This is the age of social media trends and memes. Here every little thing is relevant, it goes viral on the internet. A meme often goes viral, with a child having a headache or leg pain or a fever. All these problems have parents giving the same taunt – use the phone more. There is a question in the meme that what all these things have to do with the phone, people laugh. But now science studies say there is a connection. What parents say is absolutely true. According to the American Academy of Child and Adolescent Psychiatry, children's increased screen time may prove to be a major problem in the future. This can increase the risk of many diseases. According to a study published in the Indian Journal of Ophthalmology, the problem of dry eyes is increasing in children due to excessive screen viewing. Recently, the Bombay High Court while hearing a case said, “Children's addiction to sports will prove to be like drug addiction in future. This causes a lot of damage to mental and physical health. So it is necessary to bring a law in this regard.” Overall, most indications are that screen and mobile use is not good for children. If it has anything to do with their studies, it is important to set limits and communicate their healthy uses and activities. So, today in 'Tabyatpani' we will know the effect of screen on children. You will also understand that- Before proceeding with the article, let us know what problems the technological development has created while making our life easier. Renowned neurologist and psychiatrist Adam Gazelli has written a book about this. (Dr. Ghazali has also written a book on this – 'The Distracted Mind: Ancient Brains in a High Tech World') Screen time is compounding problems As restrictions eased after the Corona pandemic, all activities returned to their old normal. started coming back. Meanwhile, everyone realized that their screen time had increased significantly. This problem became even bigger for children during this period as they depended on screens for their studies. In addition to studies, he began to spend a lot of time with the screen, which continues to this day. Now its disadvantages are starting to appear. See the graphic below. Attention spans are shrinking The result of spending more time with screens is that everyone's attention span is shrinking. Focus is waning. The mind cannot stay long on one thing. How long we can focus on one task continuously without distraction is very important to our brain development. According to a study conducted by the University of California, Irvine, the average human attention span has decreased rapidly. It has come down from 2.5 minutes to 47 seconds in the last 20 years. In recent times the screen time of children and teenagers has increased and its effect is being seen even more among them. Decreased attention span has adversely affected their school-college studies, family relationships and physical fitness. What is the average screen time for children The World Health Organization and the American Academy of Child and Adolescent Psychiatry have released a timeline of screen use for children. Most of the world's health experts recommend this timeline for children. What to do to reduce children's screen time If the child's screen time is too much, it does not happen that he stops using the phone in one day. This is why it is important that we talk to our children about how they should handle social media and the online world. What is good and what is bad for him. Some rules and guidelines can be helpful in reducing screen time for young children:
Image Credit: (Divya-Bhaskar): Images/graphics belong to (Divya-Bhaskar).
Growing problem of children's dry eyes due to mobile screens: Screens dangerous for young children's health, need to limit screen time
