A collaboration with the Westfield High School Journalism Program

We Need to Ditch the iPads

It’s the generation of the iPad kids. Generation Alpha.

I didn’t get my first iPad until I was in third grade, but even with that, I wasn’t allowed to have social media, or fully access the internet. I played Temple Run and Cut the Rope when I was eight. But my parents didn’t shove it in my face whenever we were out in public. They actually discouraged it, and encouraged me to interact with my family and the world around me.

Now, it’s common to see threeyear- olds with iPads, watching colorful television programs whenever their parents don’t want to supervise them in restaurants, or in public in general. Full volume, full brightness, overstimulating and nauseating. The sad thing is, that their parents are also usually on their phones, texting or scrolling through social media.

I miss meaningful interactions between families when I go out to dinner. I miss the toddlers making their parents laugh, or the parents making their toddler laugh. Where have we gotten to in a society where it is now the norm to stick our noses into screens all of the time? Family dinners to me are usually the best part of my day, because they’re so fun and silly.

I even actually miss seeing parents scold their children. Children screaming in public and throwing a tantrum and not getting punished or shushed by their parents. It’s just the iPad or devices placating them now. Whenever a child is unhappy, their parents shove a bright colorful screen in front of their face, instead of actually being a parent and taking responsibility over their kid. It’s not even “gentle parenting.” It not only looks, but it feels neglectful.

Usually if these kids have iPads, it’s also likely that they’re not monitored when using said tablets, so most of the internet is at their sticky fingertips. Learning swear words, seeing inappropriate content, you name it, it’s likely they can find it even without trying.

I do blame the parents for how long their children’s screen time is, and how often they get said screen time. Instead of spending meaningful time outside, playing with physical toys and interacting with actual people, they’re just watching Cocomelon and meaningless videos on Youtube. I feel like they’re missing out on a crucial part of development. Missing out on playing with their parents on a playground or exploring their own creativity by playing with toys.

In 2017, seven years ago, a study was conducted by Common Sense Media, and they found that in that year, over 80 percent of toddlers had easy access to an iPad or a tablet. Now that more time has gone by, imagine how much that percentage could have increased.

I recognize that not all toddlers and babies are in the same situation with the dreaded life of an iPad kid, and that some have really amazing parents who love to spend time with their kids and actually engage in their child’s development, and not hand it off to the digital babysitter. But we need more of those parents, because there are too many not being a parent to the point where a lot of people can recognize it as a problem, and we need to treat it as such.