Effect of Excessive Screen Time on Children Today
The last century has seen the greatest of inventions and technological advancements. Along with the technological advancements came a lot of inventions that can be argued by the parents, whether their inventions are a boon or curse to the human civilization. Some of them include television, Mobile phones, laptops, tablets because all of these inventions have one thing in common that they all have a screen, which is their prime motto i.e to give the viewer a visual treat and also to display the requested information. But these screens of these devices have become a serious threat to the eyes and hence to the visual ability of children of all age groups.
Technically, the sedentary activity and
being physically inactive while sitting down in front of a television,
computer, laptop or smartphone can be referred to as “screen time”. The
increased access to the new digital media devices has contributed to a rapid
rise in the average screen time exposure for children. Total daily screen time
in children has risen from five to approximately eight hours. Excessive screen
time in childhood is often associated with behavioral health problems that come
along. The most common behavioral change that can be witnessed easily is sleep
quality and sleep duration. With less sleep come a whole lot of diseases in
children that causes adverse effects in the long run. Cambridge School Noida is
among the top 5 schools in Noida
because we inculcate discipline in students right from the beginning of their
initial years of education. At our school, we educate children about the
adversities of using phones and television.
Some of the Adverse Effects associated with increased screen time
· Sleep deprivation
affects the quality of sleep. The blue light emitted from the devices
interferes with the brain’s sleep cycle and prevents a night of good sleep.
· Raises
the child’s risk for attention problems, anxiety and depression. It is proven
by the experts that higher screen time and depression are interconnected and it
increases suicidal behaviors and lowers an individual’s ability to read
emotions in general.
· Raise
the child’s risk for gaining too much weight leading to obesity. Engaging hours
in sedentary activity, such as playing video games and watching television can
be a risk factor for obesity. Heart health is also impacted which can lead to a
higher risk of diabetes, increased blood pressure or cholesterol.
· Can
cause chronic neck and back pain. Too much screen time is the major cause of
poor posture, causing chronic neck, shoulder and back pain. Instead, one should
take breaks from sitting to walk around, stand or stretch. Making sure that the
chair provides ample back support can help immensely in providing relief to the
back of the child. Keeping the electronic device at eye level also helps.
Methods to reduce the screen time
Making an effort to reduce screen
time every day by a few hours helps a lot to relax the child from getting
exposed to screen time-related health problems. The other important steps
include using parental control for the child, setting aside the time to unplug,
model healthy electronic use, encouraging other physical activities and keeping
the bedrooms screen-free can be a strict but effective method to keep kids away
from m their devices at bedtime.
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