Is our smartphone addiction damaging our children?
Is our smartphone addiction damaging our children? A common question in today’s society of the compelling use of our smart phones and tablets.
The development of smart phones has been life changing and they are constantly getting more advanced and more technical than ever before. Companies are finding new ways to advance their devices to captivate the users and make life more convenient.
Smartphone users are becoming younger and younger and children as young as 2 are becoming more capable of using their parent’s smart phone to either play games or simply unlock it. It simply becomes part of their life by seeing their parents constantly use it to take photos of them, refresh their social media or text their friends.
It can be a method of distraction for all parents while they are at the dinner table or shopping or maybe if they have some work to do at home. It is an easy way to give your child a screen to play games or watch their favourite program. However, this purely reduces the quality and precious time parents and children have together. Children thrive off interaction, socialising and the relationship they have with family members and therefore having a relationship with a screen is not acceptable.
As children are having more interaction with their devices, they are relied upon as if they couldn’t live without them. They believe the only way to speak to their friends is by texting them or using various social media to upload the latest photo. Children forget that communicating with friends and family actually means speaking at the dinner table and talking about their day. Socialising with friends by playing games or reminiscing. However, today’s communication is seen more as silence as people stare at their screens while they communicate to others through their device.
It is important to express to children that there are more ways to communicate without a phone and that there is more to life than refreshing their social media. Although modern life is becoming more advanced with technology and more and more people are smartphone users, try to remember to put the device down and simply talk and interact more with your children. Encourage your children to play outside, go and see their friends and not continuously stare at a screen.