The influence of gadgets on children and teenagers: all the pros and cons

The world has changed. Over the past 100–200 years, everything has changed: people’s lifestyles, values and priorities. If earlier parents were worried when their child disappeared on the street for days, today it’s the other way around - they should worry when the child does not leave the house.

And if earlier many said with relief: “It’s better this way than wandering around the gates,” today there is already an understanding that being in virtual reality can be much more destructive than the danger of “getting involved with bad company.” However, this can also be done online.

Emotional dullness - this term, which is not entirely correct from a psychiatric point of view, probably gives the best understanding of the problem of the harm of gadgets to children and adolescents. A more scientifically correct concept is “flattened affect,” that is, poverty and primitiveness of the emotional sphere.

No, we are not talking about control over emotions, on the contrary, they simply do not exist. And here two problems arise. Firstly, a person is not able to adequately react emotionally to what is happening, and secondly, he is not able to understand the emotions and feelings of other people. Why is this happening?

It has almost become a sign of good form to blame all problems in raising children on the Internet, computer, smartphone and others like them. But this time the situation is exactly that. Online communication and constant presence in various types of virtual reality gradually leads to emotional dullness.

The influence of gadgets on children's lives

Today it is difficult to imagine a child who would not know what a smartphone is and could not use it. Parents often give their child a smartphone so that it does not interfere with their activities. But what harm does the phone actually do to children? Let's look at this issue in more detail.

How do smartphones affect a child's development?

Today we are at the starting point of the era of gadgets and tablets, so our children’s generation is the first to experience them. For the same reason, there are still no accurate and extensive studies that could accurately answer the question of how phones affect a child’s development.

In 2021, a large-scale study was launched in the United States, in which 11 thousand children aged 9-11 years took part. The purpose of the study is to understand how the use of smartphones affects the brains of children and the intellectual abilities of teenagers of our time. The experiment will last 10 years.

The first results of this experiment are already available. MRI has shown that children who spend about 7 hours a day on a tablet or smartphone have thinning of the cerebral cortex . Usually this phenomenon occurs to a person in adulthood. Low academic performance is also observed among those who spend more than 2 hours a day on a tablet. Children perform worse on tests of logic and reasoning and lag behind their peers in development.

Smartphones become the reason why a child does not develop imagination, imaginative thinking, fantasy, logic, or concentration.

The influence of a smartphone on the physical health of children

It is obvious that smartphones have a bad effect on the physical condition of children (and adults too). So let's figure out why smartphones are harmful:

Sleep disturbance. The World Health Organization has concluded that smartphones do affect sleep quality. Children may experience insomnia if they spend a lot of time on a smartphone or any other gadget before bed. The reason for this is melatonin, a sleep hormone that is produced in the body only when it gets dark. But if technology is constantly in front of the child’s eyes, there is no question of any dream.
Problems with the spine. A sitting posture, head down - all this is typical for children who spend time on a smartphone. All this has a bad effect on the spine, especially the cervical and lumbar regions.
Vision problems. Looking at screens at close range for long periods of time is bad for children's eyesight. This may cause the child to not see equally well at close and far distances. Dry eye syndrome may also occur, which can cause infectious eye diseases.
Pain in the head. Using a smartphone for a long time can cause headaches due to the fact that the neck muscles are constantly tense. This in turn affects blood vessels and reduces the supply of oxygen to the brain.
Excess weight. Constant use of the phone causes a lack of activity in children. They move much less and engage in physical activity, which can lead to obesity.

Problems with the physical health of children can seriously affect their future life and body condition. They lead to other diseases and problems in a chain reaction.

The influence of smartphones on the psyche of children

No less important is the negative impact of gadgets on the psycho-emotional state of children. Sometimes these problems turn out to be even more serious than problems with physical development, so you need to know the enemy by sight.

The problem of emotional development. Gadgets are a serious threat to a child’s normal communication with peers. Increasingly, modern teenagers are replacing face-to-face communication with virtual communication, which negatively affects the development of their social skills.
Absent-mindedness. Gadgets cause a child to have absent-minded attention and problems with concentration.
Overload of the sensory system. The human sensory system is responsible for perceiving signals from the environment. Children receive too many signals from gadget displays, which causes aggression, irritation, and whims.

