Chaplain's Corner 

Some tips for managing device use

A couple of weeks ago I attended the annual Youth Mental Health Forum that is organized by the Zero2Hero Foundation. I thought I would share some ideas that David Castellanelli (Alpha Motivation, youth mentor, and coach, former WA Youth Ambassador) spoke about during his session.

Social media companies employ attention engineers to make their platforms more addictive, through the use of Las Vegas gambling principles.

Devices and apps are purposely designed to distract us.

1. Colour - try using greyscale instead.
2. Infinite scrolling versus pagination.
3. Uncertainty and the magic of maybe. A poker machine spins for 5-10 seconds before coins (if any) are released. Can you think of any apps that have a moving target that holds your attention?

It takes 23 minutes to get into a productive work zone. Every time we check our phones, this time restarts.

David suggested that students either study hard or interact socially, being 100% in for either activity. He also recommended the shuffle strategy. This involves putting your most addictive apps in a folder labelled ‘distractions’, located on the 2nd or 3rd screen of your phone.

A completely unrelated topic

Someone shared these quotes with me yesterday. It seems that 2000 years on, adults still think the same things about young people!

“The children now love luxury. They have bad manners, contempt for authority; they show disrespect for elders and love chatter in place of exercise. Children are now tyrants, not the servants of their households. They no longer rise when elders enter the room. They contradict their parents.” Socrates (469-399 B.C.)

“What is happening to our young people? They disrespect their elders and they disobey their parents. They ignore the laws. They riot in the streets inflamed with wild notions. Their morals are decaying. What is to become of them?" Plato (427-347 B.C.)