Her nine-year-old-son was rather upset. “I’m the only one in class who doesn’t have a phone,” he said.
Dubai-based Ambika Gopalakrishnan, a homemaker, remains firm in her resolve not to buy a smartphone for her son, despite his tearful requests. “Not till he is at least fifteen,” she says flatly. She is rather alarmed after attending her son’s classmate’s birthday parties: The children are just playing on their phones, immersed in some deep virtual world of interactive games where they play with strangers on the internet. “You don’t even know who they’re talking to,” she says. Moreover, she worries about a “detachment” from reality and the burgeoning lack of face-to-face conversations among children.
Many parents cite safety as a reason for providing their children with smartphones. Abu Dhabi-based Angela Lewis, a Canadian entrepreneur has provided a phone to her 10-year-old son, so that he can always call her in case of an emergency. Her sister monitors her daughter’s activity closely on the phone, and even takes away the phone by bedtime. However, as psychologists note, while these rules seem promising for the short-term, handing a growing child a smartphone has rather negative effects on their mental health in the long run.
There is a strong correlation between heightened smartphone usage and compromised physical, cognitive activity in children, explains Minu Matthews, a health psychologist and associate professor in psychology at Heriot-Watt University Dubai. Explaining the various array of issues she notes, "Sleep quality is also compromised, especially when screens are used right before bedtime, leading to mental arousal, disruption of the circadian rhythm, and overall poorer sleep quality. Socially, the excessive smartphone use inhibits children's ability to form genuine interpersonal connections, as they struggle to engage in meaningful interactions outside the digital realm," she says. Moreover, the emotional toll of social media usage results in heightened levels of anxiety, depression and loneliness, as there is more exposure to bullying and unrealistic standards on social media.
Socially, the excessive smartphone use inhibits children's ability to form genuine interpersonal connections, as they struggle to engage in meaningful interactions outside the digital realm...
The cost of a phone-based childhood
There has been a rather disturbing 'rewiring' of childhood, as US-based social psychologist Jonathan Haidt writes in his latest book, The Anxious Generation.
As Haidt explains, the “firehouse” of addictive content that has entered children’s eyes and ears through phones, is now a replacement for physical play and in-person socialising. Developmentally, children’s brains are not meant to adapt to cope with such content. The reward-seeking parts of the brain mature earlier, however, the frontal cortex, which is held accountable for self-control and will power, is not fully operational till the mid-twenties. These factors create a dangerous, “toxic” cocktail he says, especially when children are faced with algorithms that are advanced enough to even hold adult attention hostage for hours at a time.
They cannot be expected to be disciplined about their phone usage control, and gradually lose sight of their interests and schoolwork. Moreover, it’s also the endless access to information that they have too. They’re exposed to perfectly curated lives on social media at a young age, encouraging unrealistic expectations that could lead to anxiety, depression, and a perpetual feeling of dissatisfaction later in life.
He recalls the story of a Boston mother, who felt that she had “lost” her 14-year-old daughter. She and her husband had tried to reduce the amount of time her daughter spent on Instagram. However, the teenager got into her mother’s phone, disabled the monitoring software, threatening dire consequences if they reinstalled it.
There are several crippling harms, triggered by this new childhood, he writes. It includes social deprivation, sleep deprivation, attention fragmentation and addiction. Research backs up these claims: A 2018 study titled Association between mobile technology use and child adjustment in early elementary school age published in the American National Library of Medicine, found a correlation between increased screen time use in children and behavioural issues — like conduct problems, hyperactivity, and inattention.
The stalling of communication
Dubai-based Lindsay Augustine, a child psychologist, explains that it is crucial for children to interact with others, engage in physical play, to foster social development. These are the vulnerable years, she adds. “A lot of their development is dependent on these interactions. Activities like play, and exploration encourage creativity as it requires problem-solving, and promotes the development of cognitive abilities. As a result, children have a better chance of developing communication skills, conflict resolution and emotional intelligence. As she and Louis Fourie, a clinical psychologist at German Neuroscience Center explain, when children spend time on smartphones, they are robbed of these experiences. This addiction to the phone hinders their flow of communication, and can fracture their understanding of inter-personal relationships.
The trouble with screen-time
Screens provide a very different type of stimulation compared to real-world experiences, explains Augustine. It involves consumption of information and rapid-fire visuals, which can be overwhelming for them.
The content on the phone triggers the release of dopamine, a neurotransmitter associated with pleasure and reward. It stimulates children and makes it difficult for them to focus on activities that don't provide the same instant gratification. Just like a magnet, these dopamine spikes attract the child’s attention to the device or app. “It tells them that this activity is more interesting than other activities that will trigger less dopamine spikes, such as finishing homework or playing outside,” she says.
So, the child succumbs to the allure of the smartphone, as their brain hasn’t developed enough to ignore the pull of these devices. And these devices have everything: Games, social media, shopping online, says Augustine. The child’s brain doesn’t have the level of self-control to regulate this screentime. “Even adults find it hard to fight the power of these algorithms,” she says. And so, the child is glued to the phone for hours at a time.
