Are Cell Phones Dangerous? | Doing Dangerous Things Carefully | The Mister Brown Show Podcast
Thank you for joining us for this episode of The Mister Brown Show! Today I have a [sort-of] Quote Of The Day for you and then we are going to dive into the topic of cell phones! Cellphones are a tool that can be used for good and bad, but can also be addicting.
Quote Of The Day
Jordan Perterson once said something about “if you want your kids to grow up… you can’t interfere when they are doing dangerous things, carefully.” So my version of this quote is, “Doing dangerous things, carefully.”
I am always telling my kids to “be careful,” “be careful,” and “be careful.” However, I can teach them how to do dangerous things carefully because I want them to be adventurous and imaginative.
We recently visited some friends of ours, the Knight Family, on their farm and I allowed their 9-year-old daughter to take my kids on the 4-wheeler. Why? Because she had been taught how to drive it and be respectful of its power. We have to teach kids to have respect for powerful items such as 4-wheelers, motorcycles, guns, knives, and even cooking! We need to be guiding and teaching our kids, not simply protecting them from every potentially dangerous object or situation. Learning to do dangerous things carefully is so important! So I want to say,
“Teach your kids how to do dangerous things, carefully.”
Cell Phones
We need to teach our kids how to “do cell phones carefully!” Cell phones can be so dangerous! They are tools that can be used for good and bad, but are also addicting.
Cell phones can be a good thing as our kids have access to so much, however it can be dangerous as so much stuff has access to them! Not only can they see anything and everything, but their friends can send them anything.
I was talking with some students recently about a scene from facing the giants and we started talking about the idea of blinders. Sometimes blinders can help you focus. I then asked the students “What is distracting you? What do you need to put blinders on for?” Our phones become our security blanket. In addition, we get a hit of dopamine from our phones. Kids are becoming addicted to their phones like people are addicted to drugs and alcohol. I spoke with another group of students and one of them stated she averages 6 hours a day on Tik Tok. Another student said she averages 73 hours a week on her cellphone, not including listening to music. That is like 10 hours a day! Now, I don’t want to put students down for this. I simply want to make them think about how they are choosing to spend their time. I often ask students if they have ever had their phones taken away and how they felt when they did. One student said she felt “happier” and another said he felt “more free.” No one needs access to your life 24 hours a day.
As parents, we need to think about this as well. We are the ones giving them their phones. Sometimes adults will give their kids phones because “they don’t want them to be left out,” or “they want to be able to reach them.” I would like to ask you, “where is your 11,12,13, or 14 year old child where you don’t know where they are?” I am not trying to put anyone down or point fingers at parents, but I want us to consider our choices when it comes to dangerous devices like cell phones.
Social Media
I have a like - dislike relationship with social media. I think it can have a negative impact on its users, however, I am on social media because I want to be a positive influence in the negative environment. If all the positive content left social media, it would be so much worse!
There is a lot of research that suggests social media and phone usage is causing anxiety and depression in kids. Like I mentioned earlier from conversations with students, I have found this to be true.
I do not want to appear as judging or pointing fingers at anyone about cell phones or social media! I just want you to think about it on a deeper level. I believe that cell phones are sucking the life and youth out of kids today. I have talked to so many kids that say when they don’t have their phones they play more, create more, see their friends more, and are generally happier!
How Do We Teach Them To “Do Cell Phones” Carefully?
Did you know that some social media developers do not let their own children use the platforms they create? They don’t allow them to because they create them to be addictive.
Are cell phones more dangerous than learning to drive? When your kid gets their driver’s permit you don’t simply hand them the keys and let them “have at it.” No, you teach them how to handle a dangerous object like a vehicle. You teach them to do dangerous things, carefully. We should be doing the same thing with cell phones. We need to be teaching our kids how to handle cell phones carefully and with respect.
Before we give kids a cell phone, I think we should have a type of “contract” or “agreement” in place. For example, “whose phone is it” and “who pays the bill?” Your “agreement” could include guild rails such as docking the phone each night and limiting social media platform access. You can block people from finding your kids through their phone, but you cannot block what your kids can see on their phones.
It is so important to teach our kids to do dangerous things carefully!
Choosing Well
My whole message is about choosing well and having the best life you can have; and I want our students to have the best lives they can! Students have the choice to put their phones down or to pick them up. However, they need to be spoken to and taught about how to use them in a healthy manner. We can always choose to have a conversation about choosing well!
As adults, leaders, teachers and parents, we have to help this generation. They are struggling and we have to help them learn how to navigate life and do dangerous things carefully.
I never want to just point fingers or say someone is doing something wrong. My question is “what can WE do to help?” Because when you make better choices, you will live a better life. So choose well! Oh yeah!
