Knowledge Sprinkler

I've noticed that the students in my classes don't seem to be aware of some of the latest data on attention and the brain vis a vis multi-tasking. They cannot guess that there could be anything wrong or harmful with using their phones the way they do. Their only awareness is that grown-ups discourage them from using them.

A brief digression about grown-ups discouraging cellphone use. I feel within myself, and I hear from others a harsh judgment of children and their use of phones, social media, and games. I notice this in myself and try to keep it in check. I too am addicted to my phone. I have quit social media. I have an apple newsfeed and safari on my phone, but that's it! And yet I compulsively text, check the "news" and otherwise stare at my phone. It seems a tad shitty to judge kids for doing exactly what I do. It's extra shitty if I judge them for using products that are way more addictive than the ones I'm addicted to. I am grown up. I can recognize in myself behaviors that are undermining my happiness, like Facebook. As an adult, I am able to choose to bail on this crap.

Back to my initial point: How are 12-year-olds, who do not read the relevant medical literature, to learn about the harmful effects of screen time?

What we need are knowledge misters like they have in Palm Springs and Las Vegas. Instead of misting cool water, they mist knowledge.