Grammar of the second quarantine: more than half of the students spend more than 5 hours a day in front of the screens

According to the study, many students, even 88 percent. – not only studying, but also spending free time in front of the screens. Higher than average figures are observed in rural areas (96%) and in the cities of Vilnius (89%) and Šiauliai (96%). Even 48 percent. students spend more than 5 hours a day in front of the screen, although parents would like this time not to exceed 2-3 hours. Children from rural areas (53%) and smaller towns (50%), as well as from residents of Šiauliai (54%), spend more time with technology. Also in other cities, nearly half of students spend more than 5 hours in front of a screen, according to a press release.

Long distances and fewer options for activities.

Education experts who comment on this trend point out that in rural areas only a small proportion of educators live in the same place as the school, most of them arriving. Also, if the child’s educational institution is in a different settlement from the place of residence, then not only formal and informal education, but the entire environment, activities, and even friends stay away from home.
“In small or remote settlements, if you want quality after-school activities, parents need to pay close attention to it, especially if you need to go somewhere. Many children and their parents just don’t have the opportunity to travel, especially if their parents work and return to school. home alone at night or if they lack funds for children’s free time, ”says Vytautas Magnus University Education Academy, Dr. Daiva Jakavonytė-Staškuvienė.

Technology saves from loneliness

Simonas Šabanovas, educational expert, pedagogue, doctor in social sciences and professor at Vilnius University, author of Šviesos textbooks, asks to understand the situation in which children find themselves and accept the opportunity to use the Internet like the rest of the world.

“What is screen access? They bring us closer to big cities, to nuclei, to more complex knowledge, services, technologies and innovations, which are often lacking in smaller cities and rural areas. At the same time, it is an opportunity for young people to be with their peers, to form various groups and for many, just a way to spend fashion and leisure. In a global world, even when we cannot travel, we are connected, from the surrounding social environment to virtual spaces. And a young person needs to constantly make social connections and especially with their peers. In peripheral municipalities, the proportion of young people in the demographic structure is small, which makes the school a key communication space for young people. Unfortunately, even for non-formal education, which extends beyond distance, many times there is no motivation or time left, ”says the pedagogue named Teacher of the Year.

S. Shabanov emphasizes that it is not the children themselves who distance themselves from the world by immersing themselves in the screens, they simply have no other choice. Yes, according to the educator, the state and society themselves form a separate screen generation. Only the desire and determination to create a variety of leisure activities could change this.

Parents have limited opportunities

When it comes to the responsibility of adults, the focus is first and foremost on the immediate environment of the children: the parents. According to the study, more than 2 hours. about 43 percent spend on parenting at home per day. parents, but even 19 percent. the parents took no time at all. Those most involved in distance education and the occupation of children during the quarantine announced in the spring were young parents under the age of 30 (80%) and the raising of elementary school children (61%). Up to 47 percent. parents of older students (grades 9-12) did not need parental help. However, the experts who discussed the study questioned whether parents themselves have enough opportunities and powers to address children’s leisure challenges, especially now that they face even more concerns.

“It is important to pay attention to the children and do something interesting for everyone in the family together, without digital media. However, especially during quarantine, when some parents were still working and children had to spend a significant part of the day alone at home, technological measures were the only ones that allowed them to maintain social contact with friends and family. There are many active games that many children can play at the same time, even when they are not only in different homes, but also in different states. In such cases, the computer or the telephone helped to maintain social contact even in difficult conditions, at least in this way the children did not feel alone, they could share their thoughts, experiences, experiences ”, says D. Jakavonytė-Staškuvienė.

A suite of parenting services is required

According to education expert S. Šabanovas, Lithuanians are one of the hardest working societies in the world. Here, people often have more than one job and therefore try to support the family, support it or take care of it themselves. Therefore, it is understood that the time for a second job is taken from leisure, rest and being with the children.

