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I used to make sure my bed was beside the nightlight that was plugged into the wood trim that bordered the wall of the bedroom. The downside was that that particular spot was in line of the hallway and our parents' bedroom door, so I also had to listen for our parents to come up the stairs sometime between the weather report about 11:20 p.m. and when Johnny Carson began his monologue about 11:30 p.m.
My bedtime was 9 p.m. until I finally convinced Mom to let me stay up to watch "The Carol Burnett Show" at 10 p.m. on Mondays. We didn't have cell phones back then. We didn't have Caller ID. I'm not even sure we had an answering machine then. And if you called someone and they didn't answer you understood that the party you were looking for was busy and couldn't get to the phone or wasn't home. So, you would call another time. You didn't get grilled because you didn't answer a phone call or a text message from that cute little box attached to your hip pocket.
I admit, I have a couple of games on my phone that I like to play. And I silence the music so I don't annoy anyone else. And ... I don't always think to turn the sound back on. But again, refer to the previous paragraph.
A person can have a lot of fun with smart phones. But does everyone recognize when they are on their phone too much? Does everyone notice how much time is lost that nobody can get back? And if you would dare to suggest to someone, "You're addicted to your phone," likely you would be taken to task. Everyone sits down, opens up the browser and gets drawn into social media.
Now, I do a considerable amount of research with my smart phone. I am a writer, after all. And I search for crochet patterns, order books online -- mostly at ThriftBooks. So, I understand that there are benefits to the Internet.
U.S. Surgeon General Vivek Murthy released a report last week, "Surgeon General's Advisory on Social Media and Youth Mental Health." He said that up to 95 percent of young people ages between the ages of 13 and 17 reporting, said they use social media platforms and more than one-third saying they use social media almost constantly.
I know why this grandmother stepped back from social media, and why I try to influence my grandchildren to follow my lead and get outside and live. It was pure joy to attend the art club's paint event at the high school with my granddaughter a couple of months ago. Or for the 7-year-old to walk away from the TV and say, "Memaw, let's play board games." He doesn't protest any longer when I say, "No videos. No Happy Kids." And I'm not sure he even knows where his iPad is. I have said something my children's elementary school teacher, Mrs. Bauman, told them, "TV rots your brain!"
Before you get annoyed with me for my opinions, take a look at Murthy's remarks about the subject:
"Children are exposed to harmful content, to bullying and harassment. And for too many children, social media use is compromising their sleep and valuable in-person time with family and friends. We are in the middle of a national youth mental health crisis and I am concerned that social media is an important driver of that crisis -- one that we must urgently address."
The surgeon general is calling for action from everyone: Policymakers, technology companies, researchers, families and young people. "Gain a better understanding of the full impact of social media use, maximize benefits, and minimize the harms of social media platforms, and create safer and healthier, online environments to protect children."
Back in the days of my childhood, I loved watching the old movies and the song-and-dance movies on TV. Many were in black and white. Dad took me with him to my grandmother's.
"Tell her what you did all day," he prompted me. I didn't speak. He shamed me because I wasn't outside socializing with the other kids in the neighborhood -- and there were a lot of us. "She watched TV all day." I was wasting time that I could never get back. And he was right.
Summer break has begun. Mom and Dad have to go to work every day. How much time will the kids spend on social media unsupervised? Will some of them, bored out of their minds, order things online that will be delivered to your house when you aren't at home, harmful things you won't know about? Do you think your children are immune from peer pressure or temptation?
Talk to your kids. Regularly. Maybe you have some things to say that you wish your parents had said to you ... back in the day.
FRC History Bites: Dedicated to helping families in recovery from the impacts of addiction, the agency provides a number of facilities in Columbiana and Jefferson counties. In Jefferson County, Renaissance House II opened in Steubenville in January 2016, a recovery house for five males. This is a safe, sober and supportive place for men to live in recovery. A year later, a new office location for FRC opened at 1010 N. Sixth St., Steubenville. Renaissance House III opened in Steubenville for men in April 2018.
For information about the agency's treatment and education programs, contact FRC at 1010 N. Sixth St., Steubenville; by phone (740) 283-4946; by e-mail at info@familyrecovery.org; or by visiting the website at familyrecovery.org. FRC is funded in part by the Jefferson County Prevention and Recovery Board.
(Brownfield is a publicist with the Family Recovery Center.)