According to a new survey of 2,000 U.S. parents and their children, technology has officially replaced chores and homework as the number-one source of conflict in American homes.
New York-based market research firm Talker Research conducted a survey of 2,000 parents in the United States with children ages 8 to 17. The survey also took into account the opinions of their kids to get a family-wide understanding of tech wars within the average American home.
28 percent of parents say tech use is their most significant point of friction with their kids. 25 percent said it was chores, and 21 percent said it was schoolwork. Kids seem to agree. 30 percent of them say phones are the most significant point of contention, followed by gaming and social media.
Nearly 9 in 10 parents report fighting with their children about tech, and half say it happens at least once a week. Families across the United States have a standing appointment with tech-related family arguments.
All the other arguments between parents and their children can eventually come to an end. An argument about homework can be put to rest when the homework is done. It’s a little different with screen time. A phone can always be picked back up unless it’s confiscated.
Parents say the biggest causes of tech-related arguments are screen time, viewing inappropriate content, and when phones are used, with bedtime and mealtime among the most contentious.
This Is the Most Common Argument Between Kids and Their Parents
Nearly 60 percent of the kids surveyed said they had seen violent or disturbing videos online in the past year. And almost half of them said that if they were parents, they would be deeply concerned about it all too.
As for having their phones taken away as punishment, over one-third of the kids report that their devices were confiscated at least once a month, leaving them frustrated but eager to see how far they could push their behavior when they got their phones back.
This once again proves that children are basically just the velociraptors from Jurassic Park, systematically testing the electrified fences for weaknesses so they can break out and eat tourists.
The researchers say that while enforcing household rules is challenging, the bigger hurdle is teaching self-control. Parents feel they are well-informed and doing everything possible to keep their kids from becoming little tech-addicted freaks, but the constant arguments suggest that something isn’t connecting.
Trying to instill healthier digital habits in a family is a good and just lesson to impart, just as long as you can stand all the yelling that will ensue.
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