The negative impact of smartphones on the general health of children is an area that has not been sufficiently studied. But even the data that exists now shows the obvious harm that gadgets have on children.

Is it possible and is it necessary to wean the new generation from continuous looking at the screen?

Today, the problem of “children and gadgets” is really a problem. Serious scientific research has already been conducted on this topic. But still, no one knows for sure whether it is necessary to tear children away from gadgets. And if necessary, how and when. Kommersant-Science collected the opinions of scientists on this issue.

Daria Fursova , Moscow State Institute of Culture:

Digital natives

The gap between the generation of fathers and children has always existed. However, now there is an almost officially recognized border here. We are a generation of digital immigrants who came to the digital world from non-computer times. They are the generation of digital natives, born with a smartphone in their hands. Who are these digital natives, and do they really have a new nature?

I think no one will argue that digital natives are born in the traditional way and do not differ in appearance from previous generations. But immediately after birth, the child is immersed in the world of technology and gadgets. That is, it is we, adults, who make digital natives out of children. By the way, according to the international organization Common Sense, parents spend on average 1.5 times more time on the Internet than teenagers, and 2 times more than younger schoolchildren.

Parents usually give their children gadgets themselves, and quite early - from six to eight months. The motives, of course, are good: I want the child to master counting, the alphabet, and a foreign language as early as possible. But it is worth taking a closer look at the effect of such activities.

Firstly, the child spends much more time with the gadget than he would spend doing traditional activities. It’s hard to imagine a child studying English for hours, but sitting for hours with a smartphone is a common occurrence. Hence, of course, a certain result of self-learning. But to the detriment of motor activity, which is no less important for full development. Secondly, the information is often age inappropriate. This means that we can talk about the absence of a systematic and gradual development of the child’s thinking.

However, there is a much more important problem - parents are no longer “experts” in raising and socializing their children. Parents explain self-removal from the socialization process in different ways, often citing the unique digital nature of the new generation, which absolutely needs the digital environment. As a result, the culture of parenthood and the connection between generations through the transfer of experience are lost.

The consequences of alternative socialization by technical means are already visible to the naked eye: many children, for example, exhibit intonation reminiscent of voice acting in “developmental” applications. Another, and more tangible in the long term, consequence is a change in the type of thinking. To get a result from a robotic toy, you need to clearly formulate your request. This is how the child’s thinking imperceptibly transforms, simplifies, and loses depth.

In general, there are many myths regarding the thinking of digital natives. One of the most popular is the ability of modern children to simultaneously cope with several tasks. However, before stating that digital children have superpowers, it is worth turning to research in the field of the brain, in particular, remembering the three brain systems - reflective, reflective and archiving. The reflective brain is responsible for thinking, the reflex brain is responsible for reacting to external stimuli, and the archiving brain is responsible for organizing and storing incoming information.

The reflective brain works only in the mode of sequential tasks, and the transition from one task to another requires a lot of time. Trying to perform several mental operations simultaneously means only switching between them with partial loss of information. So multitasking thinking is a utopia.

But the reflex brain can work in multitasking mode and quickly, in an unconscious mode. This stimulus-dependent system switches to new stimuli, which means it is constantly distracted.

The archiving system, which is responsible for organizing information, can only work in a state of “information rest” - during a walk, training or sleep.

Hasty and aimless scrolling through various content is not associated with the work of the reflective brain, and therefore cannot be called thinking. In addition, in continuous information consumption there are few breaks for the work of the archiving brain, that is, information is not organized and stored in memory.

Some scientists try to attribute the fact that digital natives are not able to remember large amounts of information to saving brain resources - they say, storage is no longer part of the brain’s tasks; you need to be able to navigate information. At least two arguments can be given against such a thesis. Firstly, personal memory capacity and the ability to remember information are in no way related to the ability to navigate the information space. Secondly, the ability to navigate is based on the skills of analysis, critical evaluation, and structuring information, which are most often absent in modern children.

While supporters of the digital natives feature are looking for new arguments in favor of the need for these children to have a digital environment as the basis of their existence, opponents are recording the emergence of a set of symptoms under the general name of pseudo-moronicity. The term was introduced by the German psychiatrist M. Spitzer, describing the general decline in cognitive abilities in intellectually intact children. It is curious that children from Silicon Valley do not use gadgets and attend private schools that work the “old fashioned way”, where instead of gadgets and computer literacy lessons they play traditional children’s games, spend a lot of time reading and other types of speech activities, including in foreign languages, as well as sports and manual labor. So, probably, quite soon, traditional education will indicate belonging to the elite.

