Day of Unplugging encourages time away from screens
On March 2, the Nora Eccles Museum of Art celebrated the Global Day of Unplugging. The event was held to encourage children and families to spend time off their screens.
The event was put together by Elizabeth Masten, an integrated studies major who got involved through her program management and evaluation class.
Masten created a community program with her team at Mount Logan Middle School, and their focus was on how to limit the screen time usage of teenagers. Through her program, Masten was able to connect with the Global Day of Unplugging organization.
“Just from Googling, ‘How can we help teenagers with their screen time habits,’ I found the Global Day of Unplugging website, and I reached out to them from there,” Masten said.
According to Masten, the Global Day of Unplugging lasted from sundown on March 1 to sundown on March 2. People were encouraged to spend time off of their phones and instead engage in more mindful activities.
“They really just wanted to tackle the epidemic of loneliness and isolation because of excess time on technology,” Masten said.
The museum held a number of activities throughout the day, including a scavenger hunt, a raffle and a tour of the museum vault.
Guests were asked to keep their phones put away during the event.
“That way you’re just attentive to the moment that you’re in,” Masten said.
According to the Global Day of Unplugging website, excessive time on screens and devices can have a negative impact on human health and connection. Unplugging can help people establish healthier relationships, sleep better and overall feel better. The website also mentioned children from the ages of eight to 10 spend around four to six hours using screens.
“It’s extremely important for your mental and physical health,” Masten said. “Especially for kids as their minds are developing.”
Kelli Barker, a co-director of the Adele and Dale Young Child Development Laboratory, has witnessed the negative effects of screen time on younger minds.
According to Baker, exposure to screens and technology happens increasingly younger.
“Young children are being exposed as young as two months old,” Barker said.
Barker said young children are naturally drawn to screens because of their bright colors and their ability to provide instant gratification. These factors can be incredibly stimulating to developing minds.
According to Barker, many parents seem to be using technology as a “pacifier” for their children.
“If there’s too much screen time during infancy, this could lead to changes in brain activity as well as problems with executive functioning,” Barker said.
According to Barker, some of these executive functioning skill impairments could include trouble with focusing, impulse control and emotional control as the child continues to mature.
Older children are also impacted by excess screen time.
“With elementary school children, what we’re seeing is that those social skills are decreasing because they’re isolating themselves from others,” Barker said.
According to Barker, children in this age group are choosing to remove themselves from social situations in exchange for more individual screen time. This preference for screen time has also contributed to an increase in obesity among children.
“Young children are not getting the physical activity that they need to grow and develop,” Barker said. “They’re not developing their large motor skills, they’re not developing their small motor skills.”
Barker said the lack of a reciprocal relationship between children and their screens is also dangerous.
“There’s not that serve and return relationship between person to person,” Barker said.
According to Barker, this hinders children’s ability to communicate effectively with others.
“Children need concrete activities,” Barker said. “They need real and relevant and hands-on activities to develop their brain fully.”
Barker said children need to be involved in the world and interacting with their physical environments in order to properly develop.
“I mean they literally need to play in dirt,” Barker said.
According to Barker, children can only learn through experience. This experience can come in the form of playing, communicating with others and interacting with the real world. Children need a variety of well-rounded experiences in order to develop into well-rounded adults.