Mobile phones and other perils of modern day living – Part 2

Before I share with you all the other equally worrying problems resulting from exposure to gadgets at a young age and continued exposure in childhood, I wish to tell you about Aadhan.

Aadhan was a 6-year-old who was brought to my clinic by his grandmother. He was minded by a young babysitter. I heard him running around in the waiting room even before they entered the consultation chamber. He appeared restless, would not sit still, or listen to requests from all of us to calm down so that his eyes could be examined. Grandmother admitted to Aadhan having behavioral issues both at home and school. I now routinely ask about the use of gadgets to all child patients regardless of complaints. It had started with showing him videos on the phone to coax him to eat from eight months of age. His ‘addiction’ had gotten worse with the years. After the examination was completed with great difficulty, Aadhan was escorted out of the room by his babysitter. Grandmother and I had a little chat.

I shared with her what I had gathered from research studies on this matter. Studies have shown that ‘children who spend more than two hours a day in front of a screen have thinning of the frontal cortex, the area of the brain responsible for critical thinking and reasoning. Prevalence of imagined play decreases as young children get more immersed in virtual worlds, and part of the brain development stimulated by this form of brain activity is suppressed. These children are cognitively unable to transfer knowledge learned from a 2-D screen to their 3-D lives.

Young children learn social skills by engaging with their friends and family. Children belonging to the age group of 0-3 years are considered to be in crucial years for social development. This is the time when children are monitoring behaviours, picking up how to imitate them, and starting to interact with others. When the children are left with a screen, this screen time limits interpersonal contact, inhibiting them from developing the social skills they will need in the real world.

Language development is another area of great concern. This requires conversational exchanges rather than passive listening behind a screen. Lower reading test scores and attention issues are indications of how screen time affects a child’s development. Studies have found that infants who spent two hours or more a day on screens were six times more likely to experience a language impairment in the future.

Blue light from screens can cause sleep issues in both young and old people. Blue light inhibits the release of melatonin, which is required for restful sleep. Excessive evening screen usage might also cause sleep problems and delayed cognitive development in very young children (ages 6 to 12 months).

I explained to her that excessive and early introduction of screens to a child has several long-term impacts. Children who spend more time on screens are less likely to experience long-term happiness and are less likely to engage in sleep and physical activity, which are essential for children’s long-term healthy growth and development. Studies have shown that children’s exposure to digital media is linked to an increased risk of obesity.

Grandmother was quite shaken by all this. She promised to be more vigilant from now on, especially with Aadhan’s younger sibling. I concluded by telling her about the warning signs of gadget addiction.

Lack of attention or focus, anger and aggression, too many tantrums, avoiding social interactions, speech problems, speech delay, or Problems.

While attempts to completely curtail the use of gadgets are usually futile, with schools using them and digital media for education, one can be careful about using them in moderation and with supervision, and ensure they do not replace human interaction.