Digital children are no different from previous generations, except that they find themselves in the midst of a “sociocultural whirlpool.” During the era of great geographical discoveries, no one sent children to sail to unknown shores. In the era of automobiles, no one thought that children were naturally able to drive a car.

During the era of space exploration, children were not landed on the moon. But in the digital era, children are surrounded by gadgets that have not yet been explored and are immersed in an as yet unexplored digital environment.

Elena Balashova , candidate of psychological sciences, clinical psychologist, leading researcher at the Faculty of Psychology, Moscow State University. M. V. Lomonosova:

Specifics of parental relationships with children in the context of cybersocialization

In recent decades, the problem of cybersocialization has not only been constantly discussed in the media, but has also been the subject of serious scientific research.

However, the impact of cyberspace on parent-child relationships is just one version of a very, very old problem. The development of civilization is necessarily associated with the emergence of new objects and technologies. Socrates also expressed concern that writing could have a negative impact on human memory. Before the advent of writing, people were forced to memorize information; with writing, the situation changes. Now, more than two thousand years later, we can say that Socrates' sad forecast did not come true.

If we talk about cybersocialization, the availability of information today has reached an unprecedented level. Improving Internet technologies allows a person to instantly get answers to numerous questions and always be aware of events. Such unique opportunities for self-development should, it would seem, lead to an increase in the intellectual level of society as a whole and each person individually. However, this does not always happen. It is a widely known fact that, under the influence of computer games, a child can develop addictive behavior, which is characterized by a desire to escape from the real world into the virtual one, already in preschool and primary school age. The child’s mental state changes: he ceases to realize the value of real communication with close adults and peers, and is much less interested in ordinary role-playing and object games. From the point of view of psychologists, this situation negatively affects the development of communication skills and fine motor skills.

Particular mention should be made of the position of parents. According to V.N. Klipinina (BPGU, Minsk), only 55% of parents limit their children’s time using the Internet, and 45% allow them to use it freely. Many parents are aware of the possible harm of the Internet, but consider it insignificant. Moreover, the first signs of Internet addiction are often not noticed. And when they find them, they begin to criticize and punish the child. But this does not solve the problem, but only aggravates it and alienates the child from his parents.

The attention of scientists is increasingly drawn to the influence of excessive use of gadgets on the success of mental development. The following fact is widely known: Steve Jobs, the founder of Apple, strictly limited the time he could use a tablet for his children. In a number of elite schools in the US and Europe, the presence of gadgets is not encouraged - children learn to do calculations by hand. Mental functions (oral and written speech, memory, motor skills, intelligence and others) in childhood must go through a certain path of development, folding, and automation of their constituent actions and operations. When transferring a number of such operations to gadgets, the function is not formed in sufficient volume.

Experts also say that a serious factor in intellectual degradation is the consumption of information in small portions (this is how it is presented in instant messengers). It does not require intellectual effort, and the brain begins to get lazy. The impact of hours of playing Tetris, Balls or Pirate's Treasure is not worth talking about. This progressive intellectual decline has already received a medical name - “digital dementia”.

Modern clinical psychology carefully analyzes the risk factors associated with cybersocialization and its possible negative consequences. These consequences may be associated not only with the formation of addictive behavior in children and adolescents, but also with the occurrence of deviations in the development of various mental functions. For example, in many countries there has been a significant increase in the incidence of dysgraphia and dyslexia (difficulties in learning to write and read). Educators and psychologists attribute these “children’s” problems to the fact that parents themselves began to read significantly less.

Progressive intellectual degradation has already received a medical name - “digital dementia”.

When it comes to dysgraphia, the problems relate not only to writing motor skills, but also to literacy. This is understandable and is also associated, of course, with a reading deficit, since it is through regular reading that visual images of letters and words are formed, which are stored in memory and become one of the pillars of spelling. As for the current situation, I would call it a militant expansion of illiteracy. The written communication of our adult contemporaries with you on the Internet creates the impression that they receive enormous pleasure as a result of a complete refusal to adhere to language norms. The ability to “step and talk” (in particular, to speak and write correctly) ceases to be a value in the adult world, and this will certainly have real consequences for children.

