My children are at an extremely low-tech school. There are no televisions, computers or tablets in the classroom, and mobile phones are forbidden during the school day. Families are encouraged to keep their children screen-free in the early years (up until age six) and for grade one through seven, limited screen time is recommended for weekends only. Our family has followed these guidelines since our children started at the school and we have rarely deviated from them.

1. My children are at an extremely low-tech school. There are no televisions, computers or tablets in
the classroom, and mobile phones are forbidden during the school day. Families are encouraged to
keep their children screen-free in the early years (up until age six) and for grade one through seven,
limited screen time is recommended for weekends only. Our family has followed these guidelines
since our children started at the school and we have rarely deviated from them.
Now that my daughter is 13 and in high school, the struggle to limit screen time and exposure to
social media is real. Most of my daughter’s classmates have Instagram accounts and many of them
are smuggling phones into the classroom, despite the “no tech” rule. She says that without her own
account, she often feels a disconnect with her classmates because she didn’t see the latest
Instagram post that everyone is talking about. Are we impeding her ability to socialize and
communicate with her friends? Maybe this is simply the Generation Z (Post-Millennial) way of
reaching out to each other, like we did as teens when we pulled our long phone cords across the hall
to our rooms to chat with friends all night. This leaves me questioning my decisions and hoping that
my husband and I are making the right choices for our daughter when it comes to limiting exposure
to social media and screens. And I’m also wondering why it feels like I’m one of the only parents still
holding out.
However, after recently watching the documentary Screenagers: Growing Up in the Digital Age, I
felt better about our decisions when I saw studies on the effects of excessive screen time and how it
can harm the physical development of young people’s brains. Studies show a connection between too
much screen time and poorer attention spans, as well as an adverse impact on learning. Screenagers
filmmaker and mother, Dr. Delaney Ruston, documents the real pain her daughter feels when her
mobile phone is taken away, and reminds parents that teens are not able to self-regulate when it
comes to screen time and social media. Parents and caregivers must be the ones to set limits and
consider writing up a contract to regulate screen usage if they decide to allow it. They must also set
an example for children by being good role models themselves. And that means having their own
guidelines for time spent on devices.
Another encouraging moment for me came at the end of the film, when a group of teens talk about
how happy they are that their parents enforce boundaries and rules around their screen time, saying

2. that they’d probably be failing school if they didn’t have clear limits. How refreshing. I think that
what’s most important to remember as a parent navigating the ever-changing frontiers of technology
and social media, is that you are still the shaper of your children’s future. If you place expectations
on what food they eat, what grades they get and how much sleep they need, then why wouldn’t you
do the same for media and technology? Food for thought. Who’s got my back?
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