Kids are missing out on the fun of being a kid. Phones, iPads and social media have become such a norm in society, that children spend their time locked away inside with social media, to the point they grow up with social media, not with friends.
Access to social media is not the only concern, their young minds are still developing, and they need and desire social skills and problem solving. Without that, the development of social anxiety, fear of rejection, insecurities, and unawareness will develop. Instead of growing up without a care in the world, they stare at the screen and wish for the life they don’t have instead of enjoying the one they have instead.
“Children don’t get to have experience in communicating with other people, so later on in life it gets harder for them, same with sleep if they don’t have that screen time in place,” junior Adna Dedic said.
With the lack of face-to-face interactions and personal communication, it will result in emotional sensitivity, and at such a young age will only hurt them in the future.
According to Pub Med, it was soon found that in many 26-year-olds, population-attributable fractions indicated that 17% were overweight and 15% of poor fitness fell back to the watching of television for more than 2 hours a day during childhood and adolescence. The physical factor is heavily overlooked, when introduced to technology at such a young age, children tend to lack physical fitness and develop unhealthy eating habits.
“Children get distracted when their eating, then they overeat, and they don’t get exercise,” Dedic said.
As well as neck pain, poor sitting posture, poor sleep schedule and eye strain when introduced to phones and technology at such a young age is likely.
Many will argue that the access to phones at a young age is not a big deal or won’t cause any problems. They aren’t completely wrong, children should be allowed, but for only small periods of time and in moderation. Because phones can be a distraction in schoolwork, reading, as well as other important activities that demand their attention. Social media is not always a healthy place for a child to grow up with.
“It doesn’t matter what age you are, and there’s just so much with social media, and you can’t control how your words are perceived to the other person, so it is not like having an in person conversation,” Family and Consumer Science teacher Angela Cizek said. As social media is a commonly used platform to communicate with others, cyberbullying is likely to happen. Anxiety, depression and insecurities at a young age will interfere with their ability to love and accept themselves before others will, leading to isolation from the lack of friendships made which is crucial to the self-development and self-esteem.