Parents should not forget that the development of cognitive functions and skills requires systematic work on the part of both the child and adults. The task of adults is to constantly model everyday, play, and educational situations in which there is a need to form and exercise various mental functions (memory, attention, speech, spatial skills, etc.). Otherwise, difficulties in children mastering verbal and spatial skills (not only reading and writing, but also developing vocabulary, telling time using an analog clock, etc.) may turn out to be chronic and hinder successful learning at school.

Let’s not forget how important it is in childhood and adolescence to develop not only individual mental functions, but also mental activity (the ability to program its implementation, control, criticality to mistakes, understanding the consequences of one’s own actions, etc.). The role of family education and child-parent relationships in such development and in overcoming the negative consequences of cybersocialization cannot be underestimated.

Tatyana Kolomeets , Omsk State Transport University:

Homo digital

Anthropologists have created the following sequence of evolution of human species: homo habilis (handy man),

began to use stone tools; at the next stage was homo erectus (upright man); then the modern type homo sapiens (reasonable man) appeared.

And in our time, evolutionary processes continue.

Humanity of the 21st century spends a significant part of its life in an anthropogenically polluted space, saturated with information flows. In this virtual world, a new subspecies of homo sapiens has emerged - homo digital, or digital man. It should be added that, in addition to this type of personality, “global man” - “homo globalis”, “consuming man” - “homo consumens”, “mobile man” - “homo mobilis” and “homo institutius” - “institutional man” also appeared. "

There is no doubt that the transformation of our society into a digital one is the main direction of its development. The irreversible process of transformation into homo digital continues actively: gadgets have become a common object of life, cellular services and the functionality of phones with Internet resources are expanding, and the “digitization” of life continues.

How does the mobile phone influence the younger generation? Do teachers and students need mobile communications in the classroom? The negative aspects of their use are known today.

Firstly, the active use of mobile phones destabilizes the organization of the lesson and the entire learning process, leads to deformation of students’ thinking: ringing phones distract the teacher, and the logic of the learning process is destroyed. Students can make video and audio recordings of a lesson without the consent of the teacher, with subsequent use at their own discretion. In some countries, the use of mobile phones in class is prohibited; In our country, this problem has no legislative basis at all.

Secondly, the constant use of phones leads to the formation of a special type of perception: students get used to perceiving information in a truncated volume, limited by the phone screen. And this leads to problems with understanding printed texts. The SMS culture of communication, the perception of the world limited by the SMS format leads to the fact that when working with printed information, students are unable to visually and logically retain sentences of more than ten words. Long sentences are not perceived or remembered at all. When scanning the text with their eyes, students do not highlight the most important information and do not understand the meaning of a single sentence, part of the text, or the text as a whole.

In the information virtual world, a new subspecies of homo sapiens has emerged - homo digital, or digital man

Thirdly, problems with the use of mobile phones in the classroom can also arise due to the age gap between the teacher and the student, which sometimes leads to misunderstanding and complications in pedagogical interaction.

Fourthly, the mobile phone has become so commonplace that young people literally “cannot get out” of the Internet; people turn to him for a solution to any problem, typing literally everything into a search engine (for example, is it raining now?). “Hanging out” on a gadget leads to psychological dependence, absorbing the time needed for study, recreation and sports. Perhaps a new disease is emerging - mobile drug addiction or “mobile mania”?

Since the end of the last century, there has been another danger initiated by the use of gadgets - the possibility of a “dead period” for subsequent generations: it is possible that too few documents will remain about the present time. After all, if Leonardo da Vinci or Shakespeare typed their works on a laptop, then their masterpieces would hardly have reached their descendants. And there would be no drafts, reflecting the train of thought of writers and poets and representing no less value than finished works. According to some archivists, we really risk being left in oblivion, firstly, because electronic media are less durable than, say, stone, papyrus or even paper; and secondly, due to the constant upgrade of computer equipment and information technology.

The problem for teachers is how to harmoniously include a fashionable toy in the educational process and make it a familiar part of the educational environment. If in the traditional education system a mobile phone still looks unusual and not entirely natural, then in online education it is an immanent technical element of the educational environment. A telephone in combination with a computer, laptop, video projector and multimedia board can significantly increase the efficiency of the educational process. The modern student turns from an object of learning into a full-fledged subject.

