
What happens when children don’t have the internet for a whole day - ch
https://brightside.me/article/a-thought-provoking-experiment-showed-what-happens-when-children-dont-have-the-internet-for-a-whole-day-42855/
======
Tepix
Is it even true?

[http://www.theitbaby.com/wordpress/2016/01/25/they-wanted-
to...](http://www.theitbaby.com/wordpress/2016/01/25/they-wanted-to-see-what-
would-happen-if-they-took-tech-from-kids-for-a-whole-day-it-was-fake/)

~~~
paradite
see damian2000's comment. It appears to be real.

I copy paste the url from damian2000's comment here for you convenience:

[https://snob.ru/selected/entry/45522](https://snob.ru/selected/entry/45522)

~~~
vincnetas
What makes you think that it's real. It's just the same text in russian
language... With no references to the study or whatever... With ending like "А
что вы об этом думаете?" meaning "And what do you think about this?"

~~~
acqq
It's the text signed by the named author, it's not some retelling, and it's
from 2012. It's imaginable that it was included in some of her books
afterwards. She still writes regularly online:

[https://snob.ru/profile/5591/blog](https://snob.ru/profile/5591/blog)

She also blogged about the continuation of her experiment here (2014):

[https://snob.ru/selected/entry/79799](https://snob.ru/selected/entry/79799)

2016 and it comes to the English-speaking media, here Feb 2016, where the New
Paper from Singapore tried to reproduce the experiment:

[http://www.tnp.sg/news/singapore-news/what-happens-
when-5-st...](http://www.tnp.sg/news/singapore-news/what-happens-
when-5-students-spend-8-hours-without-internet)

~~~
gus_massa
It's interesting to read about the reproduction of the experiment. Some
takeaways:

* The number is low, only five, but I think it's enough for an informal experiment of a newspaper (not a peer review article)

* They don't have a control group. What happens if you must log all your activities for 8 hours and feel that someone is looking over your shoulder? (Can you be with your SO?)

* It's not a 100% reproduction. It's nice that here the children were allowed to talk with families/friends, instead of being forced to be alone or with unknown people.

* No suicidal thought. Perhaps the problem with the other experiments was the isolation? Did the subjects in the other experiment have suicidal though before the experiment? Was the suicidal part exaggerated? For example:

\- "Do you think that you can survive one week in the conditions of this
experiment?" _" No, I'd kill myself. (as a figure of speech) [1]"_

\- "Did you think about suicide?" _" No"_ "Not even a little?" _" No"_ "Not
even for one moment?" _" OK, whatever, perhaps only once."_

* I think that an important quote is:

> _" When I wanted to play the guitar, I didn't have my phone to search for
> new chords. Luckily I had some chords printed out already," she said._

Perhaps doing a two hour rehearsal and repeating the experiment one week after
will remove most of the problems due to the lack of preparation. It's like
trying to go to a camping without previous experience. You will put the cans,
but forget the can opener. (Been there, done that.)

[1] I'm a native Spanish speaker, so I don't know the exact idiom in English.
In Spanish from Argentina we sometime use phrases like "Cuando se me cayo el
florero me quiería morir." -> "When I drop accidentally the flower pot, I
wanted to be dead." but everybody understand that it's a figure of speech and
not a real suicidal feeling. I'm not sure how to translate the exact feeling
with the right idiom to English. I even had to add the word "accidentally" to
the transition to make the first part of the sentence clear.

~~~
parrellel
"When I dropped the flowerpot, (I just died|wanted to die|could have just
died)." works.

------
witty_username
I was initially surprised, but then I saw this:

> According to the rules of the experiment, the children had to explain the
> next day how they had coped with being alone under such conditions.

Title is misleading; the children didn't have access to any modern technology.

tl;dr no modern technology (no TV radio) and no other people.

> the today’s generation of young people are too often entertained by things
> not of their making, are incapable of finding ways to keep themselves busy,
> and are completely unfamiliar with the idea of the world of their
> imagination.

The experiment doesn't imply that.

Even yesterday's generation was also entertained by things not of their making
(books, radio, TV).

Talking to an imaginary friend can't replace real human interaction,
especially for 8 hours.

Plus with modern technology they are able to keep themselves busy.

~~~
satysin
Every generation complains that the children of today can't entertain
themselves are anti-social, etc.

When I was a kid (in my 30s now) I remember people saying it about me
reading/watching tv/playing videogames.

