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Editorials/Columns
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hen Helen’s parents come to visit, she makes
her children store their telephones, iPads, Kin- dles, and other electronic devices in her bedroom, and turns the television off for the first hour of the visit. Helen recognizes the need for her children to engage in face-to-face conversations with adults and other houseguests, and wants to avoid her children becom- ing addicted (yes, we used that word) to their elec- tronic gadgets.
So concerned about Smartphone addiction among children and the effect of gadgets and social media on youths, two major investors in Apple, have directed Apple to “offer more choices and tools to help children fight addiction to its devices.
They assert that “Apple can play a defining role in sig- naling to the industry that paying special attention to the health and development of the next generation is the right thing to do.”
They also called for Apple “to enhance mobile device software so that parents have more options to protect their children’s health.
Several studies on the negative effects of Smart- phones and social media on children’s mental and physical health have found that depression, suicide, distraction from school work, and reduced social skills are disadvantages of addictive use of gadgets.
Thus, the American Academy of Pediatrics recom- mends that parents create a media use plan which set “consistent time and content limits” for their children.
There should be “gadget-free” timezones (mealtime, dining out, homework, unless required etc.) to pro- mote more interaction with family members.
Remember, by the admission of social media exec- utives, “social media exploits a vulnerability in human psychology” . . . “exploits how human brains work” . . . and “is designed to be addictive.”
Therefore, limit your child’s use of gadgets and so- cial media. And, by the way, that goes for adults, too.
Bad Examples Lead To Dead Children
few weeks ago I read a story about two young people, 25-year-old Jyhaad D. Grant and 15-year-old Julissa Jackson, being killed in a shootout outside of a makeshift nightclub. The first thing that crossed my mind after trying to figure out how these two were even together, considering she was a child and he was an adult, was the grim realiza- tion that I was partially re-
sponsible for their deaths.
I didn’t feel this way be- cause I was on the scene and pulled the trigger or knew the two victims personally. No, my share of responsibil- ity stemmed from the fact that I didn’t do enough in the community beforehand to prevent this kind of tragedy
from ever occurring.
Even though Jyhaad and
Julissa’s recklessness ulti- mately led to them being killed, the ugly truth is that the behavior they engaged in didn’t come naturally. It was taught to them. And we, All of us who provided the blue- print for them to follow, were their unfit instructors.
It would be very easy to write off this modern day Bonnie and Clyde duo as just another case of the type of extreme delinquency that seems to be so common with today’s generation. But, the reality is that, people aren’t born with the inclination to provoke this level of violence.
Like so many who came before them, Jyhaad and Julissa were simply mim- icking what they probably witnessed while growing up inside their neighborhoods. The fights, the frequent jail
stints, the children born out of wedlock and the beefs with across town rivals were all things that they, more than likely, witnessed from birth.
No one took the time to tell them that engaging in any of those activities would lead to an unfulfilled life. And, in the absence of being shown a better way, Jyhaad and Julissa, unfortunately, fol- lowed suit.
When it comes to improv- ing our communities and preventing young people from ruining their lives in the streets, a major part of the solution involves, those of us who know better, setting a good example. We can talk our mouths dry about what our kids should or shouldn’t be doing but, at the end of the day, nothing we say will make a bit of difference if our actions don’t begin to speak louder than our words.
Reality On Ice is © by the Florida Sentinel Bul- letin Publishing Com- pany. You can write to Mr. Barr at: Clarence Barr 43110-018, Oak- daleF.C.I.,P.O.BOX 5000, Oakdale, LA 71463; or email him at barr6502@gmail.com.
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C. Blythe Andrews 1901-1977 (1945)
C. Blythe Andrews, Jr. 1930-2010 (1977)
Limit Children’s Gadget And Social Media Time
Determined To Dream
“The biggest adven- ture you can take is to live the life of your dreams.”
~Oprah Winfrey
mpowered Greet-
ings. Like Martin Luther King Jr., everyone reading this column should have a dream. It is your dream that will inspire you to get focused on the future you’ve forecast. It is your dream that will motivate you to develop a vision that will give you vitality to go for the gusto. It is your dream that will fuel you with the power to pursue your purpose at all cost, so decide today to dream.
I encourage you not to just dream, but DREAM BIG. The bigger you dream the bigger the possibilities
are for you to broaden your horizons. Dream big to maintain your excitement about your educational en- deavors. Dream big to build your business to be an eco- nomic force not just locally but globally. Dream big to make your ministry maxi- mize your message and move your mission to un- charted borders. Outra- geous dreams can lead you to outrageous outcomes, so dream big.
Get a resolve in your spirit that you are deter- mined to be a dreamer.
Determined dreamers have a vision of their success before they begin their jour- ney to their dream.
Determined dreamers create action steps that will lead them on the path to dis- covering their destination.
Determined dreamers are brave enough to break the barriers that try to come between them and their dream.
Determined dreamers are overcomers and achiev- ers. So, despite what dares to distract you become a deter- mined dreamer.
It is my dream that this column has empowered you to be determined to dream big about the positive possi- bilities of your desired des- tiny.
It would be my pleasure to be the keynote speaker for your next event, or present personal, or professional de- velopment training to your group just call (813) 603- 0088 with your event info.
I want to coach you to success through any means necessary so let’s stay con- nected through social media. Follow me on: Facebook: Selphenia Nichols; Facebook Business Fan Page: Selphenia Nichols; Success Coach To Women; Instagram: Selphe- nia; or Twitter: queenofsuc- ces1.
TUESDAY, JANUARY 23, 2018 FLORIDA SENTINEL BULLETIN PUBLISHED EVERY TUESDAY AND FRIDAY PAGE 5
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