What awaits us? The evolutionary process of transformation into homo digital will continue as the “digitization” of life continues. What to do? As in other life situations: live in harmony with yourself and the environment, know the reasonable amount of use of information and communication technologies and remember that the real world and living loved ones are next to us, and not on the screen of a gadget.

Irina Simaeva , Doctor of Psychology, Professor at the Institute of Education of the IKBFU. I. Kant:

"Don't let them replace family and friends in the real world"

Modern gadgets are another leap in technocratic civilization. These compact electronic devices have penetrated almost all areas of life. They hear, see, tell and give hints, show videos and do a bunch of other things that children could easily do without before. Gadgets are great universal tools for communication and entertainment, and it makes no sense to deny their importance for children.

As for the impact on the child’s psyche, I would note first of all the risk of gadgets replacing or distorting the development of higher mental functions: memory, thinking, imagination, speech, attention. The child's long-term memory is transferred to the gadget. The gadget performs mathematical operations for the child, analyzes history and literature, draws pictures and diagrams, etc. In fact, it becomes an appendage of the brain, without which the child will subsequently have difficulty adapting to society and space, and being critical of events and people.

A state of sensory deprivation occurs, since “mastering the world” activates predominantly the visual and auditory sensory systems. Movements of the body and eyes are limited to primitive finger manipulations and concentration on a small screen, which does not make it possible to study the real laws of interaction of objects, determine volumes and distances, etc.

In the absence of adult control, a gadget becomes not only a source of information, but replaces an authoritative adult and real friends, establishes norms of behavior and prescribes values. In particular, under the influence of bloggers and online communities, which pursue goals that are not always approved by law and society, the perception and understanding of other people is distorted, threats arise not only to emotional and social development, but also real risks to life.

The task of adults is to control the use of gadgets by children to find information and learn from reliable sources. And also, don’t let them replace family and friends in the real world.

Maxim Kozhemyakin , psychoanalyst, associate professor at the Institute of Education of the IKBFU. I. Kant:

“Be prepared to put away your smartphone too.”

Just over a hundred years ago, Sigmund Freud showed that one of the conditions for mental health is the ability to realize human desires. Contemporary philosopher Slavoj Zizek argues that the picture has changed to the opposite - in order to be mentally and psychologically healthy, you need to be able to not desire. What do gadgets for children represent in this formulation of the question? These are inventions that are constantly changing, improving, creating new opportunities: amazing game graphics, new social networks, image editors, etc. The gadget seems to say: “Desire me! Look what new opportunities I give!” Once a child fails to resist once or twice, this desire takes over, immersing him in an imaginary world.

This is not so much about the virtuality of games, but about the fact that there is a construction of an imaginary self in a social network - one that I am not in reality, meeting and making friends with the same imaginary friends, starting a romantic relationship with an imaginary partner.

But sooner or later, reality makes itself known - the world of human relationships is much more complex than a set of “emojis”, a real partner has a voice, a look, movements, he may turn out to be awkward, silent, or overly self-confident, talkative. A young gadget user is simply not ready for all this! His imaginary world is cracking. And living with a crack is not easy.

The risk of not adapting to reality increases, which is expressed in depression, various types of addictions, psychopathy, etc. On the other hand, if we apply the concepts of the imaginary and the real to gadgets, then the latter in their real dimension are high-tech tools and nothing more. They simplify access to information, leisure, and communications, being an addition to the world, and not a way to create it. If it is possible to defend such an understanding, then there is no confusion between the real and the imaginary - the thing remains a thing.

Thus, it’s not so much about the passion for gadgets, but about the meaning that the child puts into this hobby. It’s easy to determine whether a child has an imaginary semantic superstructure: agree not to use the gadget for a while and see what happens. But be prepared for the fact that your son or daughter will want to spend time with you, so you will have to put away your smartphone.