Moreover, the content is usually catchy, flashy, and quick-paced, as she says. It presents the information in this fragmented manner, with exciting changes in animation and sound. As a result, children become used to such fast-paced content, and find it difficult to focus on a single task for a longer period.
“They also begin to have a lower tolerance for boredom. The screens become a constant source of entertainment, leaving little room for boredom, which is an important of healthy development. When children are bored, they look for different ways to use their imagination and engage in self-directed play, which encourages longer attention spans,” she notes.
The interactive features in digital content can lead to various psychological responses, affecting motivation and mood. Adding to these difficulties are privacy issues, often resulting from children's limited understanding of online safety...
Worse, the ramifications of this unsupervised screentime can also be psychologically scarring, as it leads to cyberbullying, which can effectively scar young minds, as Augustine and Sobia Nasim, a Dubai-based child and adolescent psychiatrist at Medcare Camali Clinic explain. Owing to the virtual world compared to school, strangers have the access of harming the child through the internet, when he or she’s supposedly safer at home, leading to dangerous repercussions on their mental health.
You’ll start seeing the tell-tale signs of mental deterioration too: They will find it more difficult in concentrating on their classwork and become less comfortable with interacting with their classmates and teachers. This fuels behavioural problems in adulthood, including aggression, as the psychologists explain. There is a series of cascading effects, including emotional and physical disconnection from family members, as Nasim explains, which highlights the importance of fostering shared activities and quality family time.
The disturbance in sleep patterns
Smartphones have the potential to be a double-edged sword when it comes to a child's health. It can disrupt the two pillars of a healthy childhood: Sleep and physical activity.
Research has found deep links between disturbed sleep habits and the prolonged screen-time. According to a 2022 UK-based academic review of 36 correlational studies, the heavy use of screen media was associated with shorter sleep duration, longer sleep latency and more mid-sleep awakenings. Those who were sleep-deprived, had poor concentration, and lower retention of information, compared to those who had an uninterrupted eight hours of sleep at night.
According to Augustine, the blue light emitted from the smartphones impacts the production of melatonin, a hormone that regulates the sleep-wake cycles. “It makes it harder for children to fall asleep and stay asleep, fuelling further sleep deprivation,” she adds. Worse, owing to the barrage of games and intriguing content on the phones, the children’s minds are increasingly active, when they’re supposed to be winding down for bed. “They become more restless, and keep trying to return to the phone, to play, or chat with their friends,” she says.
And so, they start finding ways to stay up late without their parents knowing, messaging friends, playing games, which disrupts their natural sleep schedule. As a result, they’re tired and sluggish, the next day, says Augustine.
So, how to combat the problem?
The interactive features in digital content can lead to various psychological responses, affecting motivation and mood, similarly found in other addictive behaviours, explains Louis Fourie, a clinical psychologist at Dubai-based German Neuroscience Center. Combined with these difficulties are privacy issues, often resulting from children's limited understanding of online safety, making them vulnerable to exploitation and manipulation. It is important for parents to be vigilant and aware of their children’s smartphone use, educating them about online safety, and fostering healthy and open communication.
Ideally, as the psychologists suggest, it is far safer to delay providing your child a phone till they’re in the mid-teens. However, acknowledging that situations and circumstances do arise when you need to keep track of your child, it is best to provide them with a basic phone, says Lindsey. “A simple, basic phone without the allure of a dozen apps, just for calling or texting,” she notes.
She also adds that strong supervision of a child’s time on the phone should be maintained: Preferably, the adult stays near when the child is on the phone, so that they do not have access to unlimited information, or stumble upon something that is inappropriate, or get entangled in any cyberbullying incidents. “There should be strict rules on the time spent on a phone,” she concludes.
As Sindhu Lohana, Specialist Pediatrics & Neonatology, Aster Hospital Muhaisnah breaks it down:
Establish clear guidelines for screen time based on age-appropriate recommendations from experts.
- Use parental control tools and settings to enforce these limits and monitor usage.
- Encourage breaks during screen time sessions to prevent prolonged exposure.
Promote outdoor activities
- Schedule regular outdoor playtime to encourage physical activity, exploration, and social interaction.
- Plan family outings to parks, nature reserves, or playgrounds to foster a connection with the natural world.
- Lead by example by participating in outdoor activities with your children.
Acknowledge educational benefits
- Embrace technology as a tool for learning and exploration.
- Encourage the use of educational apps, games, and interactive content that promote creativity, critical thinking, and problem-solving skills.
- Stay informed about educational resources available online and integrate them into your child's learning experience.
The importance of balance and moderation:
- Teach children the importance of balance in all aspects of life, including screen time, academics, and leisure activities.
- Model healthy screen habits by limiting your own device use and prioritizsng face-to-face interactions.
- Foster open communication with your children about the benefits and risks of technology, and involve them in decision-making about screen time limits.
