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| Coronavirus Ended the Screen-Time Debate. Screens Won. | Coronavirus Ended the Screen-Time Debate. Screens Won. |
| (5 days later) | |
| Before the coronavirus, there was something I used to worry about. It was called screen time. Perhaps you remember it. | Before the coronavirus, there was something I used to worry about. It was called screen time. Perhaps you remember it. |
| I thought about it. I wrote about it. A lot. I would try different digital detoxes as if they were fad diets, each working for a week or two before I’d be back on that smooth glowing glass. | I thought about it. I wrote about it. A lot. I would try different digital detoxes as if they were fad diets, each working for a week or two before I’d be back on that smooth glowing glass. |
| Now I have thrown off the shackles of screen-time guilt. My television is on. My computer is open. My phone is unlocked, glittering. I want to be covered in screens. If I had a virtual reality headset nearby, I would strap it on. | Now I have thrown off the shackles of screen-time guilt. My television is on. My computer is open. My phone is unlocked, glittering. I want to be covered in screens. If I had a virtual reality headset nearby, I would strap it on. |
| The screen is my only contact with my parents, whom I miss but can’t visit because I don’t want to accidentally kill them with the virus. It brings me into happy hours with my high school friends and gives me photos of people cooking on Facebook. Was there a time I thought Facebook was bad? An artery of dangerous propaganda flooding the country’s body politic? Maybe. I can’t remember. That was a different time. | The screen is my only contact with my parents, whom I miss but can’t visit because I don’t want to accidentally kill them with the virus. It brings me into happy hours with my high school friends and gives me photos of people cooking on Facebook. Was there a time I thought Facebook was bad? An artery of dangerous propaganda flooding the country’s body politic? Maybe. I can’t remember. That was a different time. |
| A lot of people are coming around. | A lot of people are coming around. |
| Walt Mossberg, my former boss and a longtime influential tech product reviewer, deactivated his Facebook and Instagram accounts in 2018 to protest Facebook’s policies and negligence around fake news. Now, for the duration of the pandemic, he is back. | Walt Mossberg, my former boss and a longtime influential tech product reviewer, deactivated his Facebook and Instagram accounts in 2018 to protest Facebook’s policies and negligence around fake news. Now, for the duration of the pandemic, he is back. |
| “I haven’t changed my mind about the company’s policies and actions,” Mr. Mossberg wrote on Twitter last week. “I just want to stay in touch with as many friends as possible.” | “I haven’t changed my mind about the company’s policies and actions,” Mr. Mossberg wrote on Twitter last week. “I just want to stay in touch with as many friends as possible.” |
| Back to the Facebook basics. Here for the friends. Portal, Facebook’s countertop video tool, doesn’t seem so crazy now. | Back to the Facebook basics. Here for the friends. Portal, Facebook’s countertop video tool, doesn’t seem so crazy now. |
| Initiatives that were formed explicitly to help people escape screens are now adapting to, well, screens. | Initiatives that were formed explicitly to help people escape screens are now adapting to, well, screens. |
| “I started the Forest Bathing Club to get people and myself off screens in the 2-D world and into nature to experience the real world,” said Julia Plevin, a designer and founder of the Forest Bathing Club. “Now we’re doing virtual forest baths.” | “I started the Forest Bathing Club to get people and myself off screens in the 2-D world and into nature to experience the real world,” said Julia Plevin, a designer and founder of the Forest Bathing Club. “Now we’re doing virtual forest baths.” |
| Avoiding screens guided the life choices of Arrington McCoy, a therapist in Boston, for many years. | Avoiding screens guided the life choices of Arrington McCoy, a therapist in Boston, for many years. |
| “I picked jobs based in large part on screens not being part of the equation,” she said, like becoming a backpacking instructor and now a therapist. “And as of 10 days ago, I am singing a different tune.” | “I picked jobs based in large part on screens not being part of the equation,” she said, like becoming a backpacking instructor and now a therapist. “And as of 10 days ago, I am singing a different tune.” |