Now it is smartphones/computers/internet.

When my mum was a kid apparently it was listening to records.

I am sure if you go back 1000 years you will find some record of an "old"
person complaining about how the young ones have no respect for their elders
and can't keep themselves entertained.

~~~
mixedCase
>I am sure if you go back 1000 years you will find some record of an "old"
person complaining about how the young ones have no respect for their elders
and can't keep themselves entertained.

Try 1000 years and some chage earlier:

“The children now love luxury. They have bad manners, contempt for authority;
they show disrespect for elders and love chatter in place of exercise.” -
Socrates

~~~
rfrey
Sadly, that one is apparently apocryphal.

[http://quoteinvestigator.com/2010/05/01/misbehaving-
children...](http://quoteinvestigator.com/2010/05/01/misbehaving-children-in-
ancient-times/)

~~~
mixedCase
Thanks for the information, I had heard this one long ago and took it for
granted.

------
anotheryou
They where not allowed to communicate with friends for 8 hours and stripped of
their usual entertainment, while normally they would spend most time in
school, sports clubs and with their families?

I think you could have done this experiment 20 years ago and get the same
results.

What will be different nowadays is that your friends are always an your
pocket. A situation where you are confronted with something emotional and
unable to talk to a friend right away might be more unusual and frightening
than it was 20 years ago.

Maybe kids 20 years ago could handle boredom better, but I think this study
has too many flaws to judge about that.

~~~
Broken_Hippo
I was a teenager 20 years ago, and I'm not so sure about that. My brother was
an actual child then.

The equivelent would have been to take away all social contact, plus
television and video games and some freedom of movement to see folks for 8
hours. It wasn't like I generally had 8 hours to myself back then - between
school and homework and chores and church (parents insisted) and the few
friends and outings I did have, I simply didn't have that. And then, suddenly,
some person doing an experiment wants to isolate me for 8 hours? I'd have been
horribly bored as well.

~~~
anotheryou
Exactly. Even staying at home alone while the supervising parent went shopping
sometimes got boring after the first 30 minutes. Albeit no horrible
experience, I went along shopping most of the time, not to stay home alone.

------
jeletonskelly
I actually find the results to be pretty optimistic. We've become a more
connected society because of our technology and it feels good to communicate
with other people. That's why we developed the technology in the first place;
to shorten the distance between us. What's so wrong with that? We're only
moving forward to a world that's even more connected, not back to the 1800's.
Sure, we're dependent on things we did not make; we stand on the shoulders of
giants, but that's how we move forward. We take the things passed to us, use
and build on them to make a better world. It's ok to have some psychological
issues when you take it all away.

~~~
CPLX
I question your premise. Are you and I actually communicating right now in an
emotionally meaningful, fulfilling way?

Am I less alone now for having this exchange of posts on HN with you than I
would be had I spent this time reading from a book, which is of course also a
communication, if only in one direction?

My instinct tells me that neither of these states involve meaningful (which
I'm defining here as _personal_ ) human interaction, but I'll freely admit
that's more a gut feeling than a scientific truth.

~~~
cyberferret
I would argue that the minute you checked back in here to see if anyone had
responded to your post - it became a meaningful two way interaction, and you
would have received the added stimulus of excitement/gladness (that someone
had responded) or disappointment/emptiness (if someone hadn't).

------
betageek
A day? How about 6 months
[https://www.theguardian.com/lifeandstyle/2011/jan/01/technol...](https://www.theguardian.com/lifeandstyle/2011/jan/01/technology-
ban-kids-home-experiment)

This and the article mentioned elsewhere ([http://www.tnp.sg/news/singapore-
news/what-happens-when-5-st...](http://www.tnp.sg/news/singapore-news/what-
happens-when-5-students-spend-8-hours-without-internet)) are far more accurate
representations of what happens - kids may moan a bit but then they adapt.
Your kids are not going to have suicidal thoughts because you turned off the
internet for a bit (or if they are it's not the switch off that's the
problem). The original article is just scaremongering, HN shouldn't be
pandering to this kind of clickbait.

