Children Access to Mobile Phones Should Be Limited
With the advancement of technology over time, many parents are buying smartphones for their children. Guardians think that allowing their children to have smartphones gives them a status in society. In the early days before smartphones, children used their leisure time to go outdoors and play with their friends. Nowadays, playgrounds are almost empty as children prefer to stay indoors and play games on their phones. Playing with other children in the past, one learned how to intermingle with others and made friends. Smartphones inhibit a child’s ability to interact with others, which affects their social skills in the future. Children who use social media are prone to experience cyberbullying and hacking that results in mental health issues. Unless smartphones are censored, children may also be exposed to graphic images and foul language that may result in bad morals. The performance of children may also be affected in school when children use their school time to text, play games, and surf the internet. As much as phones are good for communication, downloading music and learning, smartphones affect the health, development, social skill, academics and behavior of children and therefore phones should be restricted for children.
As children are in an early stage where their bodies undergo development and change, the radiation from phones may affect their health (Gipson et al.193). Children for long periods place phones near their ears according to research pose a high risk of getting tumors in their brain and ears that are non-malignant. Bones, protective innings, and tissues of a child are underdeveloped; therefore they take more than sixty percent radiation from smartphones. The radiation can have adverse effects on an individual that may damage the nervous system and can be classified as a likely carcinogen that causes cancer, according to the World Health Organization. The use of mobile phones interrupts the activities of the brain. Majorly, phones use electromagnetic waves for internal and external operations. The mind, too, has its electromagnetic waves and a neural network that does the communication. Waves originating from the smartphone can enter into the brains of children, which can lead to a change of behavior designs and mood tendencies. The interruption of brain activity can affect a child’s learning activities and lower their focus level. According to studies, a child spending a mere two minutes on the phone can affect a child’s brain activity (Merga et al., 188). While children play games on their phones, they are likely to lose track of time as they are fully attentive to the game. Children mostly prefer to play games in the evening as there are fewer disruptions but end up playing until the two or three in the morning. Lack of sleep with time leads to restlessness and fatigue. The concentration in class is reduced because of sleeplessness, which ultimately affects their academic performance. Access to the internet for children may cause cyberbullying and harassment, which research has indicated that children who experience cyberbullying experience mental damage. Social anxiety may also be experienced for children who spend most of their time indoors on their phones instead of playing fun games as they lack social skills.
The use of cell phones can result in the commitment of inappropriate behavior for children. Nowadays, access to pornographic material on the internet is easy and can affect the morals of children. Many children have found to get pornographic addiction, which can only be overcome by the help of a professional counselor. Unlimited access to information can be dangerous as some children can be lured to join cults and gangs, affecting their academics and wellbeing. Morals of children can be affected when they access foul language. Many children are addicted to their phones and spend most of their time chatting and playing games while neglecting their education. Smartphones not only divert children from their education but also acts as a medium of malpractice to pass their tests. Storing notes on smartphones, chatting with their friends to ask for answers, and using digital calculators is an instance of examination irregularities. If a student is caught in examinations, they risk in being expelled from school. Smartphones reduce time with family (Gipson et al., 192). These days children mostly spend time on their phones and neglect their families. Spending time with family is crucial as it helps one learn life skills (Merga et al., 195). Parents, therefore, should see that children have limited use of phones to create more family bonds. Children who carry their phones to school can disrupt lectures when the phone rings. Students who are not privileged to own phones feel left out and frustrates when they witness a student owning a phone.
Conclusively, as much as phones have a benefit of communication and learning, it affects the development and health of students. Parents should refrain from giving phone access to their children as it affects their health through the development of tumors and cancer as a result of electromagnet waves. Psychological problems arise when children experience cyberbullying. Social anxiety can also occur when children spend their leisure time indoors and fail to learn interaction skills. Many children tend to spend a lot of hours on their phones, thus less sleep, which may reduce their concentration levels in school. The morals of students are tarnished when they access pornographic material from the internet. Family time is affected when children spend all their time on their phones. Family bonding is crucial as it aids in the development of a child. Examination irregularities, like storing class notes on phones, can lead to expulsion. It, therefore, is crucial for parents to restrict the use of phones for their children and look for alternative means of entertainment such as playing outside.
Works Cited
Gipson, Shih Yee-Marie Tan, John Torous, and Eleni Maneta. “Mobile technologies in child and adolescent psychiatry: pushing for further awareness and research.” Harvard review of psychiatry 25.4 (2017): 191-193.
Merga, Margaret K., and Saiyidi Mat Roni. “The influence of access to eReaders, computers and mobile phones on children’s book reading frequency.” Computers & Education 109 (2017): 187-196.