpace app on his iPad allowed him to take time out and refocus.   Here we had a student using technology to help with focus and distraction.

For those that aren’t aware of HeadSpace, it is mindfulness and meditating app which, according to their website is “a personal meditation guide, right in your pocket”.   As it happens I have myself experimented with HeadSpace so when the student mentioned it, I was aware of what it was.

Technology is in my eyes a tool.   In my eyes it is a very versatile tool or even a “swiss army knife” of educational tools.    Like any tool, it is the use to which we put it that has either positive or negative results as opposed to the tool itself.    Put to the use as a tool to quiet children, keep them blindly busy or simply quiet then it will be no wonder that the outcomes will be negative, that students may find focusing difficult.   Alternatively, like with the pupil I met, it could also be used to tackle the specific negative outcomes that the above poor use might result in.   It could be used to positively support students in managing distraction and in focusing.

Would be interested in if any others are using Headspace or other apps in relation to Mindfulness in students.

Mobile phones in schools (again!)

The issue of mobile phones in schools is once again raging with various schools deciding to ban mobile phones.   On social media teachers and school leaders are split.   Some occupy the ban all mobiles camp citing mobile phones as a distraction and also concerns around student mental health, addition and screen time in relation to overuse of social media.   Others support the use of mobile phones in classrooms as it provides teachers with an additional tool which can be used to engage students in their learning opening up new opportunities and learning experiences not available without mobile phones.  It also helps in preparing students for the real world where they will invariably need to manage their own phone use.

I have repeatedly stated my view, in that I am for allowing mobile phones in schools.    In the real world we all have phones vying for our attention.   Some adults manage this potential distraction and even addiction better than others.    It is due to this I feel we have a duty to work with students and help them learn to manage their mobile devices and their online presence along with the potential resultant distractions.   If teachers don’t spend time working with students to discuss and consider these issues then who will?

The one question that I would like to raise via this post is, has anyone thought of discussing this issue with students?     We are hearing plenty for educational bodies and individual school leaders and teachers but what about the students.    Have we discussed with them the concerns that those who wish to have mobile phones banned have?    Have we discussed with them the potential positive benefits of having mobile devices in school and in classrooms, along with the potential ways that such devices could be used?    Have we asked them what they think?    Have we discussed creating an agreement for the proper use of mobile devices in school, developed collaboratively between staff and students?

To me banning something is seldom effective.   Work arounds are created making bans ineffective.  Students might simply get sneaky, trying to use their devices when their teachers aren’t looking.   Some students may develop more creative solutions to get around bans.    I suspect the Smart watch may be one such work around.   The students phone would be silent and out of sight however their Smart watch would allow students to continue interacting with social media without ever having to get their phone out and get caught for having it.    Are we going to start banning watches next?

The argument regarding mobile phones in schools continues to draw polar views, as is almost always the case on social media.    The answer, in my eyes, as is the case in most things in the “real” world, lies between the polar opposite views.   For me the answer is to allow mobile phones but to discuss their proper use and the rules around this with the students.    An agreement has to be developed.   Outside of what is agreed, where students cannot use them responsibly then maybe a ban is appropriate, however I would hope in most schools and with most students, that a shared agreement can be reached and both students and teachers can benefit from having another tool available to use in lessons and around school.

Am I checking my phone too often?

A couple of weeks ago I installed an app called Checky on both my Android tablet and my Android phone.   The reason for installing the app was to try to get a handle on how often I checked my devices during the day.   I had a sense that I was possibly checking my devices too often and that as a result I was less focused than I could be, however I was also conscious of the fact that this might be simply an incorrect perception without grounding in reality.   The only way to determine whether my sense of over checking my devices was true was to gather some quantitative data and this is where Checky comes in.    The app is simple – It just logs the number of times you access your device, reporting this daily.

The results;  Well over the last couple of weeks the combined totals from the apps across both the mobile devices I use, a phone and a tablet, suggest I access my mobile devices on average 34 times a day.    This represents checking my devices almost every 28 minutes if we assume 8 hours of sleep per day and therefore only 16 possible hours each day when I could access my device.

Taken in the context of the piece in the Independent (Barr, S. 2017) in relation to the average Brit who  accesses their devices 28 times per day, my personal access over the last couple of weeks of 34 times seems a little high.    It is certainly nothing compared to some teens who apparently check social media 100 times per day (Wallace, K, CNN, 2015).   That said, I cannot see why I should need to be accessing my devices every 28 minutes.

