A new Comcast survey released today shows that parents across the country are almost unanimous in their belief that disconnecting from devices during mealtime improves family bonding, with nearly half (42 percent) not able to remember the last time their family had a device-free meal and some going so far as to disconnect their modems to stop their children’s Wi-Fi usage. However, children aren’t the only ones to blame – more than half of parents have been told by their children to put their cell phones away during meals!
For these reasons and more, Comcast’s “pause device” home Wi-Fi control feature has become the most popular function of the company’s new Xfinity xFi platform.
The American Academy of Pediatrics (AAP) has recommended that parents develop personalized plans for their children’s device use, warning that excessive screen-time can displace important activities such as face-to-face interaction, family-time, outdoor-play, exercise, and sleep. The AAP has even developed a media time calculator to help parents better track and manage usage.
“Technology should adapt to meet our customers’ needs, not the other way around,” said Eric Schaefer, Senior Vice President of Internet and Communications Services for Comcast Cable. “With xFi’s ‘pause device’ feature, parents have the power to decide when it’s time for family members to connect with each other, rather than their devices.”
