Dangers of Technology on Children and Teens
Impacts of Technology
Technology has become a major part of our modern world and modern life. It is not surprising to see a toddler watching a show or even playing a game on a smart phone or see a group of teens not talking or joking, but quietly ‘hanging out’ all on their phones, or even a couple on a date with no interaction other than on their device. What is technology doing to our mental health, especially in children and teens?
Impacts of Technology
Children and teens are now spending more time on devices or using technology than anything else. Yes, that means more than they are in school and more than they’re even sleeping! While many schools are turning to devices for learning – Is it really helping?
Let’s look at how this impacts children’s reading skills. For example, children who read from a paper source retain more information than if they read from a screen. Reading from a paper source will also train their brain to know how to start and stop, which is a skill that translates from one activity to another. Often in a technology based format, there is an endless scroll, which makes it harder to refer back to a specific page to share their favorite part. The endless scroll has also become a temptation for many on social media platforms. Many children and teens are becoming dependent on their tech time. If you turn off a show or take away a cell phone, it can result in an epic meltdown or battle. If you do have a child or teen that has such a response when it’s time to turn off a device, you most likely have a device dependent kid. These children and teens tend to be dealing with higher levels of anxiety and depression. They use their device to cope or numb themselves of these distressing feelings instead of facing them or getting help. There are studies that show how technology can literally trigger drug-like responses in the brain.
Mental Health Impacts
Speaking of mental health, the impact of social media and gaming is startling. The stats for increased depression and other mental health has grown 50% to 75% over the past decade. The more friends you have on social media often results in more people to compare yourself to. This also increases pressure to curate and cultivate a brand of yourself to keep up with others. Many teens are experiencing more anxiety and depression because of this comparison.
There is also a break down in social skills. With children as young as two using devices they are not spending the same amount of time practicing social and emotional skills. As these kids age, they use social media or gaming as their socialization. Again, there is break down of being able to have IRL (in real life) experiences that foster growth and development. There is also a break down of knowing who you are. Teens are already trying to discover this, but add in a false sense of self that they portray on devices, plus a false level of ‘genuine friendships’ and you have a recipe for mental health disaster.
How to Manage Technology
We all know that at some point you have to give the “birds and bees” talk about sex, body, safety etc. Do you talk around technology? School does teach media safety, but it is more important that is comes from a family member. You need to coach, train and support how to use technology so that it can be fun or a resource but not something you have to have.
If you do have a child who is overly dependent on their device start by having a conversation about your expectations with technology. Then together outline how much time, in what ways, and where in the house they can use their tech time. I suggest taking 1- 2 weeks to step down the amount of time they get on their device. There also need to be some alternative activities they can do that are enjoyable. If your child is using their device as a coping tool they will also need extra support for their mental health.
The conclusion is not to be fearful of letting your child have a device or of technology. It is good to be well informed about the impact it is having. The later your child can have their own device the better. The more coaching and training you give and model around technology will allow your child to access all the benefits of technology while avoiding its pitfalls. If you do see yourself or a family member who struggles to put down the phone, reach out for help.