Big Tech and its ‘Big Shock’ to Childhood - Part 5 - Final
Pulling it all together
“Australia's eSafety Commissioner has identified major gaps in how some of the world's biggest companies identify and prevent online child exploitation, including livestreamed abuse, grooming, AI-generated material and sexual extortion.” (ABC News 5 February 2026).
“Communications Minister Anika Wells met Roblox representatives in February after she expressed concern over graphic and gratuitous media reportedly affecting children on the site, including sexual and suicidal content.” (ABC News 14 April 2026).
“Frustrated parents of under-16s look for help to enforce an 'ineffective' social media ban.” (ABC News 18 April 2026).
What can we learn from Jonathan Haidt’s research about our role as parents and educators regarding keeping our children anchored in the real world while flourishing in the digital age?
‘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 and other technology devices instead of reality.’ Jonathan Haidt (social psychologist and Professor of Ethical Leadership at New York University).
Haidt has identified four foundational harms of the new phone-based childhood:
- social deprivation
- sleep deprivation
- attention fragmentation
- addiction
He also highlights two key parenting pitfalls:
1) being over-protective by inhibiting play-based real-world activities; and
2) being helpless at managing social media.
He suggests four “foundational” reforms that he believes, if implemented, “will turn around the rising rates of mental illness and (enable us to) raise much healthier kids”.
They include:
- No smartphones before 14: Give only basic phones with limited apps and no internet browser.
- No social media before 16: Let kids get through the most vulnerable period of brain development.
- Phone-free schools: Store away any personal devices that can send or receive texts to free up their attention.
- More independence, free play, and responsibility in the real world: To naturally develop social skills and reduce anxiety.
Haidt’s work also suggests that practices like gratitude, mindfulness, compassion, social connections, and seeking meaning and purpose can all have a significant impact on mental health. These are often core elements of many spiritual practices and traditions, and they can help individuals build resilience, emotional regulation, and a sense of well-being.
According to Haidt, “Our ultimate goal should not be to remove screens entirely, nor should it be to return childhood to exactly the way it was in 1960, rather, it should be to create a version of childhood and adolescence that keeps young people anchored in the real world while flourishing in the digital age.”
It is sobering to consider that 85% of the jobs our boys will do haven’t yet been invented. They are likely to have 18 jobs spanning across 6 academic degrees. Rather than a life path older generations will experience represented by ‘study-work-retire’, their path will be ‘study-work-study-work…semi retire’. Our boys will need to be highly adaptable and be able to deal with ambiguity. An important part of their education involves technology.
In essence, we need to:
- Prepare children to thrive in this digital age.
- Moderate and regulate technology use in an ‘age appropriate’ way.
- Educate on productive and safe use of technology.
- Provide opportunities to anchor children in the real world, through plenty of face-to-face social interaction, and free (and at times reasonably risky) play.
I believe that on all the measures listed above, Mosman Prep does an excellent job.
Phones are not permitted to be out or used at school. While we do have 1:1 devices for resourcing purposes so students are able to utilise them at the same time, they remain on a charging port when not in use, are distributed for use and then collected again (that is, they do not remain with the students throughout the school day). Technology and word processing are part of the curriculum, so we need to ensure the boys are being upskilled accordingly, in addition to the technology being used where it transforms learning (for example, coding a microchip to predict a natural disaster cannot be done without technology).
We monitor usage of iPads across the School and are confident that they are not being overused. We carefully navigate between ensuring students are building their capacity within the technology space, while firmly supporting our established (offline) methods of teaching and learning that are evidence informed and based on best practice.
Technology is a tool, integrated into learning, not a standalone subject. It is used for a very small portion of the day. We have extensive restrictions on content and the apps the boys can access.
As you can see from my recent series of Messenger articles, we are committed to staying abreast of current research on safe technology use.
We would greatly value your support especially in addressing the ‘out of school hours’ use of technology by the boys. Haidt draws attention to two relevant pitfalls for parents (see above). By working in tandem, school and home can meet this challenge and provide the very best outcomes for our children as they navigate the ‘technology explosion’.
Peter Grimes | Headmaster
References:
‘The Anxious Generation’ (2024) Jonathan Haidt (social psychologist and Professor of Ethical Leadership at New York University).
