I have a confession. I love sport. I see its power in so many ways. But I haven’t engaged in it personally in a while. And I find the busyness of my current schedule has made it difficult for me to even watch live sports. Well, that’s not entirely true. I have to admit, that a lot of the time I could have spent viewing soccer and hockey has been stuck on social media scrolling.
When I’m stuck watching videos, it’s to the exclusion of the other activities I enjoy, like sports. If I have this problem as an adult, who has fully formed executive function to make the right decisions for me and I am still stuck to my phone, what is it like to be young and have these same influences?
Why do I get stuck scrolling? I am overwhelmed and need a release, or maybe I am out and about and feel unsure about how to engage. Sometimes I just don’t want to miss out on the joke. If everyone else is going to be talking about the video, I can’t very well be the only one who doesn’t know. Right?
When we see kids in activities centers just sitting on their phones, do the same things not apply? Could there be an underlying reason why they’re on their phones, that is not that they want to disrespect you? It is too easy to label kids as lazy because they are choosing to be on their phone instead engaging in an activity. I could easily say the same about myself, and maybe you could, too. The problem is that the phones are the problem; they are just they symptom.
I know phones seem like the enemy. It seems like they are the cause of disengagement, but there might be deeper issues underneath the behavior. To get to the bottom of it, you’re going to have to get to know the kids you work with have them help you understand what is really going on. And from there, help them get back in the game.
Speaking of, I’m going to make sure to schedule some time in for play myself.
The Sideline Fix 
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