These days the influence of smartphone can be extremely seen in kids. It is highly found that many kids rely on smartphone to perform their regular task, for example; if a child cries and denies eating and talking with anybody then smartphone can change their behavior. Smartphone has stored so much power in kids mind.
UK based news portal Independent writes “giving your child a smartphone is like giving them a gram of cocaine”. The statement came up after numbers of expert gathered to discuss on the issue regarding kid’s addiction in smartphone.
In the Daily Beast Anna Lembke, assistant professor of psychiatry and behavioral sciences at the Stanford University Medical Center states “Smartphone screens light up the same area of the brain as opioids and cannabis. The rewards pathways mediated by dopamine respond to screens in a very similar way to opioids.”
As informed by Independent, a recent survey of more than 1,500 teachers, around two-thirds said they were aware of pupils sharing sexual content, with as many as one in six of those involved of primary school age. Similarly, it also reports in the past three years more than 2000 children have been reported to police for crimes linked to indecent images.
According to a report prepared by Common Sense Media regarding who is responsible for children smartphone use?
Parents and caretakers hold 89 percent, children themselves 5 percent, device manufacturer 2 percent, companies that makes app 1 percent and other/ no answer include 3 percent. In the report it also mentioned that 47 percent of the parents think their child is addictive to mobile devices and 50 percent are concerned that their child’s mobile device use his/ her mental health. The report consist the views of U.S. parents.
The New York Times has published a ways to manage use and help kids develop better tendencies. The ideas include:
Make a Plan
Taking the time to discuss appropriate use, establish guidelines and come up with a family agreement before kids get a phone is ideal, because it can be harder to put rules in place afterward. Family agreements can include rules about when and how the phone may be used, and potential consequences for broken rules. Agreements are more likely to be successful if they are followed consistently and revisited frequently as kids grow older and new apps become available.
Monitor Use
For parents of teens who have smartphones, making the effort to understand how, where and why kids are spending time on their phone is critical.
It can be helpful to think about imbalances over some time rather than on a single evening or weekend. After all, binge-watching a television series on a smartphone while feeling sick or heartbroken isn’t the same as lying about phone use over an extended period. An app like Moment can help track usage and display the time spent in each app.
Take a Time Out
Apple’s Family Sharing and Google Play have settings to help parents monitor use, and most phone carriers have their own parental control options. Devices like Circle and apps like OurPact give parents the ability to automate access, disable access to certain apps after a certain hour and build in structured time off to promote rest. The psychologist Larry Rosen, who has researched technology and the brain and is a co-author of “The Distracted Mind: Ancient Brains in a High-Tech World,” said one of the most important steps is to remove the phone from the bedroom at night.
Be a Role Model
Of course, parents trying to set healthy guidelines for smartphone use may themselves be struggling with similar issues: The 2015 Pew survey found that 46 percent of American adults believed they could not live without their smartphones. Teens aren’t the only ones we need to worry about when it comes to smartphone addiction — adults should consider their habits as well.