Elena Strogetskaya , head of the department of sociology and political science, director of the Institute of Scientific and Methodological Research in Education, St. Petersburg State Technical University "LETI":

“When they talk about children with gadgets in their hands, a comparison arises with glasses”

Yes, glasses help you see the world more clearly, brightly, and in more detail. In this case, gadgets simulate a reality in which children can come into contact earlier with a large repertoire of human experience: gaming, psychological, social and even professional. In this virtual environment, you can “put on” different masks and try out new roles, choose what suits you. At the same time, anyone who has put on glasses knows that when you take them off, you feel discomfort. In the case of gadgets, this discomfort or even stress is associated with the contact of a gadget-focused child with real people and events. Secondly, glasses inevitably create a “blind” spot - something that is not visible in everyday life. For such children, the ultimate tragedy is associated with the feeling of “immortality”, the non-absolute value of life, generated by the gaming environment. The risk leading to “Game over” is justified - after all, as soon as you start the game again, the player is alive again. In this, in addition to the well-known problem of dependence and detachment from the real world, I see the worst consequence of the “inextricable relationship between children and gadgets.”

Oleg Markelov , Associate Professor, Department of Radio Engineering Systems, St. Petersburg Electrotechnical University "LETI":

“This is the reality of our days”

When answering this question, it is necessary to take into account the age of the child. If we are talking about elementary school, then, of course, the inextricable “communication” of children with gadgets has a negative impact - due to a decrease in their interest in personal knowledge of the world around them, and not through a request to a search engine. However, in high school it is difficult to imagine a modern young person who quickly learns everything new, without gadgets. Therefore, it is impossible to say unequivocally whether this is good or bad - this is the reality of our days, and it is necessary to perceive it in this form and use it to improve the quality of life, but not to forget about other methods of communication and search for information.

Anastasia Tabolina , Associate Professor at the Higher School of Engineering Pedagogy, Psychology and Applied Linguistics of Peter the Great St. Petersburg Polytechnic University (SPbPU):

“We must measure the stress on the psyche”

During my psychological counseling, I noticed that modern children, starting from the age of two, are universally fascinated by gadgets - phones, tablets, computers. This is a very interesting topic from a psychological point of view. And a fairly common request in therapy. The problem that arises with frequent use of gadgets does not manifest itself in parent-child relationships immediately, but is prolonged. Often the stumbling block is conflicts between parents and children. Parents, in an attempt to return the child’s attention to reality, are faced with the fact that the child begins to show aggressiveness and emotionally defends the right to a gadget.

The reasons why parents turn on cartoons for their children are different; a common determinant is the hidden need to take a break from the child and occupy him with something harmless and useful. It seems to parents that the child, being in the field of view of an adult, spends time calmly and develops. In fact, a cumulative effect on the psyche is formed. The child gets used to simplified, bright pictures. He learns to simply look at the changing frames; they are more interesting to him than reality.

There is a significant increase in the incidence of dysgraphia and dyslexia in many countries. Experts attribute these “children’s” problems to the fact that parents themselves began to read significantly less.

However, the same gadgets open up the world of science and technology for the child, which helps him keep up with the times. And isolating a child from the multimedia environment means “turning him off” from modernity. But we must measure the stress on the psyche, because the exhaustion of the nerve centers, which begins in early childhood, can lead to the formation of a neurotic symptom complex.

Gadgets hinder the formation of interpersonal interactive live interaction. Children begin to live in virtual reality and complete their lives to a neurotic ideal. For example, when teenagers spend a lot of time processing their photos before 'posting' them on social networks.

Constant use of gadgets leads to sensory deprivation, as it activates only the visual and auditory sensory systems

Photo: Photothek/Getty Images

So it is necessary to take care of the child’s psyche and understand that any gadget brings both benefit and harm. And this is primarily the responsibility of parents. It is important to reflect with your child. And his social and emotional intelligence will develop, the child will receive feedback from a significant adult.

“Don’t raise children, raise yourself, they will still be like you.”

The benefits of smartphones for children

Despite all the harm that any gadget can bring to a child, it still has significant advantages . Perhaps they are the ones who do not allow parents to completely abandon the use of technology.

Connection. When a child is in touch, any parent feels calmer. You can dial him at any time, find out where and with whom he is. Children can also call their families in case of danger and notify them about it.
Education. Fortunately, a smartphone can be used to benefit a child. Today there are many useful channels for the learning and development of children. You can play educational games, take logic tests, solve puzzles, and learn languages.
Accustoming to a healthy lifestyle. No matter how strange it may sound, with modern gadgets it has become much easier to monitor your health. You can always download apps on your phone that will remind your child to drink water, track the number of steps, remind you to pause and warm up, etc.
Skills in interacting with electronic devices. Adults simply cannot do without a phone, tablet, or computer. If the older generation learned to use newfangled gadgets as adults, then children have the opportunity to master them very early. Knowing how to use modern technology is extremely important today both for work and for study.

