How long can a kid go to teach the parents a lesson? A 7-year-old kid, Emil Rustige, along with 150 other kids, staged a demonstration in Hamburg, Germany, against the parent’s excessive mobile phone usage. Yes! You are reading it right. This news has been shared all over the internet. It brought the issue into the limelight that has long been in the hindsight of young parents.
Wake up call
Of all the things that have been hurting the parent-children relationship, Smartphone addiction is the most predominant one. Although smartphone addiction has been the most talked-about issue in recent times, we all ignore it as if it has nothing to do with our lives.
We see kids and teens being yelled at for staying glued to screens all the time. However, the same parents who are strict on their kids for their increased mobile usage forget to see that they are also caught in the same net.
Pandemic made it worse:
Our dependence on mobile phones and other digital devices has reached an all-time high as we are forced to stay at home due to the pandemic. Working from home to attending classes online, we relied on mobile phones, computers or tablets. Not just while we are at work, mobile phones have invaded the time we spend with our kids. In the fight with one pandemic, we have started another pandemic that will haunt us for generations to come.
A recent survey by Vivo’s annual switch-off report has revealed that around 66% of parents admit to being on the phone all the time. Unfortunately, smartphone addiction is a pandemic that has not yet been made aware of.
Ill effects of parent’s smartphone addiction on kids behaviour:
Children are invariably vulnerable to their parent’s poor behaviour. Likewise, phubbing directly impacts children. A scientific study shows that parents being unattentive towards their kids, leads to child’s negative behaviours. Here are some of the behavioural issues with children, which are influenced by phubbing:
- Hyperactivity
- Hot Temper
- Incessant whining
- Oversensitivity
- Tantrums
- Attention seeking
Besides all these issues, kids are equally prone to smartphone addiction as they grow up watching parents delve themselves into it. Kids start to indulge themselves in digital devices just as parents do.
Phubbing impacts any human relationship immensely. And if it is something that concerns your relationship with your kids, then it has to be uprooted immediately.
Strategies to reduce screen time:
Try the following methods to reduce your mobile phone usage:
- Create a no mobile phone schedule: Avoid bringing mobile phones to your dinner table. Make a rule at home not to use mobile phones while eating. Also, ban using mobile phones after a time at night. Likewise, make a schedule to limit your screen time and stick to it.
- Keep track of your usage: Download an app to track your daily mobile phone usage. Check how many hours you spend on your mobile phone on a typical day.
- Have real conversations: Instead of relying on apps such as Whatsapp, Messenger, etc., go out and meet your friends in person to have actual conversations. It will help you improve your mood as well.
- Make room for your kids: Avoid using mobile phones while your kids are around. Kids expect us to spend more time with them. Start being interactive with your kids. Nowadays, parents play along with kids on tablets and mobile phones. Avoid such games and try to perform physical activities.
- Get Help: Smartphone addiction is real. And it is spoiling the lives of many. If you feel you can’t help yourself to abstain from excessive mobile phone usage, seek professional help. Nowadays, several mental health professionals are offering counselling services for mobile phone addiction. You can easily reach out to a professional through websites such as yelp, ThreeBestRated®, and RateMds.
Sadly, we have evolved into a generation that enjoys the company of a device over humans. Are we turning materialistic? We possibly cannot answer that question. But if it is the case and if there is a chance, we can act and save our future generation.
