Managing technology with teenagers

This post is really looking at how we manage technology with our 15 year old. I have learnt that managing technology with teenagers is so much harder than younger kids for two key reasons:

  • Our teenagers have an iPad for school and need the iPad and other technology for their homework
  • Social media networks are the key communication tool for teenagers

This means applying the same rules for the teenagers as the younger kids doesn’t really work. In our home we group activities like TV watching, Wii games, online time, iPod time etc all under the banner of technology time. You can find my earlier posts on technology / TV time here:

I want to state that I think technology can be great for kids. I spend lots of time online myself and while I am aware of the negative issues that can arise from social media networks (bullying, comparisonitis, porn, etc), I think it can also be a fantastic way for teenagers to connect and communicate with friends.

The issue I have is with too much technology is that it is too much of a sedentary activity. Time spent in front of a screen means less time spend doing other activities, in particular physical activities and interacting face to face.

The propensity of kids/teenagers to stay in front of a screen from my experience seems to be very personality driven. Two of the five kids in our family, really struggle to self regulate. The other three naturally tire of screen time and seem to self regulate much better.

How much time do kids spend on technology?

According to the Raising Children Network:

The average young person consumes 4 hours and 49 minutes of media in a typical day.

About a third (33%) of young Australians aged 12-14 years spend more than 10 hours on the internet each week.

On average, young Australians spend 2 hours and 26 minutes watching television, DVDs and downloaded television content in one day.

More than one in five parents (22%) would like their child to be less involved with electronic media and communications activities.

{source}

 Managing technology with teenagers – what we do

Mid last year we changed the way we managed technology with our eldest child. I was quite happy with the status quo, but he was not. You can read the previous set up here.

We moved to a more open style of access:

  • No technology before 10am or after 10pm
  • No technology to be used in the bedroom
  • Take regular breaks (no more than 1 hour stretches of time) from the screens
  • Homework is take priority over technology

Somedays the teenager regulates himself better than others. Somedays it seems as if he is stuck permanently to the screen. On those days when he is not self regulating, I will enforce a break.

Many nights at 10pm I will change the wifi password to prevent the temptation for him jumping online before school in the morning. I will also wait to give him his password sometimes until he has spent enough time off line or has completed outstanding tasks. This isn’t an ideal set up, the teenager detests it and I don’t love withdrawing privileges, but I had been struggling with the level of time he was spending online. [Edit Jan 2016 – I am no longer changing the WiFi password as I found it was just a short term fix and wasn’t helping the teenagers learn to manage their online time.]

I don’t claim for this to be the perfect arrangement for technology. I personally feel that the 15 year old teenager spends too much time on technology. If you ask him however he would most likely tell you I am a control freak with technology and that he has so much less than everyone else. Perhaps the truth lies somewhere in between!

Managing technology with teenagers – what do you do?

I would love to hear how you manage technology with teenagers in your home. How much time would your teenagers spend online? Do you regulate it?

If you are happy to share in the comments below and I receive enough responses, I will write a follow up post, sharing what other families do. If you have a blog and have written on this topic, please leave a link so I can check it out. Thanks!

Update – what other families do

I have collated responses received into this post – Managing technology with teenagers – what other families do. Thanks so much to all those who shared!