Famous-for-being-famous celebrity Paris Hilton recently traveled to The Wall Street Journal’s "Future of Everything Festival" and something very interesting happened.
CNBC reports that during her time on stage, Hilton asserted that she is going to be strict when it comes to parenting her two children, ages 1 and 6-months.
'"I’m going to try to not have them have a phone for a while,' Hilton, 43, said, according to a clip obtained by Entertainment Tonight. 'Some of these kids are just getting phones at way too young of an age, and there are just so many things online that I wouldn’t even want my children to be exposed to.'"
That statement is of man-bites-dog newsworthiness, because Hilton herself claims to have invented the ubiquitous, annoying and narcissistic "selfie."
Always taken with said smart phone.
We agree.
This column has long contended that allowing your child to have a computer in their bedroom gives parental approval to opening a sewer next to the posters and teddy bears.
A smart phone is simply a portable sewer.
However, we have bad news for Paris.
Forbidding her children from owning a smart phone is just the beginning of electronic parental supervision.
Step two is closely monitoring her children’s friends to make sure other goofy celebrity parents aren’t giving their children smart phones that the Hilton kids can use.
The wrong peer group can be deadly for parents who travel in normal circles and celebrity culture is the home of toxic peer groups.
See the number of Hollywood children currently "transitioning" for details.
Hilton is correct in her decision and the data backs her up. "In his new book 'The Anxious Generation: How the Great Rewiring of Childhood is Causing an Epidemic of Mental Illness.' author Johnathan Haidt makes the argument that constant access to social media has led to a mental illness epidemic among Gen Z."
Research has found that younger children are most liable to the severe damage exposure to social media and related sites can cause in young minds.
"Zach Rausch, lead researcher to Haidt and an associate research scientist at NYU-Stern School of Business, says kids who had access to social media and iPhones in elementary and middle school report higher levels of anxiety and depression.
"'The biggest effects of social media happened during puberty, especially early puberty,' he says. 'Ages 9 to 15 is where the most significant harm seems to be the clearest.'"
Here's hoping Hilton maintains her resolve until her children are at least seniors in high school.
Raush and Haidt have four suggestions for parents. We only think they should have extended the smart phone ban until senior year.
"1.) No smartphones for kids before high school — give them only flip phones in middle school. 2.) No social media before age 16. 3.) Make schools phone-free. 4.) Give kids far more free play and independence, including more and better recess."
Michael Reagan, the eldest son of President Reagan, is a Newsmax TV analyst. A syndicated columnist and author, he chairs The Reagan Legacy Foundation. Michael is an in-demand speaker with Premiere speaker's bureau. Read Michael Reagan's Reports — More Here.
Michael R. Shannon is a commentator, researcher for the League of American Voters, and an award-winning political and advertising consultant with nationwide and international experience. He is author of "Conservative Christian's Guidebook for Living in Secular Times (Now With Added Humor!)" Read Michael Shannon's Reports — More Here.