Children & Computer Technology – Analysis & Recommendation

The Hidden Costs of Screen Addiction

Ragni, a resident of Gurgaon, Haryana and mother of 11-year-old boy, Aarav, complains that although she’s happy seeing Aarav learning to code at such a young age, but the fact he struggles to fall asleep soon at night due to late night video games, makes her anxious. But this complaint and worry is not just of Ragni. It is of all parents whose children now spend alarming hours on digital gadgets and media.

Increased screen time has been linked to attention deficits, sleep disruption, and sedentary lifestyles (Terrell). As per Common Sense Media report, Children aged 8–12 years spend an average of 4–6 hours per day on screens, while teens average up to 9 hours daily. The whole world is at a heightened risk of attention deficits, sleep disruption, and sedentary lifestyles due to the increased screen time (Terrell). 

It is very unfortunate to witness a displacement of physical play, outdoor activities, and face-to-face socialisation with eyes glued on screens! An athletic lifestyle is necessary for emotional and physical development.

The inappropriate online content, ranging from violence to misinformation, further adds to the woes by leaving indelible, long-lasting psychological effects (Livingstone, “Risks and Opportunities of Internet Use”). Priya, 9, once searched for cartoons but accidentally encountered disturbing content online. Such experiences highlight the urgency of supervision and guidance.

While physical alertness and activities are declining, what’s accentuating are the socio-economic disparities. The digital divide is widening due to availability of ample techno-savvy devices, stable internet connections, and knowledge system amongst the rich, while the poor languishes with outdated infrastructure or complete lack of access. This digital inequality is the breeding ground for creating barriers to opportunity in later life (OECD, The Digital Divide). 
As the saying goes, “Technology is a good servant but a poor master.”

Why Parents Struggle to Supervise

What can make a significant difference is parental supervision. But that too has its limitations. With parents struggling to strike a balance between educational and recreational screen time, and limited digital literacy themselves, supervision becomes even more challenging. Together it leads to children navigating the diverse, scary, and threatening waves of digital world unmonitored, when instead they require constant guidance and restraint (Livingstone and Blum-Ross).

Taken together, these dynamics highlight that while technology is transformative and necessary to embrace, its unregulated use by children for studies or recreational purposes surely can get detrimental for their physical and mental health, too fast too soon!

Recommendations for a Balanced Approach

A balanced and structured approach in diminishing the risks and improving the benefits is the ultimate solution. Firstly, all parents should follow the guidelines laid by the WHO on the appropriate screen time for every age group. This will clarify to the parents how much time they can allow their children to use electronic gadgets for studying or recreational purposes without hurting their eyes, mind, body, and mental wellbeing. (WHO, Guidelines on Physical Activity).

Secondly, usage of technology as an individual task that’s isolating needs to change. Parents and children can share screens together for games, fun, and other activities. This will also strengthen the bond between a parent and a child.

Thirdly, digital literacy should be cultivated very strictly especially when cyber crimes are on the rise. Teachers, parents must inculcate basics of privacy, data security, and online etiquette among children. The adage is truly apt- All work and no play, makes Jack a dull boy! Don’t overburden students with academic expectations, homework, tests, syllabus, and more. Give them ample time to rest and play.

As per the American Academy of Pediatrics report, screen use before bedtime delays sleep onset by 30–60 minutes in children, leading to fatigue and poorer academic performance. Practical solutions need to be employed like prohibiting screens during meals and avoiding usage within an hour before bedtime improve health outcomes. Parents can rely on monitoring software to filter harmful content, track screen time, and encourage healthy digital practices (Common Sense Media).

Finally, parents and educators (teachers, professors, private tutors) need to be educated and digitally empowered with new trends, strategies of control, digital education and etiquettes so that they can impart the right knowledge to the students.

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Conclusion

Computer Technology is both a boon and a bane. Judicious use of technology will not only improve learning chances, but also expand opportunities, and prepare children for a rapidly evolving future. But if left unsupervised, it will cause damage to health, personality, and social fabric of the society. The need of the hour is collaboration between educators, parents, policymakers, and children themselves to manage it wisely and solidify it as a transformative tool of empowerment.

What’s your strategy for balancing screen time at home? Share your tips in the comments!

References

• American Academy of Pediatrics, Council on Communications and Media. “Media and Young Minds.” Pediatrics, vol. 138, no. 5, 2016.
• Common Sense Media. The Common Sense Census: Media Use by Tweens and Teens. Common Sense Media, 2021.
• Livingstone, Sonia, and Leslie Haddon. “Introduction.” Kids Online: Opportunities and Risks for Children, edited by Sonia Livingstone and Leslie Haddon, Policy Press, 2009, pp. 1–6.
• Livingstone, Sonia, and Alicia Blum-Ross. Parenting for a Digital Future: How Hopes and Fears about Technology Shape Children’s Lives. Oxford UP, 2020.
• Livingstone, Sonia, and Ellen Helsper. “Gradations in Digital Inclusion: Children, Young People and the Digital Divide.” New Media & Society, vol. 9, no. 4, 2007, pp. 671–696.
• OECD. The Digital Divide: The Role of Policy and Practice in Expanding Digital Access. OECD Publishing, 2020.
• Plowman, Lydia, et al. “Just picking it up? Young Children Learning with technology at home.” Cambridge Journal of Education, vol. 38, no. 3, Sept. 2008, pp. 303–319, https://doi.org/10.1080/03057640802287564.
• Terrell, Amanda. Review of iGen: Why Today’s Super-Connected Kids Are Growing Up Less Rebellious, More Tolerant, Less Happy—and Completely Unprepared for Adulthood and What That Means for the Rest of Us, by Jean M. Twenge. Family and Consumer Sciences Research Journal, vol. 48, no. 1, 2019, pp. 112–114. Wiley Online Library, doi:10.1111/fcsr.12345.
• World Health Organization. Guidelines on Physical Activity, Sedentary Behaviour and Sleep for Children under 5 Years of Age. WHO, 2019.