The space dedicated "to grown-ups"
Digital education
Technology is a part of all of our lives. What are the signs to be careful of as a parent? You can even take a quiz to test your preparedness!
Answer
this quiz
and find out
how well you know the world of
of digital education!
Did you know that?
- A person checks their smartphone, on average, 150 times a day
- American teens spend 7 hours and 22 minutes a day in front of a screen, not counting the times they use it at school or for homework. (Common Sense Census, 2019)
- 70% of 11-12 year olds use a cell phone and that number rises to 90% by age 14 (statistics from England)
- 20/25% of 2-5 year olds have a smartphone.
The benefits of using technology
So should we get scared and lock technology in a drawer forever? This is not our position: when we are aware, informed and prepared, then we are also ready to appreciate the benefits that are brought by these powerful tools.
The child who knows how to use such devices is more capable of handling quick computer searches, making quick decisions, developing visual acuity and multitasking.There are games that help develop peripheral vision, stimulate memory, reflexes, and other executive functions, up to and including real training such as Cogmed, for children and young people with concentration difficulties (https://www.centroleonardo-psicologia.net/cogmed.html).
Access to the Internet, properly supported and filtered, allows you to expand your knowledge and deal with different realities, keeping an open mind.
Other positive effects of introducing a strategic use of technology:
Self-sufficiency: through early guidance and support, parents and teachers can help children learn how to self-regulate the time they spend on their phones. This lesson will help them create and practice practices of self-awareness and self-reflection that will better prepare them for adolescence and, eventually, young adulthood.
Digital Literacy: When children use smartphones, they are effectively preparing themselves to engage with the technologies of the future. As some schools offer students high-speed Internet access, children can begin to develop a greater understanding of how to navigate online resources via their smartphones. One teacher interviewed by “USA Today” found that this level of access has a democratizing effect, meaning it can help bridge the digital divide between families of different income levels.Access to emergency services: in the unfortunate event of an emergency, students with access via smartphones can find help more easily. Regarding the effects of smartphones on child development, this constant ability to reach emergency services can give both children and parents a sense of security that enables growth.
Are there any effects on development?
Dr. Jenny Radesky of Boston Medical Center, studied the impact of smartphones and handheld devices in the relationship and interaction between parents and children: “They (children) learn language, expression of emotions, and more, just by watching us. How to have a conversation, how to read the facial expressions of others. Exposure to a screen can contaminate this growth path, providing confusing stimuli, or even simply taking time away from the quality parent-child relationship. “In particular, the behavioral consequences of smartphone addiction in children have received attention from scholars around the world. A paper titled “Association Between Mobile Technology Use and Children’s Adaptation in Early Elementary School Age” (https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/30044819/) used data collected from a group of 1,642 first graders in Japan to determine if there is a link between smartphone technology use and behavioral development. The researchers found that “regular and frequent use of mobile devices appears to be associated with behavioral problems in childhood.”
Source: https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC6059409/
In addition, some scholars have even become interested in the negative effects that smartphones can have on children’s bodies. A recent article published in the journal Child Development explored the physical health consequences of smartphone use for children. It stated that as more and more children begin using smartphones at an early age, “it is important that neurological disease, physiological dependence, cognition, sleep, and behavioral problems be considered.” Therefore, parents and physicians should be aware of the repercussions of early smartphone use.
Source: https://www.researchgate.net/publication/316974592_Effects_of_
Mobile_Phones_on_Children’s_and_Adolescents’_Health_A_Commentary
How to move?
The World Health Organization (WHO) has begun to identify the risks associated with children using smartphone technology. The organization stated that children between the ages of two and four “should not spend more than one hour per day in front of a screen.” In addition, the authors said that “long-term consequences may be difficult to measure and ethical concerns prevent experiments” that could explore the topic in more depth. In other words, it’s still unclear what might happen, as an adult, to the child who spends an excessive amount of time in front of a screen, because no scientist has voluntarily wanted to subject a child to this experience to test it
10 practical tips
- Play with your children and interact with them face-to-face.
Make sure smartphones don’t interfere with play and socialization opportunities. - Be the first to set a good example of positive smartphone use.
Encourage family meals and communication.
Establish fixed, “device-free” times in the home. - Look for quality apps/devices that promote building vocabulary, math, literacy and science concepts.
There are tablets created specifically for children that are therefore better than adult tablets.
Keep smartphones out of bedrooms. - Use control apps such as Google Family Link (https://families.google.com/familylink/), Kidslox (https://kidslox.com/) and ScreenTime (https://screentimelabs.com/).
- Inform yourself about the content of games and apps before you let your children use them.
