How Gadgets Affect Your Kid’s Development

These days, it's hard to imagine life without phones, tablets, computers, and other gadgets. When considering how gadgets affect your kid’s development, it's clear that modern kids rely more and more on these devices each year. Even ten-year-old's know how to use an online editor to get an A+ on their essays!

In some families, phones and computers have taken the place of grandmother's stories, mother's lullabies, and talking with fathers. Gadgets are becoming the main educators of our children. According to UNESCO, 93% of kids aged 3 to 5 spend 28 hours a week on their gadgets, but only 4 hours a day with their family.

Doctors and psychologists say that kids who depend a lot on their gadgets have several problems. Besides worsening eyesight, they also have issues with posture and are less physically active. This highlights another aspect of how gadgets affect your kid’s development, making it a critical issue for parents to address.

Devices Affect Preschoolers’ Development

Imaginative and spatial thinking skills develop during preschool years, but games and apps on smartphones can slow this down. Videos can’t teach kids about the real world as well as hands-on activities can. This is an important way how gadgets affect your kid’s development.

Instead of playing outside, kids who spend a lot of time on gadgets stop thinking for themselves. Parents need to provide fun activities to avoid negative effects.

A big issue is delayed speech development. More kids are starting to talk later and with simpler language. Nearly every child in kindergarten needs speech therapy now. Studies show that 25% of 4-year-olds have speech problems, compared to just 4% in the 1970s.

This happens because hearing speech from gadgets isn’t the same as real conversations. Kids learn to talk through direct communication, listening, and responding to real people. Speech from gadgets doesn’t prompt them to think or respond, which further shows how gadgets affect your kid’s development.

Impact on Teenagers’ Lives

The Monitoring the Future survey, conducted among high school students since 1975, shows that teens are increasingly unhappy with their lives. This unhappiness is linked to the amount of time they spend on the Internet. The more time they spend on social networks, the more dissatisfied they feel with their lives and mood.

Doctors say the iGeneration is withdrawn, lonely, and depressed. Despite the connection opportunities social networks offer, many teens still feel isolated. Some might deny this and say they are happy, but they often still feel the need for more real communication.

Teens, especially girls, demand more attention. If they don't get enough, they feel worse. Since 2010, the number of unhappy young females has increased by 48%. This is because social media often makes other people's lives look better and more exciting.

Many kids today are addicted to likes and comments. Approval from friends is very important to them. Some get very upset if they don't get enough attention on their Instagram profiles. The Internet is also a place for cyberbullying, where people can leave mean comments without consequences.

How to Reduce Negative Impact of Gadgets on Kids

The Monitoring the Future survey, conducted among high school students since 1975, shows that teens are increasingly unhappy with their lives. This unhappiness is linked to the amount of time they spend on the Internet. The more time they spend on social networks, the more dissatisfied they feel with their lives and mood.

Doctors say the iGeneration is withdrawn, lonely, and depressed. Despite the connection opportunities social networks offer, many teens still feel isolated. Some might deny this and say they are happy, but they often still feel the need for more real communication.

Teens, especially girls, demand more attention. If they don't get enough, they feel worse. Since 2010, the number of unhappy young females has increased by 48%. This is because social media often makes other people's lives look better and more exciting.

Many kids today are addicted to likes and comments. Approval from friends is very important to them. Some get very upset if they don't get enough attention on their Instagram profiles. The Internet is also a place for cyberbullying, where people can leave mean comments without consequences.