Yes, your children do live in different time zones     034

You may think that your high school son or daughter lives on another planet and this may indeed be happening. But what definitely is true is that they live in different time zones. For example, they may be engaged in some activity, or just sleeping, and then ring-a-ling-ding their phone tells them that they have a missed call or missed message. What happened in the past now becomes the present, and when they reply to this communication time is changed again as the reply may be accessed later. So the present, becomes the past, which then accelerates to the future—and the smart phone does all this with just a few button presses and swipes.

But is all this multi-tasking and time travel really smart at all?  Actually it is less effective than it appears to be. There is no need to have any doubt about this as there is quite a lot of research, mainly from the perspective of making business workplaces and business people more productive. One study found that workers who tried to manage incoming messages while at the same time trying to work actually suffered a drop in intelligence. Maximum engagement, producing creativity and innovation, only occurs when blocks of uninterrupted time are available. This is an almost universal finding.

Indeed top business people are very good at controlling the flow of information. Richard Branson, for example, receives up to 400 e-mails a day. Obviously he delegates but the principle is that the constant pace and complexity produced by today’s technology is something that needs effective management. Interestingly research shows that workers with extra large computer screens find it easier to organise their work and get it done faster, even up to 40 per cent faster (see Thompson, C., We interrupt this program, Sydney Morning Herald – Good Weekend, 3 Dec 2005, 50-57, and just for fun try Sir Richard Branson on managing complexity, Smart Talk Insights from Entrepreneurs, Business Review Weekly, 21 Apr 2011, 16.

So when your son or daughter is doing their homework, or working on a project, the mobile phone needs to be out of sight, and certainly out of mind. The idea that both the task and the phone can be managed simultaneously is an idea that is not supported by research into productivity and time management. Your child must understand that the planet will continue to turn if he or she is not connected to cyberspace.  Consider the example of John Howard, when he was prime minister. During this time he attended the marriage of his daughter. But was he at the same time multi-tasking, managing national security risks, strategic priorities, current crises and the like? Well you know the answer to that. If a Prime Minister can attend a wedding, then your child can do without his or her phone. Make it happen.

All content copyright—Mark Thackray—Australian Educational Services