All that I am experiencing mentioned in the article - teenagers hooked to video games & texting by spending hours on smart phones with negative effects on childeren's behaviour, health and academic performance. Reproducing some of the excerpts from the article to reiterate to myself and my childeren in an attempt to wean them off the smart phones. (hoping against hope?)
“If kids are allowed to play ‘Candy Crush’ on the way to school, the car ride will be quiet, but that’s not what kids need, they need time to daydream, deal with anxieties, process their thoughts and share them with parents, who can provide reassurance.”
"Out in public, children have to know that life is fine off the screen. It’s interesting and good to be curious about other people, to learn how to listen. It teaches them social and emotional intelligence, which is critical for success in life.”
"Children who are heavy users of electronics may become adept at multitasking, but they can lose the ability to focus on what is most important, a trait critical to the deep thought and problem solving needed for many jobs and other endeavors later in life. As children have more of their communication through electronic media, and less of it face to face, they begin to feel more lonely and depressed."
There can be physical consequences, too. Children can develop pain in their fingers and wrists, narrowed blood vessels in their eyes (the long-term consequences of which are unknown), and neck and back pain from being slumped over their phones, tablets and computers.
