One Evidence-Based Solution to the Anxious Generation

                  You can by the book "The Anxious Generation' on Amazon. 

In a video podcast on a sports talk show recorded in 2019, I mentioned that my student-athletes put their cell phones away during a two-day camp.I noted that “they were off of their cell phones, building community.”

Many parents commented that seeing kids forming more profound, meaningful connections without smartphones was beautiful. We intentionally limited cell phone usage, and the kids had so much fun through structured and unstructured games and activities that they didn’t mind. They had little time to use a phone during the day.

You can listen to what I said back in 2019 about building community without cell phones between the nine and eleven minute marks of the video podcast I did on this Sports Talk Show.                                                               

For many decades, I have dedicated myself to helping youth in the great outdoors through coaching running in one form or another, either informally or in a formal school environment.                     

I jokingly refer to the great outdoors as my office, and I do so with only half a joke. I am outside with kids in the wind, rain, hot, and cold by choice because I know how much it helps kids thrive and ultimately come alive, a welcome break from many things including social media.

As a retired guy who still coaches for the love of it, I know the positive transformation first-hand that running outside in a fun yet relient environment can bring. We joke abut keeping the fun factor high, but there are some important developmental reasons why we combine resiliency with fun.

Before retiring from my careers, I served as an information technology director and CIO, overseeing technology maintenance and new development. I also worked as a private school superintendent and spent seven years directing technology for over 14,000 students in a Public School environment.

Throughout my career, I've held various positions, including being a CEO and CIO of a $40 million organization, and serving on the executive team of one of the largest pension systems in the United States, which has current assets exceeding $70 billion. 

My responsibilities also included developing and managing complex business and technology projects that impacted over 500,000 active and retired members, as well as coaching many high school championship teams in the later chapters of life.                 

I also served seven years as the technology director of a public school system that served over 14,000 students. I finished my career serving five years as a private school system Superintendent. 

I share this background to highlight firsthand knowledge of both the advantages and disadvantages of technology for young people at a detailed level—particularly regarding how outdoor activities, especially in fun, unstructured environments, affect young people, positively.

Technology has many benefits for countless individuals, and I do not oppose it. I support proper use of technology. I am not throwing out the baby with the bathwater as the expression goes.

However, there are both positive and negative aspects of technology, especially smartphones, for youth. Based on my life experiences and numerous evidence-based studies,  I am an advocate for limited technology usage in early years and urge caution in rolling out appropriate technology use during high school years.                

While technology offers numerous benefits, there are corresponding downsides that must be addressed to ensure children can lead healthy, balanced lives and reach their God-given potential.       

In 2019, I began speaking out gently on this issue, including in the podcast mentioned above. Again, listen to the part of the podcast referencing cell phones if you want to learn more. We had an incredible camp before COVID-19 where kids engaged face-to-face, playing, running, learning by doing, and interacting without their cell phones.

Since then, I have transitioned from gently raising concerns to speaking louder about these issues, especially after reading the New York Times Best Seller, *The Anxious Generation* by Jonathan Haidt. 

The book is backed by evidenced-based studies and common sense, validated my own experiences on the ground and expanded my vision and mission in youth coaching. While I won’t summarize the entire book, I’ll mention a few key points and some of the mitigating measures well-designed running programs provide in my next follow-up post.

You can read a summary of the The Anxious Generation on Amazon. I have no affiliation with the author or his work. The light bulb went on though after reading this book, that I needed to enhance my programs to address the technology issues outline in this book more fully.                                                                       

Although I don’t agree with every detail in the book, I believe its core message accurately reflects how excessive technology is affecting our youth’s health and brains in ways that undermine the natural development of young people, creating true community, developing conflict resolution skills, and fulfilling one’s God-given potential.

I have tried my best to mitigate the negative side of technology through our running programs, albeit sometimes inadvertently. I will show practical ways that we mitigate many of the issues in this best selling book in my next post and new ideas to support the practical suggestions outlined in this best seller.                                 

Blessings,

Coach Weber

Philippians 4:13

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