Screen time more dangerous for children than activities in Swallows and Amazons, warn academics
The author of the first ever full-length study of Arthur Ransome’s
classic adventure novel claims too much time surfing the net is far more deadly
than sailing at night without a life jacket, because it fails to teach children
how to fend for themselves or take risks.
It's about young people fending for themselves, taking risks, learning
from mistakes. There were no mobile phones to summon help at the slightest
upset, says Julian Lovelock.
Julian Lovelock, the former dean of arts and pro vice-chancellor of the University of
Buckingham, where he lectured on Ransome, said children
were spending increasing amounts of time using "gadgets and
gizmos" and were not living in the real world.
“Sailing at night without life-jackets, wrecking their dinghy through a
foolhardy misjudgement, crossing the stormy North Sea in a small boat,
confronting the urban Hullaballoos: today’s health and safety police would have
had apoplexy," he said.
"But it’s worth pondering whether the challenges and dangers of the
outdoors are more or less dangerous than surfing the internet, and asking which
is the better preparation for life.
“Research suggests children are spending less time than ever playing
outside and more time than ever on screens. And how many new tablets, phones,
or other gizmos have just arrived as Christmas gifts?
“Children have too much time in front of computer screens and too little
freedom to go off exploring. There’s evidence that when children do get
outdoors, it boosts their problem-solving skills, cooperation, focus and
self-discipline.
"It's about young people fending for themselves, taking risks,
learning from mistakes, and having to sort things out when things went wrong.
There were no mobile phones to summon help at the slightest upset."
In his new book, entitled Swallows, Amazons and
Coots Lovelock highlights how Ransome also had an adventurous life,
which led him to pen 12 novels about the adventures of middle-class
children in the British Empire.
Having escaped to Russia from a troubled marriage, he became a foreign
correspondent for the Left-wing Daily News, shared a flat with the
Bolshevik propagandist Karl Radek, became an agent for MI6 and married
Trotsky’s secretary, Evgenia Shelepina.
He and Evgenia then travelled to England and set up home in the Lake
District, where in 1929 Ransome wrote Swallows and Amazons.
Lovelock's views on screen time were echoed by the University of
Buckingham's vice-chancellor Sir Anthony Seldon, who is a
leading campaigner on mental health.
"The mental health of today's children is at crisis point,"
said Sir Anthony.
"They are under enormous pressure and the temptation to spend too
much time surfing the net, watching TV or playing computer games is difficult
to resist.
"Playing outdoors regularly with others helps with resilience,
leadership skills, building confidence and self-esteem. The children in Arthur
Ransome's stories took some big risks.
"The younger generation of today face different types of risk - but
just as big - because of the amount of time they are spending in front of
screens."
Swallows, Amazons and Coots: a Reading of Arthur Ransome by Julian Lovelock is published by The Lutterworth Press.
Swallows, Amazons and Coots: a Reading of Arthur Ransome by Julian Lovelock is published by The Lutterworth Press.