Well if these ads from CommonSense.org don’t hit home…
The videos are part of a new campaign called “Device Free Dinner.” It’s meant to be a gentle reminder to all of us to be a little more present during family time.
In this day in age everyone is on their phones constantly. It used to be kids who would play on their phones non stop, but with the advancement of social media, parents are now too, completely obsessed with their phones.
Studies indicate we check our smartphones dozens and dozens of times per day, mostly out of pure habit, and that checking your phone can make you more anxious than usual. We spend two to five hours looking down at our devices in a given day. Another study shows that even children under 8 years old are spending up to two hours per day watching shows and playing games on mobile devices.
This deep level of distraction isn’t always the best thing for building healthy relationships, especially those with your kids.
A recent study conducted on rats showed that when parents are distracted by other things during bonding time — even if the total amount of time spent together is high — outcomes for children can be worse. Simply put, the rat babies went on to “enjoy life” less than their peers.
The point of Ferrell’s PSA isn’t to say that phones are bad, just that we need to be aware of when we are actually on our phones. Family, friends and the world around us is still more important that what’s going on our cellular devices.
Take a look at the ads below…I know I’m guilty of this sort of behavior…are you? It’s certainly an eye opener.
