As technology continues to invade our lives, nearly half of U.S. parents are admitting that they’re worried their kids are addicted to mobile devices.
In fact, a new survey from Common Sense Media and Survey Monkey found that 47 percent of parents have this fear. But that’s not all, as 32 percent also admit that they, too, are addicted to devices, USA Today reported.
The vast majority of parents — 89 percent — said that they believe it’s their responsibility to tear their kids away from technology. But considering that three-in-10 admit that they, too, share that addiction, it is intriguing to consider how such a quest would play out in practical terms.
The parents also said that they have at least some concern over how mobile technology could be impacting their kids’ mental health — a warranted fear, considering how dependent most have become on these technologies.
And there are additional concerns when it comes to social media, such as inappropriate content. One slightly disturbing finding in the survey was that, among parents whose kids watch YouTube, 62 percent reported that their children had seen something inappropriate on the platform.
Common Sense Media CEO James Steyer told USA Today that parents are concerned both about tech addiction and the content exposure, and “feel that they alone are responsible for managing these issues.” He urged technology companies to come alongside them and help.
The survey was conducted between Jan. 25-29 among 4,201 U.S. adults who are parents of kids under the age of 18. And while the data are intriguing, the results underscore a broader problem that has long been decried among tech users — and even former staffers of tech companies.
As Faithwire previously reported, former Facebook executives have been among those speaking out about their view on the negative impact of some technologies on society.
Chamath Palihapitiya, Facebook’s former vice-president for user growth, said at a recent event at the Stanford Graduate School of Business that he feels “tremendous guilt” for having been a part of it all, arguing that Facebook is “ripping apart” social fabrics.
“I think we have created tools that are ripping apart the social fabric of how society works,” he said. “That is truly where we are.”
And investor Sean Parker recently told Axios that he now believes social media could be addictive and that it might be hurting our brains.
“I don’t know if I really understood the consequences of what I was saying, because [of] the unintended consequences of a network when it grows to a billion or 2 billion people,” he said. “It literally changes your relationship with society, with each other … It probably interferes with productivity in weird ways. God only knows what it’s doing to our children’s brains.”
(H/T: USA Today)