New technologies are transforming children’s lives in the way they learn, communicate and are entertained. As digital technology gains space in your daily life, It is essential to understand how this affects their development to support them responsibly.. María Angustias Salmerón, pediatrician, digital health expert and participant in a debate on digital well-being and minors at the Palau Macaya of the “la Caixa” Foundation, defends the “urgent need for disconnection” among children and adults.
“The digital ecosystem is more and more complex. We are no longer talking only about screens, but about all digital media, social relationships are more impersonal and this affects because we are made to live in a tribe, in contact with nature”, explains the expert, and assures that the consequences of the use of technology are more and more notable: “We are seeing a rapid increase in myopia and strabismus, there is also very high sleep disturbance.. Healthy habits are lost and this also affects mental health. »
Beyond the physical, technologies also affect the behavior of minors: “We encounter children who consume pornography very early, adolescents with very violent behavior and different addictionslike the one that eight year old girls have for cosmetics, which is called cosmeticorexia“, says María Angustias Salmerón.
What has changed?
Looking back, exposure to screens is not something new, television has been a part of our lives for decades. However, the current situation is different according to the pediatrician: “Before, you couldn’t carry a movie screen in your pocketbut now we have devices with which we can watch movies and do many other things anywhere.”
Currently, screens are present even in school, but for Salmerón it is better to keep them away in this area. “If you ask a child to play with a screen, they will receive immediate gratification just by moving a finger. On the other hand, if they play with real materials, they will surely do so He will look for a partner, he will experiment with textures, temperatures, colors… We should aspire for schools to be screen-free spaces,” he explains.
If you have a child play with a screen, they will receive immediate gratification just by moving a finger. »
On the other hand, many parents give phones to their children so that they are not isolated from the social circle. But, according to the pediatrician, this only causes them to generate “greater difficulty establishing deep relationships”. Other parents justify phone use as a safety measure, although “if you need your child to carry a cell phone to go buy bread, it’s best not to leave them because you probably think they’re not ready yet,” he says.
Age to use mobile
There is no safe time to expose children to screens. From the Spanish Association of Pediatrics They recommend that the moment be delayed as much as possible. “Parents should ask themselves why they are being given the cell phone. Is there an alternative to achieve the same result without giving them a smart phone“, advises Salmerón.
Digital disconnection
In this situation, it is essential to be aware of digital consumption. The pediatrician invites us to multiply the hours of daily connection by 365 and to ask ourselves what we would do with all this time. Salmerón advises “to avoid screens at meals and in bedrooms” to ensure rest and safety and remind us that “the brain needs boredom and silence, without constant background noise”.
For there to be a healthier relationship with digital technology, the expert asks technology companies to “develop systems adapted to the needs of human beings and, above all, to protect children” with the aim of achieving “a technology that adds, educates, protects and serves society“.
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