In an age dominated by screens and smartphones, the widespread presence of technology in children’s life raises serious concerns about its impact of technology on child development on their health. From a medical standpoint, understanding how technology affects child development is critical for encouraging optimal growth and well-being.
With technology’s integration of the digital dilemma in child development into everyday life and its heightened usage during early childhood and in educational settings, a concern arises regarding the potential influences of technology on child development. Yet there continues to be much circulation about the actual effects of technology on adolescents, as people both defend and reject its usability. Technology, specifically tools such as computers, tablets, and smartphones, can influence different aspects of child development in a variety of ways.
As child growth is primarily dependent on parenting and parental interactions, technology usage within families adds a new tool for parents to both utilize and watch out for. But children are not the only ones who are impacted by technology; their parents’ use of it can also have an impact on them. In either scenario, the digital dilemma in child development frequently disrupts parent-child connections.
Children are spending more time on digital devices as displays become increasingly commonplace. Children under two should have minimal screen time, and older children should have age-appropriate, regular screen time limits, according to the American Academy of Paediatrics (AAP). Numerous detrimental consequences on a child’s development have been connected to excessive screen time:
Delayed Language and Social Skills: Prolonged screen use might impede social and language development by interfering with in-person interactions which is also one of the technology’s impacts on childhood learning. Active play and face-to-face interaction are essential for developing positive connections and linguistic skills.
Sleep Disruptions: Blue light from displays can interfere with sleep cycles, resulting in sleep deprivation and associated problems like agitation and difficulty focussing.
Risk of Obesity: Extended use of screens frequently results in a sedentary lifestyle, which raises the risk of childhood obesity and associated health issues.
Effects of screen time on children, toddlers and teens:
Did you know that technology and brain development in kids are both related and the negative effects of too much screen time for babies and toddlers range from shorter attention span to lower empathy?
Too much screen time can harm babies and the importance of ensuring children enjoy off-screen experiences which leads to digital dilemmas in child development.
Many parents use screens to keep young children entertained or distracted while they attend to other demands in today’s tech-driven and media-driven society. It functions. In a way that virtually nothing else can, screens hold kids’ attention, giving parents a little respite. However, what effects do screens have on developing brains, and how much screen time is appropriate for children?
Medical implications of excessive screen use:
Physical Health Hazards-
Excess screen addiction in children poses various physical dangers, the most common of which are eye strain, neck and shoulder pain, and back pain. Eye strain, often known as computer vision syndrome, is a frequent disease induced by long-term contact with computer screens, cellphones, and other digital gadgets. Screen time can cause your eyes to get tired or even hurt. When you stare at a screen, you blink about half as often as you do when your face isn’t in front of a screen. And if you’re not blinking enough, the film of tears on the front of your eye degrades. Your eyes can get dry because you’re not producing enough tears and you don’t spread them across your eyes well. Your eyes can feel gritty, burning and tired.
Screen time and sleep
Exposing your eyes to artificial light from devices at night is one of the medical implications of excessive screen use that can disrupt your sleep, as well as your attentiveness and mood the next day. Nighttime light exposure can confuse our brain’s master clock into thinking it’s daytime, slowing the body’s generation of melatonin, a hormone that helps us sleep.
Chronic sleep deprivation can cause distractedness, memory problems and potentially depression and anxiety. But we need to respond to texts and emails and work in front of screens, so what do we do? We choose a book over your phone before bed! Parental control and digital exposure is a very important factor when it comes to figuring out how screen time has been creating different barriers in overall growth.
How does technology affect kids’ social development?
Children’s healthy social development in the early years depends on serve-and-return interactions. When a baby babbles and an adult answers, the infant receives important social interaction lessons. With the exception of video chat, videos and shows are unable to offer the same level of responsive involvement. Early childhood screen use as a calming aid may also impede the development of critical emotion-regulation abilities.
As children get older they are in an environment for social skills and technology use in kids can serve as a tool for social interaction (social media and multiplayer video games, for example). However, technology often strips away critical elements of social interaction. Depending on the use, additional cues from body language, facial expressions, eye contact, and tone of voice are lost. The asynchronicity of messages and posting also alter the nature of interactions that would otherwise happen in real time.
Adolescents’ brains are programmed to prioritise social reactions, particularly those with peers. This can make social media sites extremely lucrative, but it also increases the possibility of rejection for young people.
Screen behaviours that improve interaction with others should be promoted at all ages. Maintaining a healthy balance of offline contact is also critical.
Effects of Technology on Mental Health:
Early intervention is essential to reduce the effects of mental illness on development, education, employment, and health, as half of cases start by the age of 14. Today, digital technologies are everywhere. Children’s mental health and technology has created some beautiful things, like communications assistive technology for children who don’t use speech as their primary communication method. At the same time, there are also some problematic aspects to navigate, like cyberbullying. This article will explore where children are currently sitting with the effects of digital technology predominantly within four groups: babies and toddlers, school-age children, teens, and young adults. We’ll share tools you may find helpful to support your child interacting with technology in a way that is developmentally-appropriate and supports their overall health and well-being.
Additionally, we have observed a propensity to apply expectations regarding capacity and seamless usage of abilities in a stereotyped manner across various adaptation levels. These views, which have their roots in the corporate and educational sectors, have long sparked discussion about whether younger people are inherently more likely than older people to accept technology. Older people’s presumption that all young people are proficient in using technology to do tasks may be partially biased.
Cognitive development and digital devices:
When properly used into creche or preschool settings, technology may be a very useful tool for fostering young children’s cognitive development. The purpose of interactive applications, educational games, and e-books is to promote critical thinking, literacy, and numeracy. Digital gadgets can enhance cognitive growth in the following ways:
1- Increased Learning Engagement: Children are naturally drawn to digital devices because of their interactive features.
2-Supporting Literacy and Numeracy abilities: Programs that teach letter recognition, phonics, and basic arithmetic allow children to practise these abilities in an interesting way, reinforcing concepts learnt in preschool or childcare settings.
3- Encouraging Creativity and Problem Solving: Many digital tools enable students to express their creativity and experiment with novel problem-solving solutions.
4- Personalised Learning Experiences: Digital gadgets can adjust to a child’s specific learning speed, allowing them to gain confidence and expertise over time.
Conclusion:
Screens are an unavoidable aspect of modern childhood, but their impact is contingent on how they are used. Setting boundaries and prioritising quality over quantity allows parents to guarantee that their children’s screen time enhances their lives without jeopardising their health or development. Striking the appropriate balance between screen time and other activities is critical for raising well-rounded children.
