Gadget Use Among Children: A Digital Safety Guide

Gadgets have become an important aspect of our lives in the digital age. These technologies, from smartphones and tablets to laptops and gaming consoles, provide limitless potential for learning and entertainment.

However, it is critical for us as parents and caregivers to maintain a balance when it comes to introducing gadgets to our children. In this post, we will cover the necessity of managing gadget use in children, the impacts of excessive screen time, preventive strategies, and present eye-opening statistics that highlight the importance of this issue. 

Over the last decade, children’s use of mobile and social media has increased dramatically. Recent estimates reveal that most parents own smartphones, on which they allow their children to play games or watch videos.

Up to 75% of young children have their own tablets, and infants are estimated to start handling mobile devices during the first year of life, but research on modern media has been limited by a lack of precise measurement tools. 

On average, a person blinks about 15 times in a minute. Because of the high level of attention required when using an electronic screen, this rate can drop to less than 5 times per minute.

According to a 2020 Pew Research Center survey, 60% of youngsters were exposed to cell phones before the age of five. 31% of the group had been exposed to phones before the age of two. 

(According to the technology research firm Compare Camp, 26% of car accidents in the United States now are caused by the use of smartphones while driving.) 

Facts: 

• The typical cell phone user touches his or her phone 2,617 times every day. 
• On average, people use their phones for three hours and fifteen minutes (3 Hours & 15 minutes) every day. 

Adverse effects of gadget use among children: 

According to research, teenagers spend about 9 hours a day in front of a screen, compared to kids between the ages of 6 and 12 who spend about 6 hours. The effects of smartphones on children are adverse. Some of the negative consequences of children’s excessive smartphone use are given below: 

• Addiction
• Behavioral problems like aggression
• Depression
• Sleep disturbances
• Obesity
• Delay in social development
• Attention and hearing issues
• Problems of the nervous system
• Dizziness
  
  

Positive impacts of gadget use among children:

• Encourage cognitive learning
• Stimulates the senses and imagination
• Development of analytical skills 
• Some games may develop good hand-eye coordination. 
  

Despite the good impacts, children should be limited in their use of devices and set a time restriction for gadget use with effective parental control. 

Ways of protecting our vision from Gadget use: 

• Follow the “20-20-20” rule – look away from the screen every 20 minutes, at something 20 feet away, for 20 seconds.  
• Adjust the brightness on your digital display so it matches the brightness of the area around it. 
• Sit far enough away from the screen. 
• Increase your blinking frequency since it keeps your eyes lubricated and clean. 
• Position your device at a comfortable distance from your eyes, typically about an arm’s length
  away.  
  
  

Parental control: 

Parental control is an essential feature for parents to monitor and limit their children’s gadget use. Different apps on gadgets like YouTube and TikTok provide parental control features such as screen-time management controls, content filtering, and restricting inappropriate content.

Conclusion:

As responsible caregivers, it’s essential to recognize the impact of excessive gadget use on children. By understanding the importance of limiting screen time, being aware of the potential effects, and implementing preventive measures, we can ensure that our children develop into healthy, well-rounded individuals.  

Key points to remember about gadget use among children: 

• Up to 75% of young children have their own tablets.  
• Infants start handling mobile devices during the first year of life.  
• Excessive use of smartphones among children leads to severe behavioral problems like aggression, addiction, depression, and sleep disturbances.  
• Limited use of smartphones with proper parental guidelines can encourage cognitive learning and the development of analytical skills.  
  

References: 

becker,  joshua. (2023, September 5). Cell Phone Addiction: 7 Proven Ways to Break Your Habit. https://www.becomingminimalist.com/break-your-cell-phone-habit/ 

Health, N. (2021, September 15). 14 Creative ways to Break Your Child’s Smartphone Addiction. Narayana Health Care. https://www.narayanahealth.org/blog/14-creative-ways-to-break-your-childs-smartphone-addiction/ 

Radesky, J. S., Weeks, H. M., Ball, R., Schaller, A., Yeo, S., Durnez, J., Tamayo-Rios, M., Epstein, M., Kirkorian, H., Coyne, S., & Barr, R. (2020). Young Children’s Use of Smartphones and Tablets. Pediatrics, 146(1), e20193518. https://doi.org/10.1542/peds.2019-3518 

Sihura, F. (2018). The Role of Parents “Generation of Z” to The Early Children in The Using of Gadget. 55–59. https://doi.org/10.2991/secret-18.2018.9 

The Impact of using Gadgets on Children. (n.d.). Retrieved September 11, 2023, from https://www.longdom.org/open-access/the-impact-of-using-gadgets-on-children-31330.html 

yapbeelee. (2023, July 20). Positive and Negative Impacts of Electronic Devices on Children. WeHaveKids. https://wehavekids.com/parenting/dlectronic-devices-and-gadgets-to-Children 

Zain, Z. M., Jasmani, F. N. N., Haris, N. H., & Nurudin, S. M. (2022). Gadgets and Their Impact on Child Development. Proceedings, 82(1), Article 1. https://doi.org/10.3390/proceedings2022082006