On reflection I must acknowledge that I have slightly different apps sets across both devices.   This may lead me to check both devices at the same time which could be doubling up my statistics.    This is something I may need to look at, either having the same apps on both devices, or having clears sets of apps on each devices, thereby avoiding the need to check each device separately throughout the day.  This may reduce the time taken when I have the urge to check my various apps, as I would only need to check a single device.   I also note that recently I have taken to exercising in the morning which involves using my phone for music as I run, making changes to my music as I go and also reviewing my distance traveled, etc, which all require me to access my phone.   Another factor is I use a tablet device in meetings and in my general work day which again would show up in my access statistics.

I have also put the data into Excel and looked at my usage by day.   It turns out my greatest usage is on a Sunday, then on a Friday and Saturday respectively.    For me this is a little concerning as shouldn’t I be focusing on enjoying the weekend as opposed to checking my devices on a Saturday or Sunday.   I quite often engage in twitter chats on both Saturday and Sunday which may account for some of the statistics.  The question is: Is this the best use of my weekend?

I think the key thing I draw from the activity of gathering some data on my access habits is one simply of conscious awareness.  All too often people are using their devices but not conscious of the frequency or time spent.   They are not conscious of the impact it may be having within their lives.   They do not see how much of their day is spent on social media consumption.    We easily succumb to social media and our mobile devices stealing away valuable time which could be better spent on other activities.    I at least had a feeling that something was wrong and have now gathered data which I can now use to decide on actions and then measure the success of any actions I may take.

Maybe this is something we should all be doing with students in our classrooms?   Ask them to install Checky for a period of time and record their device usage, followed by reviewing it after a couple of weeks as a class activity.   I am sure this would make for some very interesting discussions.

 

 

Distracted by Mobile Devices

I have noticed a self-perception over the last week or so that I have tended towards becoming distracted by my need to check my various devices for messages, tweets, updates, etc.   Now it may be that my perception of the issue is tainted.    Due to a busy workload at the moment I have taken to keeping lists of tasks to be undertaken and, as is the way, as soon as I score one task off, I add three more on.   This means that my perception of progress may be that I am not making any headway which may lead me to under appreciate what I have achieved.   This under appreciation may be making me feel that I am wasting time when I am checking my devices, thus leading to over accounting for the amount of time I am using up in this checking.

Another alternative is that in my growing frustration at my inability to reduce the list of tasks in front of me I am seeking solace in checking my updates for that brief moment of pleasure associated with a new message or new update.   In this case my perception of distraction may actually be true.

Yet another possible interpretation is that my perception is correct and I am actually suffering from distraction brought about by my mobile devices.  Maybe I am checking my devices repeatedly during the day and as a result interrupting activities that I might otherwise focus on and complete.

To help answer the question I have downloaded an app, “Checky” to my mobile devices to provide me with some quantitative data to compare with and either confirm or refute my perception.   The app basically keeps a log and reports on my daily device usage.   I will share further in a few weeks’ time once I have sufficient data to at least draw some initial conclusions.

In the meantime, do you give thought to your personal use of Tech, to how long you use it for, to the frequency you check your devices or to what you use it for?     How do you confirm or validate your perceptions?

The internet isn’t working. A disaster?

Yesterday afternoon while sat at home I suddenly started to experience internet issues, with my routers connection being intermittently lost.   I immediately carried out the usual checks to see if I could identify the issue however nothing on the internal network at home seemed to be amiss.   As such it was time to call my network provider to ask them to look into the situation.

Ok, so my first thought was: “time to google their helpline phone number.”

Not a great start given internet wasn’t working plus my home is very much a 4G/Mobile communications black spot.   And so it was I had to rummage through old paperwork in the hope of finding the sky customer service helpline number.    Thankfully I keep my paperwork so it didn’t take too long to find a number and get in contact with the helpline.

Having been told it would be up to 72 working hours before an engineer would be able to look into the issue I was very impressed when a call came through from an engineer only 4 or 5 hours after my initial call.   He promptly arrived and looked into the issue, pronouncing shortly after 5pm that he would need to investigate further and that this would be done the following morning.

