Digital Smarts - Teenage Zombies Checking Their Phones

For parents of teenagers, this is probably a scene you’ve witnessed before - “Teenage zombies” - heads bowed over phones, checking and refreshing social network apps. A new survey conducted for Common Sense Media finds that that fifty percent of teens feel they are addicted to their mobile devices. Fifty nine percent of parents surveyed thought their kids were addicted to their phones, while twenty seven percent of parents also said they too themselves are hooked.

What can you do to detox? Create rules such as no phones at the dinner table, and hold the entire family accountable. Avoid spending hours surfing the internet, because without setting limits it is easy to get sucked into the digital vortex. Make an attempt to post on social media less, which will lead to less time spent looking at other people's posts. Lastly, resist the urge to check your device every two minutes and take a walk or do something else instead.