You may have heard the phrases, \u201cSlow Parenting\u201d, \u201cLow-Tech Living\u201d, or \u201cAnalog Living\u201d. Whatever you decide to call it, the underlying trend is to have more screen-free experiences and unplugged moments. It\u2019s not about removing devices and technology entirely. Instead, it\u2019s creating healthy relationships with devices, which is an important skill to teach and model for children.<\/p>\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n
In our digitally saturated world, children have become adept users of their screens. Families are feeling this overload of digital stimulation and want to do something about the effects on sustained attention and behavior. This \u201canalog living\u201d trend isn\u2019t just happening among parents and families; all ages, including teens and adults, have been making conscious decisions to embrace analog living and choose \u201cold school\u201d hobbies instead of scrolling, such as knitting and gardening, according to AP News<\/em><\/a>.\u00a0<\/p>\n\n\n\n As noted in this recent article, \u201cIPads in Kindergarten, YouTube videos at Snack Time\u201d<\/a> from The Hechinger Report,<\/em> screen time at school has reached levels that are concerning for many parents. The article shares that many schools have become reliant on screens to teach instruction and entertain students, and that even \u201cbrain break\u201d moments for kids like snack time involve watching videos, as opposed to a true break experience where the brain isn\u2019t being stimulated by a device.\u00a0<\/p>\n\n\n\n The consequences of social media and screentime were highlighted this year during the Social Media Addiction Trial<\/a>. As an overview, a jury found Meta liable for youth mental health issues stemming from social media usage and addiction at a young age. The jury concluded that apps like Instagram were built to be addictive, and that the executives failed to protect young users against this danger. This trial is a precedent for spreading awareness of social media addiction, particularly among children and teens.\u00a0<\/p>\n\n\n\n While these headlining news articles and experiences are negative, this isn’t to say that all technology is bad. In fact, it\u2019s very important that kids are learning skills like media literacy, research skills, and utilizing tools that are useful to lifelong success. In addition, some devices and screens are incredibly important for children with disabilities who require multiple modes of learning to succeed. The issue is the consequences of excessive screentime and the lack of healthy boundaries. <\/p>\n\n\n\n The library can be a place for families to find this oftentimes elusive healthy boundary for their children. Right now, families are seeking developmentally appropriate real-life experiences that support connection and resilience. The library offers this through play-based programming and opportunities to critically think, explore, and discover the world around them. We can champion this for our communities! To read more about inspiring ways to integrate screen-free initiatives into the library, check out this blog post from ALSC\u2019s Children and Technology Committee, Unplug and Recharge with Screen-Free Fun at the Library<\/a>.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Joannie Lauria is the Youth Services Consultant at the Suffolk Cooperative Library System in New York.<\/em> <\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":" You may have heard the phrases, \u201cSlow Parenting\u201d, \u201cLow-Tech Living\u201d, or \u201cAnalog Living\u201d. Whatever you decide to call it, the underlying trend is to have more screen-free experiences and unplugged moments. It\u2019s not about removing devices and technology entirely. Instead, it\u2019s creating healthy relationships with devices, which is an important skill to teach and model for children.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":420,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_monsterinsights_skip_tracking":false,"_uf_show_specific_survey":0,"_uf_disable_surveys":false,"footnotes":"","_members_access_role":[],"_members_access_error":""},"categories":[3082,141,211],"tags":[1710,1847,220],"class_list":["post-35791","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-blogger-joannie-lauria","category-children-technology","category-technology","tag-parenting","tag-screen-free","tag-social-media"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.alsc.ala.org\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/35791","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.alsc.ala.org\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.alsc.ala.org\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.alsc.ala.org\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/420"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.alsc.ala.org\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=35791"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.alsc.ala.org\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/35791\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.alsc.ala.org\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=35791"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.alsc.ala.org\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=35791"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.alsc.ala.org\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=35791"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}Analog Initiatives at the Library<\/h2>\n\n\n\n
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