Children and the screen time

In recent times a modern addictive behaviour is assuming the form of an epidemic, affecting very adversely the growth and development of millions of children. It is the addiction to the screen. In fact, this addiction of viewing the screen for longer hours is observed to have many adverse impacts on the young people. Apart from taking away a sizable chunk of their daily time, its impact also touches their physical, mental and psychological health negatively.

Let us list down some of these negative effects.

• Children addicted to the screen become much more sedentary, restricting themselves to their room/home. Consequently they fall a prey to health problems like obesity, lethargy and sleep disorders like insomnia etc.

• Such children, since they have no time to mingle with other children/ people, do not learn basic social/life skills. They are, therefore, at a loss to adjust themselves to the social milieu around.

• One can observe a number of psychological issues in such children. These children are generally irritable, self-seekers, asocial and jealous. Some studies have shown that they become prone to easy brain washing.

• Another very damaging possibility of too much use of the internet is that children inadvertently get exposed to unwanted sites.

All the above impacts make children incapable of growing into independent and responsible adults. But if we think of totally taking the children away from this modern technology then children may start feeling socially and even academically isolated. One thing however is very clear while addressing the issue of screen addiction is that ‘no screen’ time is not feasible. A balanced approach could be the only workable option here.

Instead of weaning away the kids from the internet completely, some sort or restrictive measures may be more productive. Fortunately, some tools are now available in the form of new apps that can help parents to exercise some control on the time children spend on the internet. However, we cannot say that this kind of control would not be taken as coercion and in the present scenario; coercion can aggravate the situation rather than improve it. So, extreme care is required while exercising such restrictions.

If the parents themselves are screen addicts, then the best way to wean away children is to set an example. Such parents must put a restriction on themselves before they put it on children. Parents could also help their children to get exposed to outdoor activities so that they are able to mingle with other children, make friends with them, have an interaction with others, play with others, and take risks. These activities would make them more self-reliant and less submissive.

Schools can play a pivotal role to inculcate in children an interest in sports, hobbies and extra-curricular activities, only then young children can be expected to mould into good citizens of society and a nation.