| One friend of mine admitted averaging 16 hours of screen time a day, often on multiple devices at once. | One friend of mine admitted averaging 16 hours of screen time a day, often on multiple devices at once. |
| I’m 31 and have lived almost all my life in San Francisco, which means my friends are all having babies or they’re hosting forest baths. | I’m 31 and have lived almost all my life in San Francisco, which means my friends are all having babies or they’re hosting forest baths. |
| Given our demographic, most of those having babies crafted careful plans to keep those fresh eyes from screens. Plans to keep the babies from using screens, of course, but also away from even seeing the screens in use. How are those plans going now? | Given our demographic, most of those having babies crafted careful plans to keep those fresh eyes from screens. Plans to keep the babies from using screens, of course, but also away from even seeing the screens in use. How are those plans going now? |
| “That went out the window last week,” said my friend Ashley Spinelli, an administrator at the University of California, Berkeley, who just had a boy, Nico. | “That went out the window last week,” said my friend Ashley Spinelli, an administrator at the University of California, Berkeley, who just had a boy, Nico. |
| Shary Niv, a parent of a toddler, said, “I beg her to watch whatever children’s programming PBS is peddling on Amazon Prime.” | Shary Niv, a parent of a toddler, said, “I beg her to watch whatever children’s programming PBS is peddling on Amazon Prime.” |
| Or there’s Miju Han, the director of product at HackerOne, a cybersecurity company in San Francisco. “My 6-week-old is starting to only know his grandparents from FaceTime,” she said. “The American Academy of Pediatrics is technically against this, but the grandparents really want to see their baby grandson.” | Or there’s Miju Han, the director of product at HackerOne, a cybersecurity company in San Francisco. “My 6-week-old is starting to only know his grandparents from FaceTime,” she said. “The American Academy of Pediatrics is technically against this, but the grandparents really want to see their baby grandson.” |
| The screen-time surrender isn’t just a San Francisco phenomenon. | The screen-time surrender isn’t just a San Francisco phenomenon. |
| Daniela Helitzer, a doctor of audiology in Boca Raton, Fla., said screen time used to be a constant debate among the parents in her town. She had some friends with toddlers who had never even seen a television turned on before this. Not anymore. | Daniela Helitzer, a doctor of audiology in Boca Raton, Fla., said screen time used to be a constant debate among the parents in her town. She had some friends with toddlers who had never even seen a television turned on before this. Not anymore. |
| “We’ve all officially lost the battle,” said Dr. Helitzer, who has a 2- and a 3-year-old. | “We’ve all officially lost the battle,” said Dr. Helitzer, who has a 2- and a 3-year-old. |
| “I’ve accessed every educational app you can. I’ve used every online interactive worksheet I can find,” Dr. Helitzer said. “If he’s sitting on his iPad for two or three hours a day, I literally don’t even care. It’s like, ‘Use that screen as much as you can.’” | “I’ve accessed every educational app you can. I’ve used every online interactive worksheet I can find,” Dr. Helitzer said. “If he’s sitting on his iPad for two or three hours a day, I literally don’t even care. It’s like, ‘Use that screen as much as you can.’” |
| Covered in screens these past few weeks, I have noticed some positive changes. I FaceTime my friends so much that I know them better than I did before. I decided to learn what TikTok was, and I love it. I spend hours with my chin tucked into my chest and a weird smile on my face, watching. I’m using Duolingo, an app to learn languages. | Covered in screens these past few weeks, I have noticed some positive changes. I FaceTime my friends so much that I know them better than I did before. I decided to learn what TikTok was, and I love it. I spend hours with my chin tucked into my chest and a weird smile on my face, watching. I’m using Duolingo, an app to learn languages. |
| Carolyn Guss, a mother of two and a vice president at PagerDuty, a cloud-computing company in San Francisco, was once very screen strict. Her children, 8 and 9 years old, did not own any devices. They could watch only very limited television. On the first day of quarantine home school, Ms. Guss wrote up a schedule geared at keeping them off screens. | Carolyn Guss, a mother of two and a vice president at PagerDuty, a cloud-computing company in San Francisco, was once very screen strict. Her children, 8 and 9 years old, did not own any devices. They could watch only very limited television. On the first day of quarantine home school, Ms. Guss wrote up a schedule geared at keeping them off screens. |
