Tell you little one, “Don’t touch the stove.” What do they do? They touch the stove. If told, “The stove is hot and burns,” most won’t touch it and the ones who do, will realize what hot means. Telling students not to use their devices creates a temptation to do just that. When students realize the developers of their devices and games have one goal, to capture and maintain their attention. When they discover how they achieve this, they make the choice to not be controlled by the game instead of the game controlling them.

Developers work with neuroscientists so they get the right amount of chemical release into the brain that feels good to the users and makes them come back for more. This is why games have gotten faster with each new edition.

Technological advancement will continue to change at an exponentially faster rate every year. Instead of banning it completely, we need to show how to use it mindfully.

We have to be cautious not to throw out old practices for new and faster. With no background in neuroscience, cursive was cast aside.

We are very fortunate today to have more information about how our brains work to support wise decisions about using technology. When I began sharing the neuroscience behind the pull of devices, students began making decisions about how often and when they would play on them. When they understood the multiple connections made in the brain when we write something compared to the connections in the brain when we type, they made the decision to use a paper day planner.

Background History

I discovered the pull of a device back in 1984. We didn’t have the neuroscience to prove that the Nintendo had successfully discovered how to hack and retain users’ attention. A call from a parent of a straight “A” student going to Stanford on a full ride alerted me to the problem this gateway innocent looking game had on the brain of a student. He was addicted to the reward of making it to another level and would not leave his dorm room until he did. He was reported missing from class for 5 days. When his RA discovered him, he was surrounded by Gatorade bottles filled with urine. He wouldn’t leave his dorm even to use the restroom. He was so controlled by the game; he was at risk of losing the scholarship. 

How did he get there? At first, I thought it was because his mother had been controlling his use at home. Away at college, there was no one to unplug the device, which is what she reported she had to do to stop him from playing at home. I worked with him and found he had an uncontrollable urge to play, and even though he knew it was wrong, he couldn’t stop. At the time, I did not know the real reason behind this desire, so I used whatever tool I could to help him recover and retain his scholarship. He decided the only way to do that was to leave the Nintendo at home. 

Fast forward few years, I attended a conference session by Dr. David Walsh , who shared images from a functional MRI showing the chemical reaction in the brain the first time on a video game and one after the game has been played for a while. It looked like the same reaction a drug user gets. The first hit is so exciting, but the following ones are not so they need more. As I investigated the chemical reactions, it was clear the game players were getting the exact same chemical reaction as a drug user. It’s not ironic that they call those of us who have devices ‘users.’ 

Prior to this discovery, I had been training parents how to give their students the power to advocate for themselves and how to teach their children to manage their own time. I was hired by many school districts to train parents and teachers. I was in Cupertino where I was told I did a great job convincing parents to allow student to advocate for themselves, but I didn’t know their demographic. When asked what I was missing, the parent said, “None of us have devices in our homes. We’re the ones making them.” WHAT! Steve jobs didn’t even have an Apple 11GS in his home, nor did Bill Gates. In a 60 Minute interview, Bill Gates shared he didn’t allow his children to have a phone until they were 18 and he later regretted it not waiting until they were 21. 

I never tell students to not use their devices. They like to do what they want to do. But, I did tell them if they were going to use their devices, they needed to understand the neuroscience developers use to grab and retain user’s attention. Once they realize that the developer’s goal is to control them, they don’t like it.

After sharing the neuroscience with them, they independently decide when and how much time they will spend on their devices. Many of my former students like to share how they don’t text or play games during the week at all. They have found they are more productive when they aren’t anywhere near their device. 

To help students navigate this rapid change, they need a background in:

Propaganda Strategies

Advertising Strategies 

Neuroscience: The Dali Lama said, “Neuroscience proves everything I have been telling you.”