Digital Addicts

Childhood is the most significant time in the development of an individual. If the conditions are not optimal for a child to thrive and survive, there are lasting impacts on his physical and mental health and personality development. Digital addiction in children is a serious concern, and awareness must be created around the adverse effects of this grave matter. In addition to that, serious steps need to be taken to create awareness around this, and work should be done to facilitate a much-needed change.

So, what is digital addiction? It is a condition where people compulsively and excessively use their gadgets to access the internet or for another purpose to the point that it disrupts their daily lives, responsibilities, and mental and physical health. Children are the most vulnerable to this addiction because their developing brains can be conditioned to the reward mechanism associated with instant gratification from online content.

These days, children spend an unlimited amount on electronic devices to the extent of addiction because of the compulsive use of electronic devices, and any free time is spent hiding behind electronic devices. Its addictive nature is evident from the withdrawal symptoms that a child displays when the use of the gadget is reduced. There are tantrums, mood irritability, and behavioral issues, and most parents, in the face of this, give in and hand over the gadget back to the child. Children compromise their eating and sleep to stay on digital platforms for hours. There is less physical activity, and the effects of it on physical health are a vast area in itself.

For most children, it has become a fixation where social connection is compromised. Unfortunately, most parents have found a co-parent or a digital babysitter lurking in these smart gadgets. Unlike when parents had to spend their energy engaging a two-year-old, for example, through play, these days gadgets will be the solution for many parenting challenges like a child not eating or running around with excessive energy. Unfortunately, the child at such a tender age is suppressed within the world of electronic devices.

Research shows that there are more mental health challenges experienced by children these days as compared to the last decade. Anxiety and panic attacks are more common. Smart gadgets overstimulate the brain, and the nervous system is hyper-activated and stimulated, releasing excessive stress hormones known as cortisol. Children sublimate their abundance of energy in the digital world and not through physical activity, which leads to depression, especially as children are not getting any avenue to express themselves emotionally like before through play, arts, or sports.

So, many introverts growing up have learned to shut down their thoughts and emotions or sublimate them to electronic devices. Physical activity releases endorphins, whereas cooped up indoors produces a sense of isolation, and lack of social connectivity leads to depression at a very early age. Lack of physical activity leads to obesity, which in turn creates self-image issues.