| “By Day 3, I had given up,” she said. “I think the fact that it rained on the first weekend broke my spirit.” | “By Day 3, I had given up,” she said. “I think the fact that it rained on the first weekend broke my spirit.” |
| Suddenly she was giving them her phone. She was sitting them at laptops. They were double-devicing. It felt like defeat. | Suddenly she was giving them her phone. She was sitting them at laptops. They were double-devicing. It felt like defeat. |
| Updated July 7, 2020 | |
| The coronavirus can stay aloft for hours in tiny droplets in stagnant air, infecting people as they inhale, mounting scientific evidence suggests. This risk is highest in crowded indoor spaces with poor ventilation, and may help explain super-spreading events reported in meatpacking plants, churches and restaurants. It’s unclear how often the virus is spread via these tiny droplets, or aerosols, compared with larger droplets that are expelled when a sick person coughs or sneezes, or transmitted through contact with contaminated surfaces, said Linsey Marr, an aerosol expert at Virginia Tech. Aerosols are released even when a person without symptoms exhales, talks or sings, according to Dr. Marr and more than 200 other experts, who have outlined the evidence in an open letter to the World Health Organization. | |
| Common symptoms include fever, a dry cough, fatigue and difficulty breathing or shortness of breath. Some of these symptoms overlap with those of the flu, making detection difficult, but runny noses and stuffy sinuses are less common. The C.D.C. has also added chills, muscle pain, sore throat, headache and a new loss of the sense of taste or smell as symptoms to look out for. Most people fall ill five to seven days after exposure, but symptoms may appear in as few as two days or as many as 14 days. | Common symptoms include fever, a dry cough, fatigue and difficulty breathing or shortness of breath. Some of these symptoms overlap with those of the flu, making detection difficult, but runny noses and stuffy sinuses are less common. The C.D.C. has also added chills, muscle pain, sore throat, headache and a new loss of the sense of taste or smell as symptoms to look out for. Most people fall ill five to seven days after exposure, but symptoms may appear in as few as two days or as many as 14 days. |
| Scientists around the country have tried to identify everyday materials that do a good job of filtering microscopic particles. In recent tests, HEPA furnace filters scored high, as did vacuum cleaner bags, fabric similar to flannel pajamas and those of 600-count pillowcases. Other materials tested included layered coffee filters and scarves and bandannas. These scored lower, but still captured a small percentage of particles. | Scientists around the country have tried to identify everyday materials that do a good job of filtering microscopic particles. In recent tests, HEPA furnace filters scored high, as did vacuum cleaner bags, fabric similar to flannel pajamas and those of 600-count pillowcases. Other materials tested included layered coffee filters and scarves and bandannas. These scored lower, but still captured a small percentage of particles. |
| A commentary published this month on the website of the British Journal of Sports Medicine points out that covering your face during exercise “comes with issues of potential breathing restriction and discomfort” and requires “balancing benefits versus possible adverse events.” Masks do alter exercise, says Cedric X. Bryant, the president and chief science officer of the American Council on Exercise, a nonprofit organization that funds exercise research and certifies fitness professionals. “In my personal experience,” he says, “heart rates are higher at the same relative intensity when you wear a mask.” Some people also could experience lightheadedness during familiar workouts while masked, says Len Kravitz, a professor of exercise science at the University of New Mexico. | A commentary published this month on the website of the British Journal of Sports Medicine points out that covering your face during exercise “comes with issues of potential breathing restriction and discomfort” and requires “balancing benefits versus possible adverse events.” Masks do alter exercise, says Cedric X. Bryant, the president and chief science officer of the American Council on Exercise, a nonprofit organization that funds exercise research and certifies fitness professionals. “In my personal experience,” he says, “heart rates are higher at the same relative intensity when you wear a mask.” Some people also could experience lightheadedness during familiar workouts while masked, says Len Kravitz, a professor of exercise science at the University of New Mexico. |
