Toddlers who are allowed access to tablet devices for extended
periods of time everyday are in danger of suffering from long-term
effects, experts have observed.
In the UK, a
four-year-old girl became increasingly “distressed and inconsolable”
whenever her parents took her iPad away from her. The child, the
youngest known to ever require treatment for this particular condition,
has since then been receiving compulsive behavior therapy, according to The Telegraph.
Escalated use
The parents told the doctors that, in the span of a year, the amount of
time their daughter spent on the iPad had escalated to up to four hours
daily.
“The child's mother called me and
described her symptoms,” said Dr. Richard Graham, who three years ago
established the first technology addiction program in the UK. “She told
me she had developed an obsession with the device and would ask for it
constantly. She was using it three to four hours every day and showed
increased agitation if it was removed.”
He
believes there are many other children who have become addicted to iPads
and mobile phones. When these devices are taken away from the young
technology addicts, they experience the same withdrawal symptoms as drug
addicts and alcoholics.
'Digital detox'
Dr. Graham warns parents that this condition could seriously interfere
with a child’s ability to form normal social relationships, so that
something as natural as human interaction could become exhausting for
him or her.
“Children have access to the
internet almost from birth now,” he said. “They see their parents
playing on their mobile devices and they want to play too. It's
difficult, because having a device can also be very useful in terms of
having a reward, having a pacifier. But if you don't get the balance
right it can be very dangerous.
“They can't cope
and become addicted, reacting with tantrums and uncontrollable behavior
when they are taken away. Then as they grow older, the problem only
gets worse. Even the most shy kids, when they hit their teens, suddenly
want to become sociable and popular.”
London’s
Capio Nightingale clinic is the site of the 28-day treatment program,
called “digital detox”. Designed by Dr Graham to specifically treat
children suffering from addiction to technology, it can cost up to
£16,000 —or over P1 million.
Troubling trends
Over the past three years, the number of people who have become
dependent on this type of technology has risen by 30 per cent, according
to psychiatrists.
A recent UK survey revealed a
disturbing statistic: over half of parents allow their very young
children to play with digital gadgets.
Babies.co.uk
questioned more than 1,000 parents about their babies’ use of these
devices. One in seven of them confessed that they allowed their babies
to use tablets and smartphones for up to four hours a day, or more.
“Given that babies between 3-12 months are awake for only around 10
hours per day this is a huge proportion of their waking day,” said the
managing director of the website, James Macfarlane. “Although 81 per
cent of our users felt that children today spend too much time on smart
devices, it hasn’t put most of them off using them to entertain their
baby.” — TJD, GMA News
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