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For years, parents have been lamenting kids' use of screens. One week into screen-based schooling en masse & nearly everyone is going crazy. Is it possible that covid-19 will make it clear how much teens desperately want F2F interaction? Might this cohort end up hating screens?
Until last week, most teens spent most of their days in school/sport/activities, all F2F social activities. Screens represented a break from the mass social. They also represented privacy from parents, and an opportunity to socialize w/o parents lurking even when stuck at home.
When I was interviewing teens, they were always complaining how screen-based socializing was less desirable than F2F hanging out. Parents never believed me, pointing to the heavy use of texting, video chatting, and social media.
With covid-19, schools are pushing video. Friends are through video. Activities are through video. Well-intended adults are volunteering for more video options. Yet, a week in, the fatigue is setting in. Sure, TikTok videos are still fun, but ....
Give it another week and there will be kids dropping out of school or throwing their computers against the wall. Tantrums are no longer the domain of 2yos; 40yos and 15yos are melting down. We might even see kids sneaking out again.
People who disagreed with my research findings always told me that technology was inherently desirable. I think that covid-19 will show all of us what my research showed: youth are "addicted" to socializing, not technology for technology sake.