| The steroid, dexamethasone, is the first treatment shown to reduce mortality in severely ill patients, according to scientists in Britain. The drug appears to reduce inflammation caused by the immune system, protecting the tissues. In the study, dexamethasone reduced deaths of patients on ventilators by one-third, and deaths of patients on oxygen by one-fifth. | The steroid, dexamethasone, is the first treatment shown to reduce mortality in severely ill patients, according to scientists in Britain. The drug appears to reduce inflammation caused by the immune system, protecting the tissues. In the study, dexamethasone reduced deaths of patients on ventilators by one-third, and deaths of patients on oxygen by one-fifth. |
| The coronavirus emergency relief package gives many American workers paid leave if they need to take time off because of the virus. It gives qualified workers two weeks of paid sick leave if they are ill, quarantined or seeking diagnosis or preventive care for coronavirus, or if they are caring for sick family members. It gives 12 weeks of paid leave to people caring for children whose schools are closed or whose child care provider is unavailable because of the coronavirus. It is the first time the United States has had widespread federally mandated paid leave, and includes people who don’t typically get such benefits, like part-time and gig economy workers. But the measure excludes at least half of private-sector workers, including those at the country’s largest employers, and gives small employers significant leeway to deny leave. | The coronavirus emergency relief package gives many American workers paid leave if they need to take time off because of the virus. It gives qualified workers two weeks of paid sick leave if they are ill, quarantined or seeking diagnosis or preventive care for coronavirus, or if they are caring for sick family members. It gives 12 weeks of paid leave to people caring for children whose schools are closed or whose child care provider is unavailable because of the coronavirus. It is the first time the United States has had widespread federally mandated paid leave, and includes people who don’t typically get such benefits, like part-time and gig economy workers. But the measure excludes at least half of private-sector workers, including those at the country’s largest employers, and gives small employers significant leeway to deny leave. |
| So far, the evidence seems to show it does. A widely cited paper published in April suggests that people are most infectious about two days before the onset of coronavirus symptoms and estimated that 44 percent of new infections were a result of transmission from people who were not yet showing symptoms. Recently, a top expert at the World Health Organization stated that transmission of the coronavirus by people who did not have symptoms was “very rare,” but she later walked back that statement. | So far, the evidence seems to show it does. A widely cited paper published in April suggests that people are most infectious about two days before the onset of coronavirus symptoms and estimated that 44 percent of new infections were a result of transmission from people who were not yet showing symptoms. Recently, a top expert at the World Health Organization stated that transmission of the coronavirus by people who did not have symptoms was “very rare,” but she later walked back that statement. |
| Touching contaminated objects and then infecting ourselves with the germs is not typically how the virus spreads. But it can happen. A number of studies of flu, rhinovirus, coronavirus and other microbes have shown that respiratory illnesses, including the new coronavirus, can spread by touching contaminated surfaces, particularly in places like day care centers, offices and hospitals. But a long chain of events has to happen for the disease to spread that way. The best way to protect yourself from coronavirus — whether it’s surface transmission or close human contact — is still social distancing, washing your hands, not touching your face and wearing masks. | Touching contaminated objects and then infecting ourselves with the germs is not typically how the virus spreads. But it can happen. A number of studies of flu, rhinovirus, coronavirus and other microbes have shown that respiratory illnesses, including the new coronavirus, can spread by touching contaminated surfaces, particularly in places like day care centers, offices and hospitals. But a long chain of events has to happen for the disease to spread that way. The best way to protect yourself from coronavirus — whether it’s surface transmission or close human contact — is still social distancing, washing your hands, not touching your face and wearing masks. |
