Bond with your family, not with gadgets!

While we’re still out of school, shouldn’t we be getting outside, developing hobbies or strengthening bonds with family members? Nevertheless, it is a common sight to see children playing with iPads, iPhones and video games. In today’s world, friends are made not in schools or neighbourhoods, but on social media sites like Facebook and Twitter. Personal problems are shared not with family members, but with online friends and strangers. We spend hours talking to Talking Tom a talking cat in a mobile app, while not socialising with the same ‘Tom’ sitting at the other end of the dining table!

These are just some of the ironic facts of today’s life that I still fail to understand. As for summer holidays, children get an opportunity to spend the whole day with their gadgets as they’re bored. I am concerned for these children as the internet and gadget addiction could result in mental problems like depression, anxiety and social isolation. There are many children who are very social on the internet, but are isolated in reality. As for the boredom issue, I feel there are ample ways to spend time, like developing a new hobby like painting or gardening, helping parents in daily work or even a simple game of cards with the whole family.

So, let’s all finish off the summer with a ‘gadget restricted summer’ and gradually convert this into a ‘gadget restricted life’. It’s time to build real bonds with friends and family that will last forever. After all, life is more than just a screen.

- The reader is a student based in Dubai.