Modern Screens: friends or foes?

A study has been conducted in USA on kids and results show that 1 out of 3 children can use a tablet or phone before they even talk. Surveys report that 29% of the toddlers can easily use the gadgets and remaining 70% are master by primary school age. Is it shocking?

We all are on screen these days, be it adults or children. The screens could be TV, video games, mobile phones, tablets, computers etc. We are the first-generation using these variety of gadgets to play games, to watch videos, listening to songs, chatting with our friends, browsing different websites and doing online shopping etc. Our lives have become so convenient but do we need to regulate our screen time? It’s estimated that kids and teens between the ages of 8 to 28 spend huge time on screens. About 23% of kids and teens have reported that they feel themselves hooked to video games/mobile phones and they feel their grades are falling due to this obsession or they find hard to engage in sports or socialize with their friends offline.

Children staring at screen don’t pay attention to their posture, screen brightness, and maintaining distance. Screens cause irritation in eyes which ultimately affect their vision and good health.

Kids spending too much time on screen is a concern for parents as well as teachers across the globe. The mental health professionals too are shocked with the alarming behavior deviations in children due to unhealthy engagements with screens, the mis happenings with selfies etc. The problem is on rise not only amongst teens but young children also. Parents feel upset and uncomfortable when their children resist to limiting their screen time or asking them to put away these devices and get engaged in other activities, explore their personal interests, go outside or do their home-work. Children keep checking their social media status and chatting and texting on phone even during dinner time. Withdrawing them from these gadgets is an uphill battle.

The dangers of too much screen time

In the 21st century, we cannot keep our children totally away from these gadgets and technology but can we prevent them from the abuse of these gadgets? All parents should be educated on the negative impact of technology or caution they can take to engage them in healthy ways with screens.

Parents need to regulate the amount of time their kids spend online each day. They need to make sure that children have time for other valuable activities, such as eating healthy, reading, homework, writing, physical activities, extracurricular activities, going out to play etc.

Some of the negative impacts are:

• Increased chances of becoming obese: There’s no physical movement involved in screen time and often it is combined with munching on high calorie snack food. Kids don’t like to take time away from their digital screens to eat healthy meals. Parents are busy with their jobs and easy availability of junk foods through various apps, discounts and schemes attached to the purchase tempt these youngsters and become the cause of the lifestyle diseases and obesity.

• Harder time getting to bed: Continuous obsession with Internet, video games, and TV programs also leads to disturbed sleeping patterns.

• Increased possibility of developing depression, anxiety, aggression and attention problems, including ADD, ADHD and learning disability. Enough researches are there to prove the correlation.

• Posture and vision issues: Children staring at screen don’t pay attention to their posture, screen brightness, and maintaining distance. Screens cause irritation in eyes which ultimately affect their vision and good health.Too much gadget time (6-8 hours a day) can cause long-term vision problem,chance of myopia. etc. When people use electronic screens, they blink less. On an average, a person blinks about 15 times in a minute. Due to the high attention required while using an electronic screen, this rate can drop to less than 5 times in a minute.

• Living in a virtual world: Just like any other addiction, internet addiction can be a way for your kids to escape the real world. Troubling situations and painful feelings may be suppressed, which will only cause bigger problems later in life.

• Cyber crimes: Cyber crimes are on increase due to unhealthy screen engagements.

Signs your child is becoming an internet addict

Internet addiction is an umbrella term that refers to the compulsive need to spend a great deal of time on the internet, to the point where relationships, work and health are allowed to suffer.Here are some signs that your child may be developing with an addiction to being online:

Too much time:

• Stays online much longer than intended to originally.

• Sneaks online when you or other adults aren’t watching.

• Lies about the amount of time spent on the Internet.

• Stays up all night to be on the Web.

• Disobeys rules set in relation to Internet time limits.

Emotional fallout

• Becomes angry and/or agitated when interrupted while online.

• Gets irritable when access to the Web is denied.

• Becomes moody, irritable, and/or depressed when offline for a couple of days.

Pre-occupied with online life

• Prefers being online than being around real, live friends and family.

• When offline, remains preoccupied with getting back online.

• Checks social media and emails frequently throughout each day.

• Sacrifices doing homework or household chores for being on the Internet.

• Forms new bonds with people met on the Web.

• Loses all interest in activities previously enjoyed before obsession withonline.

4 ways to manage your child’s screen time

• Choose a location wisely: Set the home computer in a central location, making sure it’s situated in such way that you can easily view the screen when you step into the room.

• Install apps for age-appropriate content: These apps should be installed on the tablets and smartphones. They’ll ensure that the sites your child visits are age-appropriate.

• Limit the hours your child spends online: How much time is too much time on the Internet for kids and teens? Well, children under 2 years old – These kids should get absolutely no screen time at all. Children between the ages of 2 to 10 – One hour per day of supervised time online. Teens – No more than two hours each day after homework is complete

• Kid-proof your browsers: Install parental control software on your computers. They will screen web searches and sites for inappropriate content. Sites can also be blocked based on your chosen protection levels.

• Role modeling: Role-modeling by parents on limited and healthy screen engagements is essential.

• Create interest in other things: Developing child’s other interests to keep him happy and not getting bored sitting alone in the absence of parents can also prevent abuse.

• Use technology wisely: Technology should not be used as baby sitters.

• Get help: If screen time seems to be a problem, spend more time talking to your kids to find out why. And, if the problem is too severe for you to handle alone, get help for your child from professionals. Early intervention is better.

Parents need to regulate the amount of time their kids spend online each day. They need to make sure that children have time for other valuable activities, such as eating healthy, reading, homework, writing, physical activities, extracurricular activities, going out to play etc.

Meenu Bhargava is a Post Graduate in Psychology & is presently working as freelance trainer. She did her PG Diploma in Educational and Vocational Guidance & Counseling from NCERT Delhi in 1985 with distinction. She has total 35 years of work experience. She is a Life-skills trainer and Coach to teachers, parents andstudents. Meenu has trained 20,000+teachers andstudents in last 8 years in more than 400 schools and colleges all over India. The best quality for which she has always been appreciated is her desire to keep upgrading herself and her passion, dedication and creativity.