Mobile obsession among kids - the new-age growing concern
When we were children, we would often write essays on various topics. One topic that would come up often was– "Is science a boon or a curse?" Now, when we stand in the 21st Century, this question becomes more serious than ever when we see children staying glued to smartphones for hours.
Smartphones were initially launched to make lives easier. People were amazed when they learnt that a petite handheld device had the power to transform lives by accommodating a number of apps for shopping, pharmacy, banking, learning, and whatnot.
But, over a period of time we have come to face a huge concern wherein little ones in houses remain engrossed with this smart device for hours resulting in a wide range of health dangers.
Several statistics in leading dailies of the country reveal that children spend an average of four hours every day on mobiles. The statistics is even more alarming for teenage kids who spend seven hours every day on the mobile. Unfortunately, the recommended hours of screen time for children of these ages is no more than two hours!
Even more alarming are the reports which state that a jaw dropping number of children have died due to their addiction to online games like Blue Whale and Momo Challenge.
Not only parents, but doctors all over the world are equally concerned with the rising rate of mobile addiction among children.
According to the medical fraternity, this addiction manifests in the form of loss of concentration, anxiety, depression, insomnia and visual problems among children.
With time, the health concerns aggravate and lead to nervous system disorders, delay in motor skill development, loss of reflex, behavioral problems and lots more.
Now the question is, are the children to be blamed solely for this growing mobile addiction? Perhaps, no! Children often adopt this habit from their parents whom they see engrossed with this handheld smart device for hours.
Are we prepared to change our habit of mobile surfing and return to constructive pastimes like reading, listening to music, painting, cooking or gardening? The answer remains obscure.
Even our education system is to be held equally responsible for conducting a number of online hobby classes, home schoolings, tutoring sessions and competitions for spans of hours on the online platform.
Similar responsibility vests on the shoulders of the society that has allowed the development of this mobile based system without imposing any strict regulation on screen time.
Now, do we have the authority or the power to ask educational institutions or society to think about the issue and do something constructive that would help children stay protected from the harmful effects of mobile addiction? There is again an ambiguity here.
As of now, what we can really do is make our own efforts to stop children from remaining preoccupied with their mobile phones unless it is extremely necessary for them.
We can encourage our children to spend time in a constructive way by reading, painting, dancing, playing or doing similar such things that we used to do as children.
Basically, we have to understand once again that these pastimes of the yesteryears had a constructive impact on our cognitive and physical development. So, don’t we have the duty to pass on the benefits of these pastimes to our kids too?
The next important thing we should never forget is to be alert to the concerning signs of mobile addiction in our children. We should be watchful if we find symptoms like a sudden change in behavior, eye complications due to long durations of screen exposure, anger, agitation, depression, loss of concentration or a tendency to self-isolation.
Only this will bring about some healthy change in the mobile usage habits of children. And only then, can children not lose out on their childhood due to mobile and gadget addiction.
By
Ms. Apara Bhattacharya
Bureau Chief – Kolkatta
Ms. Shail Raghuvanshi
Copy Editor
INSTANEWSGRAM