(NewsUSA) – Technology, the pletho- ra of devices, such as smart phones and tablets, and social media have brought convenience to our finger- tips today in ways that we didn’t know were possible just a few years ago.It has made life easier for families and businesses in so many ways, more than we can count.But, with that immediate grat- ification we, as a society, have some serious consequences to con- sider and address.A new Comcast survey shows that the majority of parents across the country believe that disconnecting from devices during mealtime improves family bonding, with more than 2 in 5 (42 percent) not able to remember the last time their family had a device-free meal.However, children aren’t the only ones to blame: more than half (52 percent) of parents have been told by their children to put their cell phones away during meals.
A new DeviceFreeDinner campaign featuring comedian Will Ferrell captures this very issue.
Comcast offers a solution for parents called Xfinity xFi, a new way for users to personalize, monitor, and control their home Wi-Fi, including the ability to instantly pause Wi-Fi connectivity by user or device.The "pause device" feature is the most popular xFi function, with users tapping "pause" about five million times since launch, most often between the hours of 6:00 p.m. and 9:00 p.m.Parents will be happy to learn that they are not alone in their concerns about screen time and its effects.Comcast’s nationwide study of parents, conducted by Wakefield Research, also found:* Dinnertime is bonding time -Nearly every (98 percent) parent surveyed agrees that disconnecting from devices during mealtime im- proves family bonding.
* Millennial parents have an especially hard time remembering the last time they sat at the dinner table without a device at the table (49 percent), compared to Gen Xers (37 percent) and Boomers (33 percent).
* Sneaking screen time – Par- ents admit to taking away their children’s devices an average of once per week and more than half (56 percent) have found their chil- dren trying to sneak their devices when they were banned from them.
* Going to extremes to discon- nect – Nearly one-third (31 percent) of parents make their children leave their devices in a basket be- fore bedtime, while 14 percent go so far as to disconnect their modems to stop Wi-Fi usage.The American Academy of Pe- diatrics recommends that parents develop personalized plans for their children’s device use, warning that excessive screen time can displace important activities such as face-to-face interaction, familytime, outdoor play, exercise, and sleep.
(NewsUSA) – Technology, the pletho- ra of devices, such as smart phones and tablets, and social media have brought convenience to our finger- tips today in ways that we didn’t know were possible just a few years ago.It has made life easier for families and businesses in so many ways, more than we can count.But, with that immediate grat- ification we, as a society, have some serious consequences to con- sider and address.A new Comcast survey shows that the majority of parents across the country believe that disconnecting from devices during mealtime improves family bonding, with more than 2 in 5 (42 percent) not able to remember the last time their family had a device-free meal.However, children aren’t the only ones to blame: more than half (52 percent) of parents have been told by their children to put their cell phones away during meals.
A new DeviceFreeDinner campaign featuring comedian Will Ferrell captures this very issue.
Comcast offers a solution for parents called Xfinity xFi, a new way for users to personalize, monitor, and control their home Wi-Fi, including the ability to instantly pause Wi-Fi connectivity by user or device.The "pause device" feature is the most popular xFi function, with users tapping "pause" about five million times since launch, most often between the hours of 6:00 p.m. and 9:00 p.m.Parents will be happy to learn that they are not alone in their concerns about screen time and its effects.Comcast’s nationwide study of parents, conducted by Wakefield Research, also found:* Dinnertime is bonding time -Nearly every (98 percent) parent surveyed agrees that disconnecting from devices during mealtime im- proves family bonding.
* Millennial parents have an especially hard time remembering the last time they sat at the dinner table without a device at the table (49 percent), compared to Gen Xers (37 percent) and Boomers (33 percent).
* Sneaking screen time – Par- ents admit to taking away their children’s devices an average of once per week and more than half (56 percent) have found their chil- dren trying to sneak their devices when they were banned from them.
* Going to extremes to discon- nect – Nearly one-third (31 percent) of parents make their children leave their devices in a basket be- fore bedtime, while 14 percent go so far as to disconnect their modems to stop Wi-Fi usage.The American Academy of Pe- diatrics recommends that parents develop personalized plans for their children’s device use, warning that excessive screen time can displace important activities such as face-to-face interaction, familytime, outdoor play, exercise, and sleep.