“Short-term restrictions on screen time can sometimes be effective in breaking a cycle of abuse that is detrimental to health and activities, but should not be the primary educational tool.” Harmful habits of using digital devices are often unknowingly formed by the parents themselves, so young people react to subsequent attempts to patch up these educational gaps with prohibitions as an undeserved punishment. For this reason, it is advised to reduce dependence on smart devices by using mutual trust and appealing to the young person’s own awareness,” says Julija Markeliūnė, Telia’s Diversity and Inclusion Manager.
There are not only games on the screen
When tending to strictly limit children’s time in front of screens, it is important to understand that with such actions, parents force their children to have a “window” to the world around them. Today, in the virtual space, young people not only have fun or “soak” in social networks, but also communicate, learn foreign languages or develop other skills. Not being able to improve and keep in touch with friends, the child may show anxiety, it becomes more difficult to fit in with peers, so this action should be weighed responsibly.
Thirteen-year-old Medeina Mantulovaitė reveals that watching YouTube on smart devices helped her improve her English a lot, and after learning the grammar of this language in special apps, she decided to take on an even bigger challenge – learning Korean using the Duolingo application. The teenager is also not limited to language training and constantly finds new meaningful activities in the virtual space, such as handicraft workshops and virtual piano lessons. However, due to her parents’ restrictions on screen time, she constantly had to choose between many hobbies and activities.
“When my parents imposed restrictions, I was the only one in the class that was subject to such restrictions. At that time, I felt anger and shame that I could not control my own time. Every time I sat down in front of my smart devices, I could choose one of the most enjoyable activities, so I spent much less time learning languages. It’s even worse that the time in front of the screen began to be accompanied by anxiety and constant looking at the clock, trying to do everything I had planned before the start of the restrictions”, M. Mantulovaitė shares her not-so-pleasant impressions.
Restrictions apply for a limited time only
Although the virtual parents’ nannies worked for a while, M. Mantulovaitė eventually found a way to circumvent the restrictions. The long-suffering “screen hunger” turned into a desire to make up for it, and the resulting side effects soon appeared. The girl began to feel nausea, headache and dizziness.
“By limiting screen time, we indirectly tell the child that using a smartphone or computer is a very special or even magical activity. In this way, a forbidden fruit is created, which the child will seek in every possible way”, explains Milda Linaburkytė, a psychologist at the Mental Health Center of the InMedica clinic.
According to expert J. Markeliūnė, young people can often bypass the daily screen time limitation by changing the time zone in the device settings or turning the time back a couple of hours. Failure to do so may result in factory reset attempts, resetting the device without parental restrictions, and restoring data from a backup. The dowry of the listed tricks can be supplemented with the use of internal browsers of apps. Even if content filters are activated in the device’s main browser, children can access their Gmail email. mailbox can send the link you want to access and open it inside the application itself, avoiding “red beacons” and blocking.
It is for this reason that it is recommended to use restrictions only in exceptional cases. According to psychologist M. Linaburkytė, a short-term “diet” of screen time can be useful for a teenager if parents notice that their child has become immersed in harmful content, complains of headaches, or studies or physical activity have started to suffer from the uncontrolled use of smartphones. However, keeping in mind the intelligence of the young generation, this measure should be seen from the beginning only as a temporary solution, allowing the offspring to return to a healthy rhythm of life.
Psychologist Antrina and M. Mantulovaitė, who confessed to her parents about outsmarting the restrictions and agreed that from now on she will be responsible for her time in front of the screens, felt more than one positive change.
“Freedom provides more opportunities to use the Internet not only for entertainment, but also to develop one’s time planning, independence competencies, and learn new things. When I know that I am responsible for my own time, I feel encouraged and motivated to use it as usefully as possible,” says the teenager.
An alternative to restrictions is mutual trust
Psychologist M. Linaburkytė states that parents themselves often form the tendency to harmful use of smart phones in children. To occupy the child on the trip or to calm him down, parents do not hesitate to place a tablet or smartphone in front of his eyes.
“However, when a child grows up or starts school, screen time is suddenly restricted for no reason the child can understand. The child begins to feel injustice towards himself and seems to ask why it was possible before, but not now? Therefore, in order to avoid this paradox, the baby should be introduced to screens no earlier than the age of three, and start with the lowest screen time rate, and not the other way around. For a person of preschool age, this norm is 1-1.5 hours. per day, and after starting school, it can be raised up to 2 hours. Consistently increasing screen time responds to the child’s growing digital needs and prevents the formation of addiction,” says M. Linaburkytė.
The expert notes that when a child takes his first steps in the virtual space, parents should be there and together create rules for responsible use. By taking an interest in their child’s digital activities, encouraging him to share his experiences and assuring him that he can turn to them at any time if he faces difficulties, parents can establish a relationship based on trust with him.
“Ultimately, it should be remembered that the habits of developing personalities are also strongly shaped by the environment. If the family members spend the evenings in different corners of the house, absorbed in the screens, and the father comes to take the phone from the child, holding the smartphone in the other hand, it is likely that it will not be possible to form a healthy usage mode. In order to teach our child something, we have to set an example for him. Therefore, for the prevention of harmful use in the family, it is very useful to agree on a time when all family members put their devices aside and spend time communicating or engaging in other non-virtual activities,” advises the psychologist.
2024-08-21 08:25:03