And so I found myself, and family, sat without internet over the evening.   I repeatedly found myself in the early parts of the evening, accessing the router to check its status in the hope that internet would have been restored as if by magic.   Upon realising the futility of this I put my devices aside but still found myself periodically reaching for them to check my twitter, email, etc. again in the hope that the internet issue had got bored and resolved itself.    As it was it hadn’t.   In hindsight I cannot see what reason I had for believing my connection might have re-established itself without outside intervention.

The above goes to show how important, going on essential internet is.   I had an issue and the first place I wanted to look for a solution or a contact who might be able to assist was the internet.   Despite clear awareness of the fact the internet wasn’t working I repeatedly, due to habit and learned behaviour, kept reaching for my devices to access the internet.

Have you ever taken time to stop and look at your usage and reliance on technology?   Is this something we need to discuss with our students including the need to “disconnect”?

 

 

A solution to phone addiction?

I have been thinking a little bit further with regards societies addiction to our mobile devices and in particular mobile phones, a subject I only recently posted on (read my earlier post here).   My thoughts were initially focused on my need to address this issue as an individual.   I have two main mobile devices in a mobile phone and a tablet device with the tablet device being equipped with 4G.    The issue at hand was the fact that my evenings and weekends are often interspersed with the stereo chirps from my devices as tweets and other social media contributions are received.   Upon hearing the chirps I am quite often drawn to pick up my tablet in particular to check what exciting new information has been shared.   The sense of anticipation of exciting information draws me to my device however the repeated disappointment upon reading the information appears insufficient in convincing me of the real nature of the information a chirp is likely to signal.   Equipped with the knowledge of this addiction towards checking my mobile devices I sought to change my own practice and quickly found the solution in “do not disturb” mode on my android devices with exceptions setup to allow for phone calls and alarms.   This now means I check my device when I want to as opposed to when notifications draw me to my devices.  I am more in control.

It was at this point that I again gave thought to society as a whole as clearly this solution might work for others, however most people are likely to leave their devices with default settings.    In Thaler and Sunstein’s (2008) book, Nudge, reference is made to the tendency for people to adopt the default state even when other options may be better.    They suggest that we can help people make a better choice, we can nudge them, by changing the default option.    With this in mind I wonder what the impact would be if Android and Apple phones all came with “do not disturb” or similar enabled for the hours from 10pm to 6am or a similar time period as a default.    Would this nudge people towards being less addicted to their devices?    Users could always disable this feature if they want, as they can enable it currently however the default setting would no longer result in a chirp or other audible signal to draw us to our devices at all hours of the night.

I wonder if Google or Apple would be willing to consider this minor change in the interests of society, at least as a pilot study?

 

References:

Thaler and C. Sunstein, 2008, Yale University Press.

Phone addiction.

Over the last year or so I have became more and more aware of as issue in relation to new reports and articles focusing on issues which schools need to address.  The issue in question is the narrow framing of issues as being education or youth related issues.   This implies that the issue is either confined to schools or confined to the young, when in fact the issue in hand is often observable in wider society.

Another recent example came from The Times (Read the full article here) towards the end of January which reported that one third of children check their phone every few minutes.   This seems to suggest a youth related issue and begs the question: what can we do to address children’s use of smartphones?

An article from the BBC from September 2016 (Read the full article here), some 4 months early, suggests that one third of adults admit to having arguments with their partners due to overuse of smart phones.    Considering the two reports it would appear that they both reported the same issue, perceived over use of smart phones, but focussed on two different age ranges.    Taken together the two reports suggest the issue is prevalent across all ages and therefore could be considered an issue of current society at large.  The question now at hand is therefore how can we address the issue of smartphone use within our current society?

Sat writing this as my wife flicks through the TV and on-demand programme lists I can’t help but think that this relates to the always on and on-demand nature of communications.    I no longer have to sit down at a particular time on a particular date to watch a TV programme.  I can watch it as and when I want.   I no longer have to wait until after 6pm to contact friends, waiting for them to finish work and arrive home.   I can now just send them a Facebook message or Whatsapp message at any time of day, which they can access and reply to independent of if they are working, travelling, etc.    Having lived outside of the UK for a period this technology allows me to contact my friends and ex-colleagues who now lives all over the world in different time zones.    So their messages may be sent in mid-afternoon but arrive with me in the early hours.

I think the hyper connectedness of current society is inevitable given the technology and the opportunities it has opened up.  The key is in making all people, including children, mindful of it.   And on that note I will put my laptop down and join my wife in the social activity of watching Saturday evening TV.