~~~
yetihehe
Did you read the whole article? Researchers mention that many of the children
thought this was not a good reaction, tried this experiment again by
themselves and reported that on second and third tries they fared much better.
So it's just more like sudden withdrawal syndrome and they indeed adapted.

~~~
chrisweekly
Voluntary solitude is so rare for people of any age. It's also profoundly
useful. 24 years ago, as a high school senior, in lieu of regular gym class I
elected to take a course in Survival. This culminated in a 3-day, 2-night
"solo" \-- a sleepover on the edge of one of Boston's outer harbor islands,
during which time I didn't see or speak with another human being. (We each had
a large section of the island to ourselves, and were instructed to silently
turn and walk in the other direction if we happened to see a neighboring
student at our site's edge.) I had volunteered for the most-remote site, on
the northeastern edge of the island. I made camp on a beach adjacent to the
overgrown ruins of a military installment of some sort. Like my classmates,
I'd walked in with a duffel bag containing a sleeping bag, 2 or 3 items of
clothing, a 10x10' clear sheet of plastic, 40' of twine, a knife, 2 gallons of
water, some non-perishable food, 5 waterproof matches in a ziplock bag with a
journal and pencil, and a whistle. That's it. No phone (in 1992 nobody had
these), no walkman (my tape-playing music player), no walkie-talkie. Just the
same essentials available a century or more earlier.

After picking my spot and building my shelter, I walked, sat, breathed, and
wrote in my journal. As the first day waned, I made a roaring bonfire against
the outer wall of the fortress, feeding it the end of a massive driftwood log.
I sketched the sun setting over Boston's skyline as the stars came out,
listened to the fire and the waves on the beach, and had time, and space,
entirely to myself.

That weekend gave me a chance to contemplate the myriad huge changes then
imminent in my life: things like picking a college, moving out of the home I'd
lived in since I was two years old, and moving to a different state in another
part of the country.

At the time, I thoroughly enjoyed the solo experience. It flew by, and I was
grateful to have had the chance to decompress and spend time outside. It was
transformative in a few ways, and in writing this I'm realizing it again, and
remembering just how valuable -- and rare -- that kind of solitude is. Human
connection is so important. But so is the chance to _completely_ unplug and
disconnect. I can't recommend it highly enough. My gratitude for that solo
experience is profound.

------
tym0
> The author of the experiment, a family psychologist, wanted to prove her
> working hypothesis that the today’s generation of young people are too often
> entertained by things not of their making, are incapable of finding ways to
> keep themselves busy, and are completely unfamiliar with the idea of the
> world of their imagination.

That is not how you do science.

~~~
room271
Of course it is. The question is: do you accept the results even if they show
against your hypothesis?

~~~
AstralStorm
No, she directly influenced the experiment and had no control group, plus tiny
homogenous sample.

------
MatekCopatek
This made sense until I got to the part that said _it was forbidden to
communicate with others according to the rules of the experiment_. This, to
me, makes the experiment less convincing and the outcome less of a surprise.

A lot of online activities, no matter how brainless, are social. It doesn't
seem fair to say "kids can't live without their mobile phones" when it's
really about them not being able to communicate. I'm pretty certain the
results would be less drastic if they could have just hung out and played
boardgames.

------
sigzero
I have 4 kids. The more I let them use the Internet the less they interact
with each other and when they do interact it usually is in a poor way. The
less Internet I let them use, the more they interact together, use their
imaginations when playing and there are way less fights and bickering.

~~~
cLeEOGPw
When my grandsons (4-6) are brought to visit us, we often leave them in the
barn for a day while I and my wife go to the city with business. I have
noticed they even started using their own words and other odd gestures to
communicate with each other. Glad to see them bonding without modern electric
appliances instead choosing to play with the hay.

------
nicolas_t
This experiment is interesting but doesn't only test what happens when the
kids do not have access to internet, it also tests the result of social
isolation. They were forced to be alone and not have any contact with other
kids.

It would be more interesting to redo the same experiment but allow the kids to
meet and talk with each other. I think there would probably be a lot less
anxiety.

------
damian2000
The original source (Russian) from 2012 ...
[https://snob.ru/selected/entry/45522](https://snob.ru/selected/entry/45522)

------
RamenJunkie_
Kids locked alone in a room for 8 hours get bored, News at 11....

------
FussyZeus
I get taking away Internet to see what would happen, but why would you remove
all social contact altogether? And why remove the telephone? We've had access
to the telephone for decades.

Plus I'm pretty sure you could find some variant of "damn kids, rap music"
engraved on the wall of a cave in mesopotamia. It's somehow ingrained in our
genetic structure to think our children are idiots (which I suppose is a
little beneficial).

