Nearly everyone uses a smartphone now including kids. Yes, kids. Kids are smarter and brighter now, that they have little or no difficulty navigating handheld devices. Even parents will be surprised by their knowledge. Of course, you cannot prevent this because we are in the digital age. However, few people fail to consider the side effects smartphones have on these kids.
Remember, unlike in the past, children of today grow up early and are exposed to all sorts of things.
These are 6 things you should consider before buying a smartphone for kids.
1. Facebooking instead of reading books
For many kids who own smartphones, their new book is Facebook. They spend so much time on social media that they barely read their books. This will no doubt affect their output and performance in school. This can be clearly reflected in the recent failures recorded in national exams.
2. Early exposure to nude images
With a smartphone, children get unhindered access to nude images and watch inappropriate content online. You will not be aware of this except you check their online activities. But this will be difficult because they know how to hide these contents.
3. Sexting
Instant messaging apps like WhatsApp, BBM and Facebook messengers amongst others have made it easy for sexting to happen. Sexting means chatting about sex on the aforementioned instant messaging platforms. A handful of kids engaged in sexting.
4. Digital dementia
Many kids are now suffering from Attention Deficit Disorder (ADD). They can only concentrate on their phones. Children can’t learn if they cannot pay attention.
5. Early addiction
If your child is having ADD, it is time to take away that phone from them. This will help them break the addiction before it becomes uncontrollable. According to a recent study, one in 11 children aged 8-18 years are addicted to technology. You don’t want this for your child.
6. Sleep deprivation
A child who is addicted to a smartphone will deprive himself sleep. The consequences of sleep denied is dire because it will affect their overall life cycle.
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- Written by Adeniyi Ogunfowoke
