Digitally distracted: Hours spent wired changing how kids think and interact
THE RECORD
STAFF WRITER
Josh Walker has access to a laptop 24-7 as part of the Pascack Valley Regional High School district's one-to-one laptop program.
KEVIN R. WEXLER / STAFF PHOTOGRAPHER
Buy this photoDr. Tom J. Kersting spoke to faculty and parents at Holdrum Middle School in River Vale about digital disruption. Kersting stated that youngsters who are constantly texting and playing video games are in danger of not developing the social skills that the generation before did by interacting face to face.
For the generation born after 1980 — the so-called Millennial Generation — being wired and connected is second nature.
A study by the Kaiser Family Foundation released in January found that daily media use among young people had risen to seven hours, 38 minutes a day. According to the researchers, that number is more like 10 hours and 45 minutes when the time spent multi-tasking — using more than one medium at the same time, such as texting while listening to an iPod — is included.
"That's more than a full-time job — and that's seven days a week, not five," said Tom Kersting, a student assistance coordinator at Indian Hills High School and a psychotherapist in private practice in Ridgewood. He recently presented a seminar on being "Digitally Distracted" at River Vale public schools. He spoke on the same topic Thursday at Indian Hills High School.
Another study released in February by the Pew Research Center's Internet & American Life Project found that three-quarters of teens have cellphones, including 58 percent of