------
oneloop
Kids can't entertain themselves "with things of their making". Let's give them
books to read instead. What?

I wonder if when books were invented people would complain "this youth, they
do nothing but read, they can't even <insert outdated form of entertainment>
anymore".

~~~
sevensor
Indeed. Novels were widely considered frivolous and unfit material for
children during the 19th century.

------
ausjke
They are fine and read more books and do more sports. My internet-at-home is
strictly managed and they have to earn credits to use it shortly.

I consider internet/games are mental drugs for kids, maybe too harsh, but they
can play at will when they grow up and leave my house.

------
otaviokz
So if you deprive kids of 2 things (internet AND social interaction) for 8h,
you can safely infer all abnormal behaviours were caused by the lack of only
one of those things?

Also, as someone else mentioned, the "study" appears to be nonexistent.

------
blinkingled
I don't know about the study but when I cut out the Internet my kids become
productive real fast - one cleans up her room other will look out the window
and find the lawn needs mowing and will happily mow and sometimes even edge.
Some times they come and talk to me.

I then give them Internet back - so far it's a good positive feedback loop for
them. I guess it won't work with all kids - mine like doing other things but
are just too distracted when there's Internet.

~~~
AstralStorm
It works in my experience with cousins. Kids can easily go through whole
summer break without apparent issues. Both the girls and boys enjoyed physical
activity (different kinds most for each kid surprisingly with one exception)
Half of the kids liked to draw in a group. All of them liked board games.

One boy liked to take apart and analyse computer hardware and other things
mechanical. One girl liked to play with the piano and synthesiser. The other
boys liked PE more and another girl liked to play football with them. One girl
liked much more complex books than expected and talking about them.

Sample size of 10. Age and 9-12. Generally 2-3 at a time. Kids were very used
to social media and passive entertainment as well as computer games. Also
movies on demand.

They are allowed to make and talk to friends but not borrow cellphones,
computers or watch TV. They were not separated from parents.

(also parents are sadly often busy with their lives and earning money. I bet
kids like the personal touch and attention)

------
Tehnix
More accurately would be "What happens when you socially isolate children for
8 hours".

The social isolation part is probably the most important aspect of the study.
I'll bet you that if it only limited modern technology, but allowed the
participants to interact with people, we would get totally different results.

I think it's quite easy to forego technology for longer periods - you often do
that on vacations, to give an example.

------
AstralStorm
Obvious result if true. 8 hours is not enough, the block on social
communication turned it into an experiment on loneliness with strangers not
disconnection.

The kids should have been allowed to talk with their friends face to face in a
monitored way.

What was the protocol to prevent interference by researchers? Was the
questionnaire vetted against leading question and bias?

------
charlieflowers
I'm skeptical. I need more details about the anxious feelings. That is a key
piece of evidence and all we have about it is hearsay.

------
tkt
Alternative title "teenagers can't be alone for 8 hours without technology".
The issue is being alone with their thoughts. The fact that such a significant
number had severe anxiety without access to easy distractions seems
problematic. Self-reflection, deeper thinking or ability to focus on a task
are important skills.

------
ch
The shortened title is simply the result of HN title length limits.

------
BuckRogers
Due to my age I thought back to my childhood. When we didn't have internet. My
first thought was: they use the Commodore as it is? :)

------
wingerlang
Internet (...and human contact whatsoever).

------
vorotato
What happens when children don't have magazines for a whole day.

Is what this article would be titled in 1740.

~~~
vorotato
Clearly the common theme through history that adults have issue with is
learning and socialization.

------
Sir_Cmpwn
This strongly smells of bullshit and has no place on Hacker News.

------
DanBC
It is interesting, and the reactions are extreme.

But the experiment forces some element of social isolation that may have
distorted the result.

I grew up without the Internet, and sometimes without a phone or TV. But I
still had friends to play with.

~~~
michaelmcdonald
This.

I remember the first computer my family bought that had a modem. The internet
was a novelty and because it tied up your phone line you had to be careful
when you used it (lest you miss out on a call). No mobile phones also meant
that solo activities were limited to what these scientists listed: reading,
writing, drawing, etc... BUT, I had access to my friends. I could go out and
play basketball, run around on the play-gym playing tag, and just walking
around town.

It's no wonder that these kids had anxiety! Forced solitude is brutal.

