BBC Learnings · Section 3

Is technology harmful to youngsters

When you were a teenager, did your parents worry that you were watching too much television, Sam?

Level: B1 · 84 sentences

Transcript

  1. When you were a teenager,
  2. did your parents worry that you were watching too much television, Sam?
  3. They used to tell me that watching too much TV would turn my eyes square.
  4. But they were only joking.
  5. When I was growing up, there were only three or four television channels.
  6. For parents today, there are hundreds of TV channels to worry about,
  7. not to mention the internet, video games and social media.
  8. And all of it is accessible through a smartphone.
  9. No wonder parents are worried about the impact of technology on young people.
  10. I don't think it's all bad news, Neil.
  11. In fact, in this programme we'll be taking a look at a new report
  12. which finds little evidence to link technology with mental health problems in adolescents.
  13. That's young people who are in the process of developing from children into adults.
  14. I'm not convinced, Sam.
  15. Think about how much time youngsters spend staring at screens every day.
  16. True, but unlike passively watching television, today's technology is interactive,
  17. connecting teenagers to their friends around the world.
  18. Well, maybe my quiz question will change your mind.
  19. Are you ready?
  20. On average, how many hours per day do British teenagers spend on their screens?
  21. Is it a five-and-a-half hours,
  22. b six-and-a-half hours, or c seven-and-a-half hours?
  23. I'll say it's b six-and-a-half hours.
  24. That sounds a lot to me!
  25. Well, whatever Neil thinks,
  26. a new study from the Oxford Internet Institute paints a more hopeful picture.
  27. The study analysed data from over 400,000 British and American teenagers
  28. and found little or no link between adolescents' tech use
  29. and mental health problems.
  30. Listen to Gareth Mitchell and Ghislaine Boddington,
  31. co-presenters of BBC World Service's Digital Planet,
  32. as they discuss the report's findings.
  33. Glenn Bonington, you've been looking at some of the findings yourself, haven't you?
  34. So what's your response so far?
  35. Were you expecting, Glenn, to see some kind of smoking gun,
  36. some kind of link that would say, here we are, here are the harms?
  37. Not really, because I think we're at a point where teenagers are much more savvy than many adults think.
  38. So, you know, we are at risk, all of us as journalists and research community,
  39. to assume maybe this is a much more terrible problem.
  40. than we understand because if I know the teenagers around me,
  41. one thing that they do all have is app blockers on their sites
  42. and they are actually quite aware of the addiction problems,
  43. the design, you know, design for addiction.
  44. Many people assume that social media harms teenagers,
  45. so Gareth asked Ghislaine whether she was expecting to find a smoking gun in the report.
  46. The expression a smoking gun means evidence that proves something is true.
  47. For example, evidence proving that technology is harmful to young people.
  48. But Ghislaine doesn't think this is true.
  49. Actually, she calls teenagers savvy,
  50. meaning that they have practical knowledge of technology and a good understanding of how to use it.
  51. One example of teenagers being technologically savvy is their use of app blockers
  52. software that prevents unwanted apps and websites from popping up
  53. and allows users to set timers which limit screen time.
  54. And reducing screen time is important
  55. because nowadays most video games and social media are designed for addiction
  56. intended to manipulate human psychology
  57. to make the user want to keep playing.
  58. but it seems that today's adolescents are savvy enough to know how to use electronic devices sensibly.
  59. How else can we explain the fact that, according to this research,
  60. there's no clear link between using tech and mental health problems?
  61. Yes, that's certainly the view of the research team leader, Dr Matty Vuore.
  62. Here he is speaking with BBC World Service programme Digital Planet about an interesting and very modern term.
  63. See if you can hear it.
  64. We often hear the term digital native.
  65. You know, you grow up with a device in your hand almost,
  66. and then it's not a surprise that you are skilled in using those technologies to your benefit.
  67. Did you hear the expression Dr Voiré used, Sam?
  68. Yes, he called teenagers digital natives,
  69. meaning someone who is very familiar and comfortable using computers and digital technology because they've grown up with them.
  70. So, maybe there are benefits to spending hours looking at screens after all.
  71. In my quiz question,
  72. I asked Sam about the average daily screen time for British teenagers.
  73. I said it was b six and a half hours.
  74. Which was the correct answer.
  75. Very savvy of you, Sam.
  76. OK, let's recap the vocabulary from this programme about the impact of tech on adolescents
  77. that's young people who are developing into adults.
  78. Today's adolescents are digital natives,
  79. people who are very familiar with digital technology because they've grown up with it.
  80. If you are savvy, you have a good practical understanding of something.
  81. A smoking gun refers to information or evidence that proves that something is true.
  82. An app blocker is software that blocks pop-up apps and websites and allows users to set screen time limits.
  83. And Designed for Addiction describes immersive video games and social media,
  84. which are designed to manipulate human psychology and make it hard to stop playing.