How digital addiction impacts children

The swirling vortex of opinionated information that social media has morphed into has impacted us far more deeply than we usually give it credit for. Every time we sign into one of many social portals, it snags a bit of our mind, incorporating ideas, influencing decisions and, dare I say, modelling our persona.



As the technological deity sculpts more and more of our personality, we shrug off our skin and done on new facades to fit in with virtual crowds. This cybernetic selling of souls is the one reason phenomena such as ‘catfishing’ (luring someone into a relationship by fictional online persona), ‘ghosting’ (breaking all lines of communication with someone), ‘virtual long distance dating’, ‘keyboard warring’, and ‘cyber bullying’ have become relevant today.

Too much time online 

Fittingly called the ‘world wide web’, it ensnares every single one of us, voluntarily or involuntarily, but it’s the children and adolescents who have the shortest end of the stick. For more than one reason, underage users are the most susceptible to the virtual deception, underdeveloped powers of critical thinking, cognition and reasoning, lack of contextual knowledge base, peer pressure, subliminal messaging on part of advertising firms, and pure skullduggery on part of those prowling precisely for the weak minded for their nefarious purposes to name a few.

Paradoxically, tech-designers and engineers enact the most tech-cautious curfews for their younglings. For instance, Steve Jobs, the CEO of Apple barred his children from indulging with smart phones, while Silicon Valley executives and designers are notorious for enrolling their kids in low/no-tech schools. This is because scientific data backs the fact that ubiquitously glowing screens from tablets, smart phones and Xboxes temper with the frontal cortex of the brain which controls executive functioning and also deals with impulse control.



Dubbed the ‘digital cocaine’ by neurological experts, these gadgets tweak the release mechanism of Dopamine in the brain, the ‘feel-good’ hormone which leads to a proclivity for addiction comparable to that of substance abuse. This is reason why chaos and tantrum ensue when you try to pry your child off their screen. Once jumping the fence into true tech addiction, your child is likely to develop depression, anxiety, empathy and aggression, each of which becomes difficult to treat as more time passes.

According to a 2010 study, adolescents who are heavily ensconced in social media report feeling discontent, sad, bored and depressed most of the time. Studies also show that teens who are heavy digital media users have greater propensity for falling victim to sexual predation and breach of privacy. Indeed, researchers have proposed a new phenomenon, ‘Facebook Depression’, which describes depression like symptoms which develop due to excessive usage of the site which may give way to suicidal ideation due to cyber bullying, substance abuse and other self-destructive practices. Others also argue that continuous stimuli of any kind has lifelong impact on the brain as MRI scans conducted on licensed taxi drivers showed that their posterior hippocampus (area which controls long term memory and spatial navigation) was 7% larger than normal brains due to repeated navigation of the London streets.

Parenting in digital age

The mind-boggling and complex world of technology has us scratching our heads as tech enthusiasts cry bias at the results of isolated studies. Their retort is that blaming and banning technology is counterproductive, citing results of a 2012 University of Texas study that showed that virtual reality training with a digital device boosted social skills and cognition in autistic children, while another research suggested that iPad are veritably as effective as sedatives in calming children before surgery.

An additional study published by international research body found that in 3,000 EU national children between ages of six and 11 with nearly similar surrounding parameters, gamers outperformed non gamers at schools and stood a better chance of peer adjustment. Pro-tech theorists also argue that routine activities like eating, shopping, and sports trigger the reward areas in similar manner so it is difficult to draw the line between activity and addiction.

While scientists may still straddle the fence when it comes to neurological ramifications of digital exposure, there is a burgeoning ethical debate surrounding the deep recesses of the web, with media inspired crimes committed by children like the slenderman assaults only adding fuel to the fire.

No matter what side of the coin you pick, there is no arguing the fact that we are gradually losing our originality and depth as social media takes over our life and contorts our opinions to its will. An ounce of precaution is better than a pound of cure when it comes to controlling screen-time for children. Bar screens for under 10s and allow older kids strictly controlled access. The best way is to lead by example to restrict digital gluttony while investing greater effort in tech-free activities like sports and arts and crafts. Rest assure, letting your children get bored is far better than pawing them off on the internet which will ultimately stunt their brain development, and handicap them in the long run!