Talking to teenagers

It is difficult to know what the right thing is to do; we are the first generation as parents to experience addictions to technology. We are the first generation to tackle the use of Snapchat, TickTock and Instagram. Also, Facetime is a gamechanger, they can be connected to their friends in the privacy of there own homes, but that alters our levels of privacy within the family. How many parents have said ‘were you just on call when I was talking to your sister, were you just on call when I’m shouting for your brother to be ready?’ We are the second generation of parents where mental health in children and parents is acknowledged. We are in a terrible position; we have a greater awareness but with no solution. Two things are at play here, phone removal may be for two different reasons. First let’s look at what phone usage may or may not be doing to teenagers. Research has suggested that more than 23% of young people have a dysfunctional relationship with their smart p