How Digital Dependence is Affecting Your Child’s Mental Health?
Digital dependence is growing among people and mainly children which results to be harmful to their mental health as well as physical health. In a 2019 survey, 15.1% of children spent 4 hours in a day on their smartphones while 36.5% use one to two hours a day.
What is Digital Dependence?
Digital dependency can be termed as the constant use of digital devices till one’s habits and personal lives are affected. It is the harmful dependence on our smartphones and computers. The addiction to our phones and feeling left out without them, checking our phones constantly whenever a notification pops are a sign that we are dependent on our mobile phones. There are many forms of digital dependency :
- Mobile phone dependency
- Social media dependency
- Internet Addiction
How Digital Dependence Affects a Child’s Brain?
Undoubtedly, children and the screen are inseparable nowadays. You can see almost every child busy playing video games or surfing through their internet.
There are different types of radiation coming from cell phones and other wireless devices, which are very harmful. Children have more rate of absorption of different radiations as compared to adults because their brain tissues are more absorbent.
The mental development of a child happens in the first few years of their life which can be affected due to the addiction to mobile phones and other digital gadgets.
The skills and cognitive abilities of children are affected due to the excessive dependency on mobile phones. Some common effects on a child’s mental health due to dependence on digital gadgets are:
- Procrastination
- Inability to concentrate
- Difficulty in sleeping
- Problems in social development
Not only does digital dependence affect mental health but it also affects the physical growth of a child. The children who engage in physical activities for some hours a week are less likely to experience mental health problems.
Signs that help you understand digital dependence in your child :
1. Unable to control even after a lot of efforts
If you had made a lot of efforts to keep your child away from their phones or laptops, but you couldn’t make it, this can be a sign that they’ve become highly addicted to their video games or laptop and are becoming dependent on them.
2. Loss of Interest
When your child loses interest in the activities they earlier enjoyed doing and just using their phones or constantly playing video games makes them feel good and motivated, it’s time to take a look.
3. They constantly ask for phone
If your child feels clueless when they are not using their phones and constantly asking for the phone even after denying it, this can be a sign that they are digitally dependent and have connected everything to their virtual life.
4. Family avoidance
Children tend to avoid their families because of their games or gadgets usage. The more the child uses their phones the more they ignore and avoid their family and friends.
5 Mental Health Impacts of Digital Dependence in Children
1. Diminished Level in Learning
When children don’t pay attention to the things in the environment and keep constantly using their phones, this can reduce their learning abilities. It is difficult for a child to concentrate on studies and this can lead to poor performance in their school.
2. Sleeping problems
There is an increase in sleeping problems due to the constant use of digital gadgets. The light radiation from digital devices not only affects the sleep cycle of the children but also affects their eyesight.
According to studies, radiation from mobile phones causes headaches and confusion.
3. Aggression or irritability
It has been noted that when children, who spend a lot of time on their devices, do not have access to it, they prefer not to interact with the people around them and even get aggressive towards them.
4. Feeling anxious
Anxiety is another major symptom of digital addiction. When not being able to use their devices, children may feel clueless as to what they must do next. If they feel the urge to get to their device to be able to get busy again, then it is a very problem worth addressing.
5. Procrastination
Procrastinating something important is quite common, but it depends on the reason it is being done. If children start to procrastinate on their homework and assignments to spend more time on their devices, then it is a serious problem.
5 Prevention Measures Towards Digital Addiction
1. Recognizing triggers
Knowing what is the main reason behind your child’s addiction to their devices is the key to preventing their addiction. You should recognize what triggers your child to use their device the most and try to keep it under control and help them stay away from it.
2. Avoid giving them phone while going to the Bed
The reasons why it is harmful to your child or even you to use your phone before sleep is not one but many. Not only does it put pressure on the eyes, having a phone near your head while sleeping can cause major disorders, including Insomnia. Thus, do not let your child take their phone to bed with them. In fact, try to keep the phone away at least one hour before your child sleeps.
3. Replace their phone usage time with healthier activities
To distract your child, you must find ways to keep them immersed in activities that won’t let them use their device and keep them healthy and lively at the same time. Help your child learn new skills and develop their interest in hobbies like painting, gardening, etc. Take them to regular Morning and evening walks which will be a great distraction to them to overcome their addiction.
4. Interact more with your child
Generally, children indulge in their phones because they have nobody to talk to and feel lonely at times. Talking to your child can make them feel good and worthy which can help them to overcome the addiction.
Make your child comfortable to open up to you about what is making them upset or angry. Getting involved in the activities that your child enjoys to do it will help to create a bond between you and your child.
5. Delete the apps that Distract
Apps that send constant notifications are one of the main reasons to turn to your phone and feel the urge to check it. You should know which apps send constant notifications on your child’s phone and delete the apps. If the child doesn't let you delete the app you should disable the notification of those apps.
Conclusion:
Digital Dependency is a problem that is becoming common in children. It is NOT okay to let your child rely on digital devices just because you don’t have time from your work. As a parent, you should understand your child and help them overcome this dependency. At times, it can be challenging for your child and you even get irritated but patience and communication are the keys.
