Author of iGen on CNN: Kids and Screens — “We’re on the brink of the worst mental health crisis in decades.”

By B.N. Frank

What’s good for the goose has never been good for the gander in regard to technology and kids.  For many years already, tech inventors have been sending their kids to “low-tech” schools and restricting tech use at home.  In the meantime, at the advice of tech companies, public schools have spent a collective $60B to become “high tech.”  Students are required to use screens for long periods in and out of the classroom as part of their education.

Some tech inventors have started expressing remorse in creating screen addiction issues with their products and are trying to raise awareness.  Regardless, it gets lost in a sea of marketing for more tech designed for kids and everyone else.

Dr. Jen Twenge, author of “iGen” has been interviewed many times already regarding tech-related mental health issues in kids.  Her most recent CNN interview is heartbreaking.

“We’re on the brink of the worst mental health crisis in decades.” 

According to Dr. Twenge’s research, the increase in teens’ mental health issues coincides with the introduction of smart phones and other tech devices being marketed and eventually used by almost everyone – including very young children.  Go figure.

Regardless, those who seem to be profiting from technology continue insisting that we

1. Wait for more research before we reduce the amount of tech used by kids in schools and everywhere else.
2. Blame genetics and/or parents who won’t control their kids’ use of screens when it’s not for school work.

Are you willing to do this while more technology is being designed for kids and implemented for educational and recreational purposes?  Even Sesame Street has been playing a role in this.  Et tu, Sesame Street?  Et tu?

Prolonged tech use can also cause mental (and other) health issues due to

1. Artificial light from screens.
2. Wireless WiFi radiation exposure.

Outside of the U.S., other countries have already been addressing tech use and health issues – especially in children.  They are following “The Precautionary Principle” and are being proactive.

Unfortunately in the U.S., “Big Wireless” is asking us all to continue ignoring the obvious instead of taking the bull by the horns and reducing the amount of technology by kids used in school and, of course, everywhere else.

Heartbreaking, indeed:

1. Attn Parents: NBC “Today Show” Segment Shows How Cell Phone Safety is Tested on Plastic Heads Which Experts Say Is Inadequate, Especially for Kids.
2. 9 Year Old Sent to Rehab After Wetting Herself While Refusing to Quit Playing “Fortnite” — Research Says Video Games and WiFi Exposure Affects Kids’ Brains Same Way as Drugs and Alcohol
3. EMF Awareness Day on Anniversary of ElectroHypersensitive Teen’s Suicide. Lab Testing Confirms Illness Caused or Worsened by WiFi Radiation and Electrical Pollution (Electrosmog).
4. Depression — Could Cell Phone and WiFi Radiation Disrupting the Blood-Brain Barrier Be Playing a Role?
5. Schools Replacing WiFi with Wired Internet Due to Confirmed Illnesses and Increased Health Risks from Exposure. Website Provides Locations and More.
6. Study Reveals 45% of American Teens Are Online “Almost Constantly.” Research Reveals Software and WiFi Radiation Causes Addicted Behavior
7. Teacher Posts 2nd Grader’s Wish that Cell Phones Didn’t Exist Due to Parents’ Heavy Use. How Digital Addiction is Hurting Us All.
8. Red Nose Day Recognizes Kids Living in Poverty. Article “The Rich Get Smart. The Poor Get Technology: The New Digital Divide in School Choice” Highlights Part of the Problem.
9. Study of 91,000+Links Nighttime Phone Use With Mental Health Disorders. Decades of Research Says Cell Phone and WiFi Radiation Exposure Can Cause Same Disorders 24/7.
10. Why Limit Your Kids’ Screen Time? Anxiety, Depression, Eye Strain, Insomnia, ADD/ADHD, Delayed Maturity, Cancer Risk, Text Neck, Diabetes, Obesity, Digital Addiction, Infertility…
11. “Good Morning America” Experiment on Kids and Unrestricted Screen Time
12. CDC Study: 150% Increase in Autism in U.S. Kids Since 2000. Researchers Suspect Environmental Risks and Triggers. 2012 Research Determined WiFi Radiation Disrupts Blood Brain Barrier, May Cause Leaking.
13. “National Screen-Free Week” Starts April 30. American Academy of Pediatrics (AAP) Has Been Concerned About RF Exposure From Cell Phones and Devices Since At Least 2012.
14. Give Love Not Tech: No “Safe” Level of Cell Phone or Wireless (WiFi) Radiation Has Been Scientifically Determined for Children or Pregnant Women