Big Tech and its ‘Big Shock’ to Childhood’ - Part 2
Deprived of a Play-Based Childhood
"Children learn as they play. Most importantly, in play children learn how to learn." Fred Donaldson
I had the absolute joy of growing up, from a very young age, on the grounds of The King’s School. On these 360 acres of boy heaven, I climbed trees, built cubby houses, hunted for cicadas, stirred up a nest of giant ants (once), chased elusive rabbits, endlessly kicked rugby balls, played tennis court cricket… My mum would often ring around other houses on the property asking whether anyone had seen me.
‘The move from basic phones to smartphones, in the early 2010s, in many ways hijacked (amongst other important things) play-based education and its many critical benefits — and the social consequences are immense.’
Humans have sensitive periods. These are moments where it’s easy to acquire new skills. Once that period is gone, you can still learn the thing in question but it’s significantly more difficult. Evolutionarily speaking, human childhood takes a long time because children need that time to learn. As children learn new skills and pursue new experiences, their brains make new connections and lose old ones. Evolution lengthened childhood to make learning easy but also gave us three motivations: free play, attunement, and social learning.
Children need to play because it enables them to be socially, cognitively, and emotionally healthy. Playing teaches kids the skills they need to turn into successful adults. The most beneficial kind of play is physical, outdoors, and with other children of different ages.
In The Anxious Generation, Jonathan Haidt highlights the importance of play in childhood development, specifically how a decline in free play has contributed to rising anxiety among younger generations. Haidt argues that play is essential for children to develop resilience, social skills, and the ability to handle challenges. He points out that play, especially unsupervised and outdoor play, allows children to experiment with boundaries, take risks, and navigate social dynamics without adult intervention.
Haidt discusses how the shift toward more structured, adult-controlled activities, coupled with overprotective parenting, and a lack of boundaries regarding harmful technology use has limited opportunities for this kind of play. This, in turn, has led to a generation that struggles with uncertainty, conflict, and emotional regulation because they were not given the freedom to experience these situations in a low-stakes, playful context during childhood.
Haidt also notes that play, particularly physical, outdoor play, helps children manage anxiety and stress. When children are encouraged to engage in free play with their peers, they learn important life skills like problem-solving, negotiation, and handling social conflicts. By restricting these opportunities, Haidt suggests that children miss out on critical experiences that help build resilience and emotional strength, leading to increased anxiety as they grow older.
Activities that involve the possibility of physical harm can teach children not to get hurt, so a degree of physical risk is also important. The activity loses all its benefits as soon as adults get involved. When an adult isn’t involved, the benefits are immense. Children learn to care for themselves and others, handle their emotions, read others’ emotions, take turns, solve conflicts, and follow rules.
In essence, Haidt argues that the decline in play is one of the key factors behind the rise in anxiety among today's youth. He stresses the need to return to a more balanced approach that encourages independent, unsupervised play for children, allowing them to grow emotionally and socially in a healthy way. He also urges us to guard against modern technology depriving children of the significant benefits of play.
‘Childhood is an apprenticeship for learning the skills needed for success in one’s culture. Millions of children are now hampered in learning those skills — because they live in their phones instead of reality.’
Peter Grimes | Headmaster
References:
‘The Anxious Generation’ (2024) Jonathan Haidt (social psychologist and Professor of Ethical Leadership at New York University).
