Issue link: https://maltatoday.uberflip.com/i/782193
maltatoday, SUNDAY, 5 FEBRUARY 2017 16 TO understand how children appropriate technologies takes more than statistics. To generalise about large proportion of boys and girls, as psychoanalyst Anna Freud says, is dangerous if it is based on quick sur- vey results. Best to describe how children would turn out only after long-term, direct observation. Parents and children live in anticipation of a highly competitive and very unpredict- able future. Rushed to keep up with tech- nological innovations and under all sorts of pressure, parents take decisions about their young in the hope that they will one day live a fulfilled and happy life. Like in a torren- tial whirlpool, parents throw their anchor and hold on tight: Families build structures, plan schedules, and teach their kids how to stick to these no matter what. What with technologies and the even stronger whirl- pool of content, overwhelming young and old, there is little room for a pause, a break, for peace and quiet. In fact, there is a sense of alarm among parents when one mentions 'free time' and children. And Internet-connected devices, free time and children? Sounds even scarier. But it doesn't have to be. After speaking to many children, par- ents and teachers for the past seven years (the last three of which were specifically for a doctoral research) about technolo- gies, school, extra curricular activities, life in general, dreams and goals, problems and uncertainties, common sense among everyone prevailed: children and free time seemed to associate with trouble. And 'free' time and Internet-connected devices sounded even more alarming. In some instances, free time with a digital de- vice had 'educational' to it to justify the use. In other, less common cases, tablet time meant 'downtime' for parents and, still, some form of educational entertainment for the child. What children use their devices, or free time for that matter, is more com- plicated than the presumption that they just "look for" or "get into trouble". Leaving children with free time on their hands is a dangerous idea to many parents, teachers, too. During a discussion on local private education a school principal said that, in his career, he has learned how load- ing physical along with mental work "keeps boys out of trouble". He believes that "the less free time boys have on their hands the less problems they will create". Why "crea- tion" has led to problems is a conclusion one can struggle to accept to begin with. Yes, 'idle hands are the devil's workshop' makes sense. But there is also another side to allowing a child free time. Let's face the issue first. Overscheduled lives Many children in Malta, coming from more affluent backgrounds, are so engaged with extra-curricular activities that some actually call their Sunday "my only day off". Many children say they have at least one after-school activity a day. They do ballet, football, sailing, horse-riding, volleyball, swimming, basketball, ballroom dancing, golf, tennis, musical instruments, drama, choir, taekwondo, hockey, languages, and so on. After school comes the private lesson; then the sports activity – sometimes more than one a day; then homework at home when it is already eight, or nine in the even- ing. Nine- and ten-year-olds' winter sched- ules burst at the seams with 'work'. Test weeks are particularly demanding. Summer schedules – summer school, more activities, more structure, more stuff. There is little or no room for playing; for exploring; for rest; for self-reflection; for simply being a kid. Add to this the need to acquire digital skills, the danger emanating from the Internet, cy- ber bullying, fake news, modern-day 'disor- ders', golf, French, and all that jazz… Such schedules are heavy for a nine- or a ten-year-old. Children don't have energy for much else. And right there, Internet-connected de- vices come as such a wonderful escape from reality. Drained, readying themselves for the next day full of things to tick off their busy schedules, children find an outlet of relaxation in watching 'silly' YouTube vid- eos like the Pringle challenge or the Annoy- ing Orange; connecting with others they cannot physically spend time with, 'shaking it up' a little with Five Nights at Freddy's, a favourite horror game; watching other chil- dren play video games; or following celebri- ties' perfectly edited lives on Instagram. On the other spectrum, children from less privileged backgrounds have less extra cur- ricular activities. Football for boys; ballet for girls. Catechism takes all Catholics to out- of-school lessons that, too, tax from young- sters' mental and physical energies. While these children would often go home earlier than those who are meanwhile being taxied from tennis court to golf course, the com- mon denominator between both worlds is that neither has the privilege of tasting free time. Teachers have shared their experience with poorer parents complaining that their children don't have enough homework. It is understandable that parents cannot always dedicate their uninterrupted attention to their offspring. Legally, parents can't leave their underage kids unattended either. But the motivation behind requests for more homework would not be so much that the child doesn't learn enough but that the par- ent is afraid of leaving him or her unen- gaged, free. One teacher explains it this way: "they [some parents] want them [their children] to do something at home. They worry leav- News Velislava Hillman Can more balanced daily schedules lead to more creative use of digital devices and improved digital skills? Idle hands are the devil's worship… but there is also another side to allowing a child free time HOMEWORK, FOOTBALL, WHERE IS THE FREE