SMARTPHONES AND SOCIAL MEDIA ARE CHANGING CHILDHOOD
Childhood is rapidly changing for children. We hear it all the time. Playing outdoors, spending time with friends, reading books and spending quality time with family is happening a lot less, and has been replaced by hours of snap chatting, Instagramming, and catching up on YouTube or other apps. With children spending more and more time in front of a screen, many childhood essentials are pushed aside for online distraction.
SMARTPHONES AND SOCIAL MEDIA ARE ADDICTIVE
Research shows dependence on your unfiltered smartphone may produce some of the same addictive brain responses similar to alcohol, drug and gambling addictions. Unfiltered smartphones are like slot machines in your children's pocket constantly persuading them to crave more. We understand that the tech industry intentionally designs smartphone apps and social media for people to use for long periods of time because this is how they make their money.
SMARTPHONES OPEN CHILDREN TO A WORLD OF VALUES THAT MAY NOT, AND OFTEN DO NOT, SUPPORT OUR TORAH VALUES
For all its benefits, the internet and social media have opened a world of values to our children that may, and often do not support what we want them to be learning at home and school. While oversight (either literal or through filters) can help, our children are often not developed or mature enough to know how to integrate and evaluate all that they have access to. We want to help them build a stronger religious and values base before they are fully exposed to all that unfiltered smartphones and social media can offer them.
SMARTPHONES AND SOCIAL MEDIA ARE AN ACADEMIC DISTRACTION
Elementary and middle school years establish the foundation for your child's academic success. We try and teach children to learn how to productively manage time, projects and homework. Introducing a constant distraction with a smartphone or social media activity is paving a path for academic mediocrity.
The early results of a landmark study on brain development by the National Institute of Health suggest that children who spent more than two hours a day looking at a screen got lower scores on thinking and language tests. Research from the University of Texas suggests that the mere presence of a smartphone reduces cognitive capacity and test-taking brainpower. One study demonstrated that using smartphones in classrooms can even lower a student’s grade. Another study found that children who attend schools with smartphone bans did better on tests.
EXCESSIVE SCREEN USE IS ALTERING CHILDREN’S BRAINS
Initial results from a groundbreaking study by the National Institute of Health reveal that MRI's found significant differences in the brains of children who use smartphones, tablets, and video games more than seven hours a day. Children who spent an excessive amount of time on screens were found to have a premature thinning of the cortex. That's the outermost layer of the brain that processes information from the five senses.
SMARTPHONES AND SOCIAL MEDIA IMPAIR SLEEP
Studies show that the use of smartphones and other portable devices with screens affects the quantity and quality of sleep in children and teens. Children are likely restless because they anticipate receiving texts and social media messages from friends, which affects their nighttime routine. Some children even wake up in the middle of the night to check social media. Sleep disturbance in childhood is known to have adverse effects on health, including poor diet, obesity, weakened immune system, stunted growth, and mental health issues.
SOCIAL MEDIA AND SCREEN TIME CAN IMPACT BEHAVIOUR
Children who spend more time on screens have a higher likelihood of developing disruptive behavior disorders, with social media having an especially strong influence, a UC San Francisco-led study published in the Journal of Child Psychology and Psychiatry found. Social media use was most likely to be linked to conduct disorder, while other forms of screen use—such as watching videos and television, playing video games, and texting—were more likely to be associated with oppositional defiant disorder (ODD).
Conduct disorder is characterized by violating others’ basic rights or societal rules with actions such as bullying, vandalism and stealing, while ODD is marked by a pattern of angry or irritable mood, argumentative or defiant behavior, and vindictiveness.
SMARTPHONES AND SOCIAL MEDIA INTERFERE WITH RELATIONSHIPS
We hear often from parents that they regret allowing their child to have a smartphone because they have experienced the way the smartphone is destructive to relationships. The parent-child relationship may suffer. Children are often inattentive with the constant distraction the phone brings. Face to face relationships dwindle as children shift their time and energy to investing in their online “friendships.”
SMARTPHONES AND SOCIAL MEDIA INCREASE THE RISK FOR ANXIETY AND DEPRESSION
Children are not emotionally equipped to navigate difficult social media complexities at such an early age. Viewing someone else’s highlight reel on social media often leads children to think they are missing out compared to their peers.
Research shows that the more time someone uses social media the more likely they are to be depressed.
A Harvard Business Review showed the more you use Facebook the worse you feel.
Another report demonstrated that adolescents’ psychological well-being decreased the more hours a week they spent on screens.
In addition, when children overuse technology, the constant stimulation of the brain causes the hormone cortisol to rise. Too much cortisol can inhibit a child from feeling calm. The loss of tranquility can lead to serious anxiety disorders.
Suicide rates are on the rise especially for girls between the ages of 10 and 14 years old. For this age group, suicide rates have tripled over the past 15 years.
SMARTPHONES AND SOCIAL MEDIA PUT YOUR CHILD AT RISK FOR CYBER BULLYING
As we know too well, bullying is no longer limited to the playground or locker room. Bullies seek to harm children through social media and texting apps.
The most common medium used for cyber bullying is the smartphone. About one out of every four children has experienced cyber bullying, and about one out of every six children has done it to others.
Only one in 10 victims will inform a parent or trusted adult of their abuse. Recent research indicates that children who receive smartphones in elementary school versus later in childhood are more likely to be involved in cyber bullying. According to the researchers, the increased risk of cyber bullying related to phone ownership could be tied to increased opportunity and vulnerability.
SMARTPHONES AND SOCIAL MEDIA CAN EXPOSE CHILDREN TO SEXUAL CONTENT
This is difficult, but must be said. Smartphones have enabled children to view pornography anywhere. Pornography marketers intentionally target youth online to lure them to dangerous images and videos.
One study showed that 42% of online youth users have been exposed to online pornography. Of those, 66% reported unwanted exposure to pornography often through online ads.
Not only are children viewing sexually mature content with their smartphones, but they are creating it as well. More and more children are “sexting” (sending sexual text messages and or explicit images). Also, various apps open the doors to sexual predators seeking to track, groom and harm our children.