“It is important to try to maintain a balance. Parents often do not have the experience and knowledge to update and interest children in other forms of leisure, they need help, both ideas and services. The digital environment is a new step to simplify and provide more access to knowledge and skills relevant to this world. However, the same technologies can help to explore nature, do research, plan a family budget, and find answers to relevant questions. It is important to use available tools with a purpose and various ways ”, says S. Šabanovas.

The computer is particularly attractive

The study notes that children’s free time in front of screens only increases with age. According to D. Jakavonytė-Staškuvienė, one of the reasons is that the screens are really attractive and easily accessible, they can be accessed “here and now”, no more effort is required compared to other entertainment methods. In addition, activities related to digital media, including computer games, are designed to be increasingly desirable. For this purpose, various inclusive systems of support, inspirational illustrations of mood, punctuation, etc. have been developed.

“I think that current educational practice should pay much more attention to hygiene problems of the time, for example, self-study, diaries, calculating how much time was spent in front of the screen in vain, for no reason. In the meantime, go out to Nature, being outdoors, walking, biking or any physical activity should be a mandatory part of the day. It is also important to consider the time you spend sleeping. Scandinavians and Western European countries have used these tools of time control and management for many years. So, children develop the skills of an active lifestyle and digital tools do not occupy the entire day of leisure. Sufficient attention needs to be paid to these problems both in educational institutions and in the home ”, says D. Jakavonytė-Staškuvienė.

Ideas for a variety of activities

Interlocutors remember that teachers can once again help children and parents by choosing as many distance learning tools as possible, not just computer lessons.

“It is necessary to look at the environment in a complex way; the world is not just an information technology space. Digital devices are opportunities and aids, but it is important to adapt them through experimental and exploratory education. To children always they like to make cheese with their own hands and understand the biotechnology of food, wake up in swamps, interview their relatives or collect a small herbarium. The same goes for teaching reading and writing: writing and digital reading and live are different. It is important not to go to extremes here. To develop speed reading, information retrieval and literacy, and the use of assistive tools in a more convenient digital environment, but it is also important to train hands by creating Neural connections and enjoying reading a paper book ”, says S. Šabanovas about blended learning.

D. Jakavonytė-Staškuvienė also agrees that the computer should be used intentionally and rationally, only when other methods are not possible. Remember that the European Commission recommends that both teachers and parents consciously plan their own and children’s activities.

“Children should not work 6 hours a day while studying at home (as in an educational institution), but work time should be organized from 10 to 30 minutes, several times a day, depending on the age of the children and the amount of tasks to be done. Even in distance education settings, various activities should be organized for children. There are countless activities that are recommended without a computer. These may include cooking, collecting plants outdoors, observing plants and animals. Board games, construction and DIY tasks, various puzzles and experiments depending on the child’s age are also educational. The most important thing is that adults participate in these games, only necessarily in a positive frame of mind, smiling and praising the child for every creative idea or unexpected decision ”, advises D. Jakavonytė-Staškuvienė.

Children learn from adults

It is true that it is not always possible to separate adults from the time they spend on the computer from work. Especially when you have to work from home.

“I dare say that in such extreme cases, as now, very often there is no time for leisure, neither on the computer nor in other ways, because all day, and sometimes in the afternoon or even at night, I have to deal with work problems. Therefore, personal time management skills should also be a concern for adults. It is beneficial to make arrangements with the children and other family members and to choose other forms of activity together, especially at night and on weekends. We must take care of our own health, ”says D. Jakavonytė-Staškuvienė.

His colleague S. Shabanov advises teaching children to observe the disadvantages and benefits of screen time from an early age. Parents, the school and the community must help students to make their activities meaningful, to be adequately aware of digital spaces and not to prohibit or deprive them. S. Shabanov proposes to see the digital world not as a separate life, but as a helper. In this sense, even the current surplus of screens during the quarantine could be used as an opportunity to learn the life and time planning skills that will definitely be needed in the future, and more than once.