A recent televised experiment examined what happens when children and teenagers are suddenly asked to give up their smartphones and use a basic “safe” phone that can only make and receive calls. The author, educator Avinoam Hersh, says the reaction looked like withdrawal, with the camera capturing the painful separation and the impact on the entire household.
Hersh argues that the phone has become far more than a communication device. In his view, it is now children’s psychological and social shield, and taking it away exposed fears of missing out, boredom, and anxiety about being excluded from their always-on virtual social world. He says he sees the same dynamic daily in schools as part of a unique pilot project he is leading.
The article also says the experiment revealed something about adults. As a father of four, Hersh writes that smartphones are the cheapest, quietest, and most available babysitter in history, and when they were removed the “industrial silence” at home ended. Children began talking, arguing, getting angry, and voicing boredom, which he describes as the sound of real family life returning.
Hersh says teachers are struggling with the inattention and restlessness of a screen generation, and with teenagers losing the ability to interact face to face without filters. He concludes that parents and educators cannot expect children to let go of screens unless adults fully engage and provide a worthwhile real-world alternative. He urges families to replace unsafe devices with “safe” phones and not fear the initial chaos, saying the goal is to give children back their “whole, clear, and clean” minds.
