Everywhere you look there’s a new story about how “kids these days” are addicted to screens. It’s easy to feel like a lot of this discourse is overhyped, until you start talking to teachers. They are constantly sounding alarms about how many of today’s kids are literally hobbled by their screen use. One teacher has narrowed the problem down to a few specific areas parents need to focus on when it comes to clamping down on screen use.
Cristy is a fourth-grade teacher and content creator known as @cristysclassroom on TikTok, where she shares glimpses into her professional life and tips for parents. And she says that in her 19 years as a teacher, and as a mother of two herself, screen addiction in kids is one of the biggest problems she’s ever encountered.
“Talk to any teacher you know and they will tell you that there is a huge problem with students who are addicted to screens,” she said in a video. She described the situation as being literally akin to drug addiction. “They come to school and they have major withdrawals,” she said.
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That may sound melodramatic, but the science is on her side. Extensive research has proven that not only are screens literally just as addictive as substances, but they are in fact DESIGNED to be. Their user interfaces are literally modeled after the addictive visual, spatial and tactile cues of slot machines.
Perhaps even worse, Cristy highlighted studies that have shown these screen-withdrawal symptoms both mimic ADHD symptoms and are associated with higher risk of developing the condition — and then worsen its symptoms if a child does in fact have it. It’s a mess.
So what can parents do? Cristy said she’s not in the camp that feels parents need to forbid screens entirely — that’s an entirely unrealistic demand, after all. “But there are four places that I am adamant your child should not be on a screen in these four places,” she said
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Keeping a squirrelly kid contained in a restaurant without a screen is a herculean effort, of course. Still, the hard truth is that parents did it for decades before screens ever existed — it just meant going home if the kid in question truly couldn’t handle the experience.
But Cristy said there is a far more important issue at hand: Plunking a screen in front of a kid denies them the opportunity to learn how to behave and interact in a restaurant, for starters, but more importantly it denies them the social interaction with their family that mealtimes foster.
As a teacher, this is what Cristy said bothers her most. “You are missing out on crucial connection time,” she said. “You should be sitting, talking, observing, laughing, playing games.” And perhaps most important of all, she urged parents to “teach your kids how to be bored,” a skill that has been lost to the digital era — and is surely part of the enormous problems we’re seeing in schools.
“I know how hard it is. I know kids can throw tantrums and they want this and they want that,” Cristy said. But similar to restaurants, “you’re missing out on huge education opportunities by just putting them in front of a screen while you’re pushing the cart around the grocery.”
Talking to them about what you’re doing in the grocery store, pointing out the different fruits and vegetables, explaining the choices you’re making are all things that can have huge developmental impacts on kids, Cristy said. “Let them look around, let them be curious, and let them ask questions,” she recommended.
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“Yes, I said in the car,” Cristy said, bracing for impact. Remember: No adult today had screens in the car as kids and we all got through it. Sure, our parents threatening us to “stop crying before I come back there and give you something to cry about” was one of the chief methods by which they got the job done, but still!
Cristy said long trips are a different matter, but for short trips around town, “your kid doesn’t need a phone. They can be bored in the car.” They are going to have long stretches of boredom in life eventually. They need to learn how to navigate it!
And much like the grocery store, car trips are full of opportunities for enrichment. “Talk to them about traffic, talk to them about how to drive, point out stop lights,” Cristy said. “That’s how they get curious.” Psychologists even say that cars are among the best places to have deep conversations and connect with kids.
“I can’t tell you how many people I see pushing a stroller with a kid at the park, going for a walk, and the kid is on a device,” Cristy said. “Why? There’s not enough for them to see out there! They should be watching and learning.”
That is, after all, the point of taking kids out of the house in the first place, right? To help them learn and experience the world, and to blow off steam with a change of pace and scenery. Putting a screen in front of them completely counteracts this. Your kid might as well be a character in “Wall-E.”
“Kids learn by observing and by playing,” Cristy said. “They’re missing out on so many developmental milestones because of that.” She suggests playing games like “I Spy,” or asking them to identify things they’re seeing in their environment — to keep them engaged and learning, rather than staring at yet another YouTube cartoon.
“We’ve got to help our children become productive members of society,” Cristy urged, “and at the rate they’re going with their screen time addictions, they’re not learning how to be social, they’re not learning how to be bored, and they’re not learning how to problem solve.” Screens may make it easier for parents to deal with their kids, but it seems like it’s past time to ask: At what cost?
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John Sundholm is a writer, editor, and video personality with 20 years of experience in media and entertainment. He covers culture, mental health, and human interest topics.
