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Bill Gates, globally recognized for being the co-founder of Microsoft, reflected on his personal blog about the consequences that phone use could bring for new generations, understanding this device as one of the main players in their upbringing.
The magnate, in one of his Gates Notes entries, commented on the book The Anxious Generation, written by Jonathan Haidt. In the course of his review, he emphasizes an aspect of smartphone use that he finds particularly critical in children: the threat these devices pose to creativity and critical thinking.
According to Gates, hours of boredom are an invaluable resource for exercising concentration on an idea; for this reason, he expressed concern that, for new generations, this idle time has been pushed into the background thanks to the stimulation of the screen.
Why children should stop using cell phones, according to Bill Gates
Gates explained that, in his professional career, idle time without distractions was "crucial" to his work success. In fact, the magnate himself says that during his time at Microsoft he took one week each year for reflection, during which he would stay in an isolated cabin with his documents and remain there free from all kinds of interruptions.
In this sense, the book by Heist that Gates reviews reflects on the way in which both smartphones and social networks have managed to change the upbringing of new generations. Gates wonders, as a result, whether he would have been able to acquire the work habits that allowed him to grow in the industry if, as a child, he had exchanged his leisure time for screen time.
“It wasn’t all fun and games, but I had what Haidt calls a play-based childhood. Now, a phone-based childhood is much more common,” he said.
Hadit explains that the consequences of this new upbringing are reflected in an increase in health issues -both physical and mental- and learning problems, as well as in other critical aspects for well-being: such as sleep, reading, socialization, time outdoors, and independence.
“Without the ability to concentrate intensely and follow an idea wherever it leads, the world could miss out on the advances that come from putting your mind on something and keeping it there,” Gates said.
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The magnate points out that, although the solutions to this problem proposed by the author are not easy to implement, he considers them crucial.
As a first step, he agrees on the need to delay access to smartphones until children are older and to have better age verification on social media.
At the same time, Gates emphasizes the importance of rebuilding “the infrastructure of childhood” so that other play areas, such as playgrounds, can replace cell phones and be seen as an attractive alternative for children to choose to spend their free time there.
“Achieving this will not come from individual families making better decisions; it requires coordination among parents, schools, technology companies, and policymakers,” he said, adding that these are measures that will help encourage in-person interaction.
Gates considers this reading a “wake-up call” that invites us to rethink current parenting and says it is “a roadmap for how we can change course.”