As we can see, smartphones can be useful for children if used correctly . The main thing is to be able to control your children and regulate their interaction with modern technologies.

Rules for using gadgets for children

Parents should remember that their child will develop normally and comprehensively only if there is enough communication with family and friends, therefore, when allowing your child to use gadgets, you must adhere to the following rules:

Your child can only use electronic devices for 20 minutes. You should not exceed the norm, even if the child strongly protests. Parents should remember that they are the ones responsible for the health of their child, so in such important matters they need to show firmness and steadfastness.
Every movie and game has age restrictions, so you shouldn’t show action movies to a six-year-old child, even if their main character is a superhero whom the child loves very much. If a game, movie or cartoon is age-appropriate for a child, it would be a good idea to watch it with him, as manufacturers sometimes deliberately lower the age criteria in order to increase the number of potential users of the product.
A gadget should not become a thing with which you can “get rid” of a child’s attention. Yes, if you need to sit in line for an hour, the gadget can be used to entertain the baby, but you should not use this technique every time the child strives to get parental attention. For example, if mom needs to cook dinner, then why not ask the baby to help. While mom is making cookies, let him play with the dough.
It is strictly forbidden to play electronic games before bedtime, as this can negatively affect the baby’s healthy and sound sleep. Being overexcited, the child may not fall asleep or may sleep restlessly throughout the night.

It is impossible to live without gadgets in the modern world and children must learn to use them in order to take advantage of all the opportunities they provide. However, parents need to do everything possible to ensure that the phone, tablet and computer do not become a problem for the child and do not harm his psyche and his health. To prevent this, the use of gadgets must be competent and, most importantly, moderate. Only then will electronic devices contribute to the development of the child.

Myths about the dangers of smartphones

Today there are many myths about their bad interaction on the body, which we still believe. Let's get rid of misconceptions together.

Mobile phones can cause brain cancer. The smartphone does affect the human brain, but the World Health Organization could not prove that phones have a connection with tumors in the brain.

Smartphones damage your eyesight. This myth is half true. In fact, a smartphone cannot ruin your vision in any way. But incorrect operation of the device is easy. If you give your eyes rest and keep your smartphone at a distance of 20-30 cm from your eyes, it will not cause any noticeable harm to your vision.

Smartphones are addictive. Partial myth. Yes, we often hear this phrase; many never tire of repeating this statement to their children. But in fact, some scientists are inclined to believe that smartphone addiction is nothing more than the fear of being isolated from the whole world. Agree, in the 21st century you can’t do without a phone.

How does a child’s perception of information differ from an adult’s?

Bill Gates prohibited his children from using cell phones until they were teenagers, and Steve Jobs did not allow them to use an iPad until school. Parental controls are not a whim of the main IT evangelists. According to the New York Times, developers in Silicon Valley are seriously concerned about the impact of digital devices on their children, which is why even nannies are hired on one condition: not to use a smartphone in the house.

Several former employees of Facebook, Google and YouTube have created the Center for Humane Technology to lobby for bills against some of the technologies they themselves once helped create. First of all, we are talking about mechanisms whose task is to hold the attention of users for as long as possible, regardless of their age. But if being “stuck” on the Internet is not critical for an adult, it’s different with children.

In a child under 6-7 years of age, all cognitive processes, including attention, perception (visual, auditory, olfactory), as well as thinking and fantasy, are involuntary. Therefore, in preschool age, children are especially interested in everything bright and unusual. In order for a child to engage in any activity, the presence of an adult is necessary. By the first grade, a little person learns to concentrate even on what is not always interesting to him.

“With a phone, a child doesn’t have to strain. Everything there is bright, flashy and switches very quickly. If a gadget is the dominant form of leisure, the child simply does not develop the centers responsible for perseverance. He cannot concentrate in school and as a teenager. His main words are “I’m bored, I won’t do this.” But I won’t, because I can’t, and I can’t, because it’s not in my brain. The child still needs to be entertained,” says Elena Solyaninova.