| A study by European scientists is the first to document a strong statistical link between genetic variations and Covid-19, the illness caused by the coronavirus. Having Type A blood was linked to a 50 percent increase in the likelihood that a patient would need to get oxygen or to go on a ventilator, according to the new study. | A study by European scientists is the first to document a strong statistical link between genetic variations and Covid-19, the illness caused by the coronavirus. Having Type A blood was linked to a 50 percent increase in the likelihood that a patient would need to get oxygen or to go on a ventilator, according to the new study. |
| If air travel is unavoidable, there are some steps you can take to protect yourself. Most important: Wash your hands often, and stop touching your face. If possible, choose a window seat. A study from Emory University found that during flu season, the safest place to sit on a plane is by a window, as people sitting in window seats had less contact with potentially sick people. Disinfect hard surfaces. When you get to your seat and your hands are clean, use disinfecting wipes to clean the hard surfaces at your seat like the head and arm rest, the seatbelt buckle, the remote, screen, seat back pocket and the tray table. If the seat is hard and nonporous or leather or pleather, you can wipe that down, too. (Using wipes on upholstered seats could lead to a wet seat and spreading of germs rather than killing them.) | If air travel is unavoidable, there are some steps you can take to protect yourself. Most important: Wash your hands often, and stop touching your face. If possible, choose a window seat. A study from Emory University found that during flu season, the safest place to sit on a plane is by a window, as people sitting in window seats had less contact with potentially sick people. Disinfect hard surfaces. When you get to your seat and your hands are clean, use disinfecting wipes to clean the hard surfaces at your seat like the head and arm rest, the seatbelt buckle, the remote, screen, seat back pocket and the tray table. If the seat is hard and nonporous or leather or pleather, you can wipe that down, too. (Using wipes on upholstered seats could lead to a wet seat and spreading of germs rather than killing them.) |
| If you’ve been exposed to the coronavirus or think you have, and have a fever or symptoms like a cough or difficulty breathing, call a doctor. They should give you advice on whether you should be tested, how to get tested, and how to seek medical treatment without potentially infecting or exposing others. | If you’ve been exposed to the coronavirus or think you have, and have a fever or symptoms like a cough or difficulty breathing, call a doctor. They should give you advice on whether you should be tested, how to get tested, and how to seek medical treatment without potentially infecting or exposing others. |
| Then something surprising happened. They started doing pretty impressive stuff on those screens. | Then something surprising happened. They started doing pretty impressive stuff on those screens. |
| “My son taught himself iMovie, and now the kids make videos of themselves doing basic things — making Jell-O, shooting hoops — then cut it into pretty professional looking footage,” she said. “Then they screen share it with their friends on Zoom. | “My son taught himself iMovie, and now the kids make videos of themselves doing basic things — making Jell-O, shooting hoops — then cut it into pretty professional looking footage,” she said. “Then they screen share it with their friends on Zoom. |
| “These kids had no screen access before, and they leapfrogged me within days.” | “These kids had no screen access before, and they leapfrogged me within days.” |
| Screen-skeptics see this as an apocalyptic moment. Many activists spent years fighting online learning in schools. Face-to-face experience with teachers is irreplaceable, they argued. | Screen-skeptics see this as an apocalyptic moment. Many activists spent years fighting online learning in schools. Face-to-face experience with teachers is irreplaceable, they argued. |
