Education
Education

Addicted to phones? Teens can’t hang up

By Maureen Downey
May 3, 2016

Are we addicted to our cellphones?

Many of us are, including one out of two teens, according to a new report released Tuesday by Common Sense Media.

The report found 50 percent of teens “feel addicted” to mobile devices, and 59 percent of their parents agree. And both parents and kids worry about the impact of constant mobile device use on their daily lives — from driving to the dinner table. A third of the families in the Common Sense poll argued about phone usage every day.

“Mobile devices are fundamentally changing how families go about day-to-day lives, be it doing homework, driving, or having dinner together,” said James Steyer, founder and CEO of Common Sense. “What we’ve discovered is that kids and parents feel addicted to their mobile devices, that it is causing daily conflict in homes, and that families are concerned about the consequences. We also know that problematic media use can negatively affect children’s development and that multitasking can harm learning and performance.”

To read more about the report, go the AJC Get Schooled blog.

About the Author

Maureen Downey has written editorials and opinion pieces about local, state and federal education policy since the 1990s.

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