At what age can you use a mobile phone?

Many parents teach their children to use smartphones from an early age. Sometimes it’s really easier to give your child a smartphone with cartoons and games, so that the child has something to do while the parents are busy. But a gadget is not a panacea that should save you in any situation.

Experts from the American Academy of Pediatrics and the Canadian Society of Pediatricians came to a common conclusion, thanks to which they created a “schedule” for the use of smartphones for children. In their opinion, a child under 2 years of age should not use devices at all. Older children can use a mobile phone with time restrictions.

3-5 years - 30 minutes a day.
7-10 – no more than an hour.
11-14 years old – 60-90 minutes a day.
Over 14 – no more than 90 minutes a day.

It is worth building a relationship with your child so that he clearly understands: if the smartphone is taken away, there is no need to beg the parents to watch for another 5 minutes. In addition, it is important to choose the time at which the child can get permission to use a smartphone. For example, give your children a phone only after they have completed their homework, chores, etc.

When can children use gadgets?

Almost from infancy, a child begins to become interested in the world around him. The baby is actively developing and growing. In this process, not virtual stimuli, but real objects should come to his aid. Toys you can touch, plants you can smell, parent stories you can hear.

Experts believe that it is better to introduce children to various devices after three years. During this period, the baby develops conscious actions. But it is necessary to reduce communication with the phone or iPad. A child 3-4 years old will need no more than an hour a day, a child 5-6 years old – no more than two hours a day.

How to understand that a child is addicted to a smartphone or gadgets?

Children born after 2000 were the first of the new generation Z, who cannot imagine their life without the Internet and technology. Many children can become hostages of circumstances and suffer from smartphone addiction. How to recognize this problem? Symptoms of a child's addiction to a smartphone:

The child does not spend his free time without a phone, tablet or computer.
Sleep disturbance, insomnia, poor sleep, refusal to fall asleep without a smartphone
Increased anxiety
Aggression when trying to limit a child’s access to the Internet
Breakdown without gadgets
The child communicates little with peers and replaces face-to-face communication with virtual

If such symptoms are present, it is necessary to take radical measures and limit the child’s access to modern technologies.

How to reduce the negative impact of phones on children?

The most effective way to reduce the negative impact of the phone on a child is to limit the amount of time he spends using the gadget. The less time a teenager or child sits with a gadget in their hands, the less harmful the technology is to their health.

Another way to wean a child off a smartphone is the 4 “B” Rule . To reduce the negative impact of smartphones on a child’s health, it is necessary to adhere to the 4 “W” principle: turn on, select, complete, turn off. Here are some principles:

Determine the time when your child cannot use the phone. Introduce a ban on gadgets after and before bedtime, during meals.
Use your smartphone for good. If you need to distract your child and decide to hand him a phone, make sure that the content is useful for the child.
Monitor what your child is doing on the phone. Don’t allow them to watch cartoons that contain violent scenes, and don’t allow them to play war games.
Give the right example to your children, because they adopt the behavior of adults. If you turn on the TV when you come home from work or hang out on a gadget all day, your child will adopt this behavior pattern.

Spend as much free time as possible with your children : walk outdoors, play board games, do housework. This will cut off the child’s need to occupy his free time with a smartphone and will significantly improve your relationship.

So can children use a smartphone? Answer: you can, but everything should be in moderation. Follow our recommendations and your life will become much easier. Be healthy!

Pros of using gadgets

Entertainment while waiting. Few people like queues or a long journey, and if the child is naughty, then the already stressful situation worsens significantly. But if you give him a phone with his favorite game or turn on a cartoon, the wait won’t be so painful.
Learning in an entertaining way. You don’t have to watch only cartoons on your tablet; you can also offer your child various educational programs for children. There are special games that help children learn numbers and letters faster. Such developmental programs can be turned on from the age of two, but do not forget that every game or application has an age limit. You also need to monitor how much time the child spent at the computer. So, if this is a three-year-old baby, his limit is an hour in front of the computer every day. It is also important to rest your eyes every 20 minutes; you can ask your child to take a walk or do special eye exercises with him. A slightly older child may be allowed to sit in front of the computer a little more, but breaks every 20-30 minutes are not canceled.