| “Ed tech companies now are jumping on this and saying, ‘See, we told you,’” said Emily Cherkin, a screen-time consultant in Seattle. “Many of them are offering their services for free right now. It’s disaster capitalism.” | “Ed tech companies now are jumping on this and saying, ‘See, we told you,’” said Emily Cherkin, a screen-time consultant in Seattle. “Many of them are offering their services for free right now. It’s disaster capitalism.” |
| But even some of the godparents of the screen-wary movement are coming around. | But even some of the godparents of the screen-wary movement are coming around. |
| One of the most prominent voices on this issue is Sherry Turkle. For years, she warned that technology was tearing social fabric apart. She wrote the book “Alone Together,” about the social pain that comes from silent family dinners and people walking, chins down, staring at their phones. | One of the most prominent voices on this issue is Sherry Turkle. For years, she warned that technology was tearing social fabric apart. She wrote the book “Alone Together,” about the social pain that comes from silent family dinners and people walking, chins down, staring at their phones. |
| Now, she is saying maybe some of the movement she inspired is focused in the wrong direction. | Now, she is saying maybe some of the movement she inspired is focused in the wrong direction. |
| “I think that this reveals the screen-time issue as a misplaced anxiety,” Ms. Turkle said. “Now, forced to be alone but wanting to be together, so many are discovering what screen time should be.” | “I think that this reveals the screen-time issue as a misplaced anxiety,” Ms. Turkle said. “Now, forced to be alone but wanting to be together, so many are discovering what screen time should be.” |
| It should be about learning and connecting. It should be humanizing, Ms. Turkle said. All those Zoom cocktail hours are good screen time. | It should be about learning and connecting. It should be humanizing, Ms. Turkle said. All those Zoom cocktail hours are good screen time. |
| Even parenting coaches, once hired to draft strict screen-time rules for the family, are saying it is probably time to throw those out. | Even parenting coaches, once hired to draft strict screen-time rules for the family, are saying it is probably time to throw those out. |
| “Be gentle with yourself,” said Rhonda Moskowitz, founder of Practical Solutions Parent Coaching in Columbus, Ohio. “These are extreme times.” | “Be gentle with yourself,” said Rhonda Moskowitz, founder of Practical Solutions Parent Coaching in Columbus, Ohio. “These are extreme times.” |
| She said she was now meeting with her trainer via FaceTime and had attended a happy hour on Zoom, which was “a riot.” | She said she was now meeting with her trainer via FaceTime and had attended a happy hour on Zoom, which was “a riot.” |
| And the last thing I have noticed about myself is how absolutely thrilled I am now to see a human in the flesh. It is a small party every time. The more I use FaceTime, the more I hate not being able to hug my friends. Toasting a screen is not the same. In my pre-quarantine life, I could be a homebody, and I often worked from the living room. When this is done, that is, too. | And the last thing I have noticed about myself is how absolutely thrilled I am now to see a human in the flesh. It is a small party every time. The more I use FaceTime, the more I hate not being able to hug my friends. Toasting a screen is not the same. In my pre-quarantine life, I could be a homebody, and I often worked from the living room. When this is done, that is, too. |
| By all of us suddenly guzzling screen time, we might start to see the limitations of its high. Now that touch is the rarest thing of all, I crave it. The first thing I want to do when this is done is high-five every stranger I meet. That is not something I considered doing before. | By all of us suddenly guzzling screen time, we might start to see the limitations of its high. Now that touch is the rarest thing of all, I crave it. The first thing I want to do when this is done is high-five every stranger I meet. That is not something I considered doing before. |
| “Going on Week 2 of quarantine, our kids are desperate to see, touch, feel, smell their friends,” said Jon Steinberg, the creative director for Epic, a production and publishing company. “Weirdly, Gen Z could come out of this with a permanent, lifelong, forged-in-disaster appreciation for physical connections over digital ones.” | “Going on Week 2 of quarantine, our kids are desperate to see, touch, feel, smell their friends,” said Jon Steinberg, the creative director for Epic, a production and publishing company. “Weirdly, Gen Z could come out of this with a permanent, lifelong, forged-in-disaster appreciation for physical connections over digital ones.” |