Charles & Marie Bradley: Keep dangerous smartphones, social media away from children

To The Daily Sun,

In American society today, we are seeing a “war on our children." This is an orchestrated attempt by Big Tech to gain control of our children’s minds and hearts and they have been doing an excellent job so far. Smartphones are their weapon.

Because of our great concern over this issue, we want to get the word out to parents, grandparents and guardians there is help with this battle. In an attempt to stave off the damage caused to our youth by continuous smartphone usage (it is said children spend at least five hours a day on their phones), three major counter-offensives have been launched to give guidance on how to break this strangle-hold and allow our children to have a happy childhood.

California has historically started many major movements in American society. So, it is not as surprising as we first thought that Los Angeles (The City of Angels) would show us the way to save our children: “Ban Smartphones in the Classroom.” Over 429,000 students in grades kindergarten through 12 of the LA Unified School District will be prohibited from using smartphones and social media platforms during the school day. Educators believe this will curb classroom distractions and protect students’ mental health.

Jonathan Haidt is a social psychologist who has written the book “The Anxious Generation (How the Great Rewiring of Childhood is Causing an Epidemic of Mental Illness).” He opines smartphones have led to a rise in mental illness in childhood. This book is flying off the shelves and he may be the most sought-after public speaker in the USA as parents are increasingly concerned about smartphones destroying the mental health of their children. His message is simple: “Don’t let the children have smart phones.” (There are phones available without internet access if they must have a phone).

The U.S. Surgeon General Vivek Murthy has been sounding the alarm about the harmful effects of social media and the way technology is affecting the brains of our youngest population. Dr. Murthy states we have “a mental health crisis in adolescents” and “our children’s well-being is at stake.” He is receiving bipartisan support in Congress for a bill known as the “Kids Online Safety Act” which is an attempt to require online platforms to take steps to protect minors while using social media.

As a community we have an obligation to protect our children.

Parents should not given their children smartphones.

If they already have one, the amount of time they are on these phones should be restricted.

Keep smartphones out of Laconia's classrooms. 

Let’s give childhood back to our children.

Charles & Marie Bradley

Laconia