To the editor:

Warning! Device renders you an unwitting participant in one of the largest uncontrolled experiments ever performed. Highly addictive algorithms can result in an endless “doomscroll” continuously sapping hours and joy from your life. 

Would such a warning give someone pause?

Today’s algorithmically driven smartphones seek to capture every transaction, expressed interest, duration of media consumed, and seemingly inconsequential action taken. In aggregate, this leads to a highly curated online experience, where it becomes all too easy for one to become “rabbit holed” into a hyper niche market segment more easily targeted by marketers. Birds of a feather flock together, unlocking the convenience of auto-recommendations, and perhaps that sounds like a dream come true! 

However, algorithmically driven models are engineered to capture your attention in order to attend to incessant chimes and notifications, with continual demands to pacify the newfound anxiety that accompanies the manufactured fear of missing out (FOMO), all of which come with significant and dark downsides. Rather, the crucial developmental years of youth should include daydreaming, leisurely contemplation, and the ability to organically evolve interests.

While their brains might not be ready for a bottomless well of short-form videos and reels, children can be surprisingly open to guidance under the right circumstances. The long-term solution is teaching and modeling healthy technology use by using balance and boundaries, as difficult as it may be at times.

You may have heard about the “Wait until 8th” pledge. I encourage all members of the community, even those without school-aged children, to learn more about why it is so important to return childhood to children and consider taking the pledge themselves. 

Secondly, it could be very well argued that screen time at a young age is to the detriment of the requisite development of creativity and imagination to later succeed in our increasingly complex technology driven economy. Additionally, in the context of our local area’s “Blue Economy” initiative, those working in sensitive (classified) and industrial shipbuilding areas will likely not be able to access their personal electronic devices for safety and security reasons.

Smartphone-free schools make sense so kids can enjoy a distraction-free day, increased focus and academic performance, more intentional learning, and improved mental health.

If you share my concerns, please pass them along to our School Committee and participate in any official surveys as part of their ongoing review of cell phone policies for Portsmouth Schools.

Theodore Pietz

Portsmouth