Social Media | There were many smartphones on the tables in the North Hall

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They talked about us on Wednesday of last week in the North Hall. We are the children who behave badly. They explained why we sometimes do and say things we shouldn't, and what to do about it. Measures, as they call them. But we were not invited to explain. I understand that. Maybe not everyone my age, whether younger or older, knows the real reasons why the head “boils” and the desk hits the wall. But, I think I know. At least for me.

you know. It's so hard to be a kid now. We, I, have a mind conditioned to live as they did long ago. But adults are forced to live the way we live now. It's not good for me. So it's not my fault that I sometimes throw desks and shout obscenities at the teacher and other students.

I just want to play. It comes naturally to me to explore and learn about the world through play. Adults say that play is important for learning to solve problems, follow rules, regulate emotions, make friends, experience joy, develop internal motivation, learn to make decisions, and other important things to be able to face what is difficult in life. I don't know what half of this really means, but the other half I agree with, the adults say this, but they are stealing our playgrounds. I actually want to play all the time. But at school we play a little. In first and second grade we played a little – but now the teacher says it's important to play. What is this? Especially before national exams. Others are trying.

But I know it's not the teacher's fault. The teacher is doing her best, and I notice that she is nice and that she cares about me. I heard that the people who actually decided that we should sit quietly in the chair instead of playing, work in Oslo. In Storting. They say school shouldn't be a game. And it's not just not being able to play that makes me angry. But I notice that many things are difficult for me, and I do not feel joy in my chest when we have to learn things. Then I can't do it. When I don't understand that, I get angry, and when I get angry, I shout ugly things. And sometimes I throw things. After that I feel sorry and feel bad. Feelings of shame, I've heard it called.

If I could only play after school, I might have played enough. But, so I wouldn't feel left out, my parents gave me a smartphone last year. They said everyone has it. Now I can't put it down, although I've noticed that I feel nauseous after playing with it for a long time – sometimes for five hours. I wish my parents and the parents of everyone in the class would set rules about when we can use phones and tablets. For example, we can play for two hours on weekends. Then everyone in my class would be free to play outside with me every day. We can't leave the phone by ourselves. This is because the so-called frontal lobe is not fully developed here. That's what the adults say. This means that it is difficult for us to stop doing what is addictive. Like a mobile phone. I think my parents probably think it's nice for me to spend time on the phone, because they can do it too – and do almost all the time. I think they are addicted too. When I ask my mother something, I sometimes hear her answer something without knowing what she's answering. Then she's busy scrolling up her thumb on her phone. Then I feel sad – and I start to wonder if she really loves me.

I notice that I am tired in the head. All day I get light, pictures and sounds from my phone and tablet at school. Some adults once told me that it's important to not be bored, so take a break from games and the like. boring! They said this is because memories don't stick if the mind can't wander freely. In order to learn something, we need memories that stick with us. They said that it is actually important for the mind to be able to wander freely as with sleep in order for one to remember things. It's no wonder I'm not learning anything, I'm completely dependent on being on the phone all the time. I can't read books anymore either. I loved doing it, I used to read all the time. But now I can only focus for a few seconds, maybe a minute, before I feel like checking my phone – imagine if I got a shot? I've heard some adults say that the people who sell cell phones and make apps are just trying to achieve this – that we should be on the phone as much as possible. The more we use the phone, the more money those who make apps and phones make, the adults said. Several million engineers are working to attract us. Old people's brains have no chance to fight back, and this is even worse for us children. They said so.

In fact, I haven't been allowed to use Snap since I was only nine years old. But my father says things are going well. I don't really want to take pictures – everyone seems to see me and know where I am all the time. Sometimes, my friends don't accompany me home from school because they don't want others to see on the speed map that they went with me. Then I feel sad and angry. I feel like hitting, and sometimes I do. Then it gets worse. But I don't dare delete a Snap, because I'm afraid I'm out of touch with reality. I hope no one in the class is allowed to take pictures. I saw in the newspaper that the principal of Kela School had spoken about this matter on Wednesday. Made me happy. Until I got new messages in the class chat – they called me ugly things. I don't get peace even when I'm at home. The teacher does not understand him, nor do the adults understand him. Tomorrow I will mash them at school.

When I want to talk to my brothers at home, they are usually busy on their phones. So do my mom and dad. Then I pick up the phone too. And so do my friends after school. And then I do that too, I pick up the phone. The only good thing about it is that if I see someone I don't want to talk to, I can stay busy on the phone. But I've also noticed that I get very scared when my phone isn't near me. Imagine if I meet someone I don't want to talk to then, I guess – and then I get scared. I hope I learn how to deal with difficult situations like this!

When I feel like I'm getting really angry, or boiling inside, or feeling really sad – that's when I've learned to pick up the phone and put on something fun. help. But I also feel like the lump in my chest is getting bigger and bigger. An adult told me that if we don't learn to be in our feelings, they become bigger and more dangerous — and we can develop anger issues, anxiety, and other things whose names I don't remember. I don't really know what it means to be in emotions, but I've noticed that I'm getting angrier and angrier. Maybe because I'm trying to pretend I'm not upset when I really am?

As far back as I can remember, I have been photographed and photographed. In my earliest memories, my mother was standing in front of me with the phone in her hand, filming me. Children have been objectified, adults say. Now I only get good feelings when someone claps for me or takes pictures of me because I'm cute, pretty or smart. What does smart really mean? When they don't, I think – Do you not love me anymore? Then I try to talk to my dad about something I think he likes, but he barely notices that I'm standing there in front of him. All he has to do is answer another work email, he mumbles. He doesn't love me.

I won't shout obscenities. I don't want to throw away desks. I don't want to get hit. But I can't control myself. The health nurse says I may have something called ADHD or it was ADHD and I may have to start medication if that's why I'm such a bad kid.

I wish my parents, brothers and all my friends would play more. And I wish they had a “dumb” phone like I know they had in the old days, without apps and stuff – it just seems really weird. But think how much we can play and talk together. I read that the Chairman of the Parents Committee said nothing about mobile phone use in his post. I'm not surprised by that. It may also mean that they, the parents, have to do something they may not want to do. Can't they ask the children to live face to face without doing it themselves? Anyway, my parents use their cell phones a lot, and ever since I was a kid – I get a lot more than they think.

I was not invited to the North Hall to talk about myself. But I saw some pictures from there in the newspaper, and it seemed that this did not apply only to my parents: there were a lot of smartphones on the tables.

note! This message is fake – a fake greeting from a nine-year-old girl.