Hugh Grant is a strong advocate of being present in the moment as opposed to always burying your nose in your screen — and he’s not exactly pleased with the way many schools operate in that regard.
The Hollywood actor, who also happens to be a father of five, recently attended a campaigning event held by Close Screens Open Minds at London’s Knightsbridge School to discuss his outrage surrounding the way “kind of ridiculous posh private schools” operate.
Highlights
- Hugh Grant criticizes the 'posh' schools his kids attend for increasing screen time and limiting outdoor play.
- The actor's frustration peaked when schools proudly gave children Chromebooks.
- Hugh Grant believes more parents speaking out could force schools to change their policies.
The event featured US author and psychologist Dr. Jonathan Haidt and King Charles III’s second cousin Sophie Winkleman to encourage limiting use of smartphones for students under the age of 14.
Hugh Grant didn't hold anything back as he slammed the rules "posh private schools" held regarding technology
Image credits: Carlos Alvarez / Getty
He labeled himself as “another angry parent fighting the eternal, exhausting and depressive battle with children who only want to be on a screen.”
According to Grant, the institute his children attended had set up a system designed to increase screen time and limit outdoor activities.
“They’re the ones saying they’re not going to play outside today because it’s raining, or they can’t go on the climbing frame because it’s windy,” he said, as reported by The Telegraph. “It’s pathetic. It seems to me that there is space here for a hero school, a set of schools, to break the mold.”
His tipping point came when teachers at the school tried justifying their reasoning, making it obvious they were pushing the notion of technology onto the children.
Image credits: Stephane Cardinale/Corbis/Getty
“The final straw was when the school started saying, with some smugness, ‘We give every child a Chromebook, and they do a lot of lessons on their Chromebook, and they do all their homework on their Chromebook,’ and you just thought, ‘That is the last f–cking thing they need’ and the last thing we need,” he said.
As they campaigned for schools with a more screen-free approach, Haidt said social media should also be banned for those under 16, especially amidst what he labeled an “epidemic of mental illness” in youth, as well as “attention fragmentation.”
“It is undeniable that sometimes technology does make the learning experience easier. But it should play a role in it, but “not on children’s desks,” Haidt added.
The way schools govern their classes increases screentime, according to the movie star
Image credits: The Rewrite / Prime Video
Image credits: About a Boy / Universal Studios
The Glass Onion star also believed that their statement would have a greater impact if more parents joined it to speak out against schools.
“I think that once you get a critical mass of parents who are outraged by EdTech, as well as all the other issues, the phone, etc., that is when politicians listen because they’re scared of that,” Grant stated.
“That’s also when schools start to listen because they’re scared of people leaving their schools and losing business.”
Image credits: About a Boy / Universal Studios
The Wonka actor’s children are all fairly young and still in school. He shares three kids with his wife Anna Eberstein: John Mungo, 12, Lulu, 9, and Blue, 7. From his past relationship with Tinglan Hong, he shares Tabitha, 13, and Felix, 11.
According to multiple studies reported by National University, the effects of technology on young people are harmful in more ways than meets the eye.
Now, smartphones are an essential part of our daily lives with countless students in elementary school owning their own devices. American Academy of Child & Adolescent Psychiatry (AACAP), reported that teenagers now spend up to nine hours per day watching or using screens. Children between ages 8-12 spent 4-6 hours per day doing the same.
There are a plethora of reasons why technology is changing, and sometimes ruining, young adolescents nowadays
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As research has shown, modern technology shortens our attention span, making it easier to get distracted by other sounds or notifications.
“With the Internet and YouTube, you can watch a show or listen to a song almost instantly, and you can even skip through the commercials,” wrote the university’s website. “As a result, kids today are wired for instant gratification; they want what they want, and they want it now.”
A study in Canada found the average attention span had decreased from 12 seconds to eight seconds.
Jelena, a mother of a two-year-old girl from Mexico, shared her thoughts to Bored Panda, adding a potential solution to deter kids away from technology.
“I think [attention span] is already affected and not only in kids,” she said. “As someone who has been working with social media content for years, I can tell how it has changed. We all have witnessed how the short-form videos evolved.
“And it’s precisely because the attention span has shortened and people are looking for shorter content. But, for kids, I think the key is to find something they enjoy besides using technology, and develop that.”
Image credits: Karwai Tang / Getty
Additionally, the growing use of technology correlates directly with that of obesity levels.
With children naturally spending less time outdoors, or at least engaged in physical activity, research shows that adolescents may instead participate in mindless eating while watching TV or playing video games.
Many people noted that their respect for Grant grew upon his public message
