How are Screens Corrupting the Minds of Young Children Today, and What Can Parents Do to Stop It?

Let’s admit it. Our daily routine revolves around screens. All of us are continually switching screens while working on our office computers, checking our notifications on mobile devices, and watching TV when we get home while playing games on a tab at the same time.

Children follow everything that the adults do, and that is why screen time is increasing at an alarming rate among kids. New research has revealed that children aged 8-10 spend almost 6 hours of their day using electronic devices, and those who fall in the bracket of 11-14 are stuck to the screens for almost 9 hours a day. All the screen time must have some adverse effects on these young minds, so let’s talk about it.

How screen time affects children

The primary focus of the research was to study the impact of screen time on the development of children. The study revealed that kids who spent most of their time behind screens had lower self-regulation abilities. The research also concluded that the ones who spent less time behind the screens were highly receptive and worked on everything with full focus and concentration. Due to the adverse outcome of the research, the scientists recommend that parents limit the screen time of their children as much as they can.

TV and Computer screens are somewhat safe

It may come as a surprise to you, but scientists noticed that while the exposure to cellphones and excessive usage of tablets had a negative impact on the minds of the kids, watching TV and traditional computer screens had little impact on this aspect. They all agreed on the fact that this might be due to the fact that these traditional screens provide informative and educational content and are usually better in quality.

A bit of open advice for all moms and dads

One advice parents should follow is to not expose their kids to these devices if they are at the early stages of development and consider delaying the whole thing. The other advice that the scientists gave to the parents is to limit the excessive use of cellphones and other screens in front of their children, asking them to break the habit too. During that time, parents, along with their children, should watch informative and educational content on traditional devices instead.

While the researchers are looking forward to conducting an in-depth study, they said that exposure to screens for an extended period could have some severe impacts on the minds of the users in the long run. Developing learning disabilities, difficulties when it comes to dealing with emotions and feelings, and exhibiting behavioral problems at home and in school may just be some of them.