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Speaker 1: That we've got some research on gen Z and screen time,

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Speaker 1: and you know how I feel about screen time. Apparently

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Speaker 1: the young kids themselves actually see the benefit in putting

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Speaker 1: down their phones. Outward Bound surveyed young people aged twenty

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Speaker 1: and under who actually went on their outward bound courses

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Speaker 1: in the last five years. Eighty percent of them four

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Speaker 1: and five want to reduce their screen time ninety three

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Speaker 1: percent so they feel more productive when they aren't on

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Speaker 1: their phones. Now, outward Bound's chief executive Melinda McLain is

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Speaker 1: with us right now. Hey, Melndy Kildy here, But how

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Speaker 1: are you? I'm very well, thank you. Did any of

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Speaker 1: this surprise you at all?

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Speaker 2: Not at all. But it's actually really exciting to have

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Speaker 2: some evidence to back up what we've been saying about

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Speaker 2: disconnecting from social media and in screen time on an

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Speaker 2: outward bound course.

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Speaker 1: Right do you think which brings me to this?

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Speaker 2: Right?

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Speaker 1: Do you think that this is representative of all gen

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Speaker 1: zs Because kids who go on outward Bound I feel

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Speaker 1: like they are already not representative of most kids.

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Speaker 2: Yeah, and that's possibly quite a common misc conception. So

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Speaker 2: outward Bound we are. It is a small sample. It's

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Speaker 2: a small sample. Of the New Zealand population that come

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Speaker 2: on one of our courses, but they are fairly representative

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Speaker 2: and it's not all privileged kids whose parents are paying

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Speaker 2: for them to come on a course. We've got a

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Speaker 2: really big MAXI of students who come from all over

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Speaker 2: the country. Some come on a scholarship program, some come

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Speaker 2: through community partnership programs, and yeah, some of them are

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Speaker 2: supported by their parents to come. So while we are

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Speaker 2: just gipping the stick into and to take a little

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Speaker 2: test of the young people who come on our courses,

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Speaker 2: it's a pretty great environment to see what happens when

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Speaker 2: you have a proper digital deatop.

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Speaker 1: I was Melindi, No, I was not thinking that they

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Speaker 1: were necessarily privileged. I was thinking that they just kind

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Speaker 1: of a little bit outdoorsy. Though, am I also making

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Speaker 1: the wrong assumption there?

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Speaker 2: Yeah, I think you would be. I think I mean

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Speaker 2: the thing without bound is it's pretty accessible to a

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Speaker 2: really wide range of young people. And actually it's not

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Speaker 2: about coming and getting into the outdoors and learning how

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Speaker 2: to kayak and learning how to rock climate. It's a

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Speaker 2: journey to learn about yourself and sort of rediscover who

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Speaker 2: you are and build resilience and connection and so it's

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Speaker 2: for all young people who want to achieve those goals.

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Speaker 2: And that's what we actually find with the disconnects from

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Speaker 2: social media and devices. It's actually something that's been part

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Speaker 2: of our courses forever. It's only just become a benefit,

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Speaker 2: a real benefit in the last couple of decades. Is

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Speaker 2: this has become a real problem for young people. But

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Speaker 2: when you actually put your phone down and in the

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Speaker 2: moment with a group of other young people who are

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Speaker 2: also really in the moment, it's an opportunity for them

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Speaker 2: to really rediscover meaningful connection and engage with people on

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Speaker 2: a totally different level.

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Speaker 1: Why aren't they just putting their phone down? What's the problem?

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Speaker 2: Well, I think we all know the answer to that.

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Speaker 2: I mean, it's an addiction addictive device. It's designed to

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Speaker 2: the addictive. It's I'm a big advocate of adults being

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Speaker 2: able to make those choices themselves. That for young people,

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Speaker 2: we need to be thinking about age appropriate risk.

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Speaker 1: Would you would you go for the sixteen the band

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Speaker 1: age sixteen like Ossie's doing?

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Speaker 2: Absolutely?

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Speaker 1: Yes, Melinda, you speak in my language. Wouldn't you just

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Speaker 1: do it tomorrow? If I could? Wouldn't you?

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Speaker 2: Well? What I really like about the Prime minister. Australian

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Speaker 2: Prime minister's approach is he's talked about how the onus

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Speaker 2: is going to be on social media platforms rather than

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Speaker 2: on parents or young people, and that's a rare acknowledgment

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Speaker 2: of the power, the addictive power of their technologies in

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Speaker 2: what it's actually doing. So, you know, I think a

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Speaker 2: straight talking Australian getting up and saying that he's calling

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Speaker 2: time on the harm is pretty inspiring across the ditch.

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Speaker 1: Yeah, I'm with you on that, MELINDI thank you very much.

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Speaker 1: I really appreciate your time. That's Malinda McLain, who's the

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Speaker 1: CEO of Outward Bound. For more from Hither Duplessy Allen Drive,

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Speaker 1: listen live to news talks. It'd be from four pm weekdays,

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