Mobile technology can deeply and severely affect your child in the wrong way with long-term consequences!

 Mobile phones have become a common thing in everyone’s lives including children. But it is not without its ill-effects. Children as young as 1-2 years are also on it and parents allow them to have it since they feel that at least by being occupied with the phone, they will remain at one place and not trouble the parents or anyone. But did this attitude right?

The survey January 2020

There was a survey carried out in January 2020 in which 2167 five-16-years-old kids from the UK were studied. The results revealed that 53% of the kids had a mobile phone with them by the age of 7. And by the age of 11, this figure had increased to 90%. When the children entered secondary school, phone ownership was almost universal. 39% reported that they cannot live without the phone and were heavily dependent on it! And 57% of these children slept with the phone beside them. Nearly half of the surveyed children were concerned about running out of mobile charge and being in a place where there is no signal.

Parents allow mobiles for kids because it distracts  and keeps them occupied [Source: Life Hack]

Besides, once the child has a phone, it would be difficult to know what the child is accessing through it. It would be a challenge to also know how many hours of the day the child is active on the phone. But then are the parents of today really worried about all this? They themselves are on the phone for long hours and many in the Asian world are totally ignorant of the ill-effects of having a mobile phone at such a young age.

Young children and mobile phones

The above study revealed data about children and the age at which they own a mobile phone. But there are many younger children in the developed as well as the developing world who have access to the mobile phones of their parents. These children are themselves attracted to the phone for playing video games. Besides, the illiterate and ignorant parents are too busy with their own lives that they think that it is okay to let the child have their mobile phones to play. They believe that this will keep him or her quiet for some time and the child would not jump around the whole place and harass everyone.

Children even forget to eat with mobile phones [Source: Getty Images]

In Asia, I have seen kids as young as a few months old holding the mobile phone as a prized possession and crying if someone pulls it out of their hands. There are parents who proudly say:

“Our child likes the phone and will not leave it.”

But they make no attempts to read or know that mobile phones are dangerous for their kids in multiple ways. Even if someone warns them of the ill-effects, they just smile back and act as if it is normal and nothing can be done about it! They are just happy with the fact that these kids are distracted once a mobile phone is given in their hands. So mobile phones are used as toys for children!

Mobile technology and the dangers to kids

The child, who accesses the mobile phone often, whether for talking, texting, internet use, or for playing video games, runs the risks of having its harmful effects. These effects can be due to the unsafe radiations emitted by most of the smartphones or due to internet access and its bad contents. It could also be due to the excess and constant use of the phone, especially on the eyes. To enumerate a few of these harmful effects:

1.       Tumors and cancers-This is the dreaded side-effect of excessive use of mobile technology. The smartphones emit radiations and these can cause cancers and tumors. Children are especially vulnerable due to their young age and have an increased risk of acquiring these lesions. There are ongoing debates on this matter but many studies have shown a link between cell phone usage and tumor formation.

2.      

Keep your children away from mobile phones [Soure: Kashmir Observer]

The electromagnetic waves from smartphones can affect brain activity. It could make the child more hyperactive. Besides, the electromagnetic waves, the content and screen time both also add on to the insult on the brain function.

3.       It could lead to poor performance at school due to chatting and texting during school hours.

4.       It can lead to malpractices during exams.

5.       It could lead to improper access to the internet and media and hence could affect them mentally.

6.       Children may sleep late due to constantly being on the phone and thus disrupt their sleep and concentration.

7.       It could lead to eye strains and refractive errors of eyes. Cases of retinal detachment have been reported due to long hours of texting in the dark or with improper lighting. 

8.       Passivity in the child increases and he or she ends up with medical issues such as obesity, diabetes, and hypertension.

9.       Social media use can make them come in contact with cyberbullies which might affect them deeply mentally and emotionally. These may have long-term consequences. 

Do you want your child to suffer due to your mistake or the child’s eagerness to get hold of a mobile phone! Then let the child have more of the physical activity and fresh air! It is better late than never!