We now know that those tablets, phones and video games are a form of digital drug, that the addictive effect affects the cerebral cortex of the brain; its executive function and impulse control, in the same way as cocaine, raising dopamine levels (pleasure neurotransmitter). Screens called “electronic cocaine” (Whibrow, P.; UCLA), “digital heroin” (Chinese researchers) or “digital pharmakeia” (Greek for drug, US Navy).

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Why are parents, designers and engineers the most cautious? Why was Steve Jobs a notoriously low-tech dad? Why do Silicon Valley executives and engineers enroll their children in non-technological Waldorf schools? Why did Google founders Sergey Brin and Larry Page go to technology-free Montessori schools as did Amazon creator Jeff Bezos and Wikipedia founder Jimmy?

Exposure to these devices causes changes in:

1. Children... their play is less and less creative and experimental, losing attraction for objects, their interests are reduced, they lose interest in relationships in play, toys, nature. Difficulties appear in sleep and in maintaining attention due to hyper-arousal. Worse still, we find apathetic children, who are bored, unimaginative, disinterested and unmotivated when they are not connected to the digital.
2. Families…aggression and tantrums when devices are removed and attention dissipates when children are perpetually unstimulated. And this extends to parents who are the first examples, they relate less and worse with their children, they are semi-present in family moments and relationships, and communication deteriorates profoundly.
3. Your future... Hundreds of clinical studies show that screens increase depression, anxiety and aggression and can lead to psychotic characteristics due to lack of contact with reality. It has been proven that children who spend more time in front of screens have more attention deficit problems. This is because there is a region in the emotional brain, called the “striate nucleus,” that evaluates the activities where to direct attention based on the intensity of the stimulus and the speed with which it satisfies. This is how it decides which activities we should pay more attention to. With these devices, the brain becomes accustomed to receiving intense stimuli and immediate satisfaction, so it will hardly want to pay attention to other less intense activities, and there is a risk of falling into an addiction.

Clinical studies on adolescents detail that they have found it easier to treat drug addiction than digital addiction, video games or networks. Children aged 8 to 10 spend 8 hours a day with various digital media while adolescents spend 11 hours in front of screens. One in three children are using tablets or smartphones before they can speak (American Academy of Pediatrics, 2013). It is not an easy task in our current technology-filled society where screens are omnipresent. A person can live without drugs or alcohol but digital temptations are everywhere.

What do we do as parents and from home?

The main key is prevention, preventing your 4, 5 or 8 year old child from getting hooked on screens. That means Lego instead of Minecraft; Books instead of iPads; Nature and sports instead of TV, until they are at least 10 years old (even up to 12).

Avoid the use of electronic devices at home as much as possible, whenever you are with the family: establish a cell phone park for the whole family, eat with your children without any electronic devices on the table, keep them silent, avoid using them as digital babysitters . Talk to your children without devices in your hand, remember: “most children hear what you say, some even do what you say, but all children do what you do.”

It is very possible, depending on the level of exposure your children are in, that they will feel disoriented, bored, rusty and feel alone and without resources to connect to real life experiences. We as adults are also suffering from this situation and we must, together, recover creative activities to reconnect family relationships.

While a child is using a tablet or watching TV, they are failing to do other activities necessary for their development. In children under 2 years old, it has been shown that their brain needs direct interactions with real people to develop language and other cognitive, social and emotional skills. And from the age of 2, the main negative effect of technologies is that they take time away from physical exercise and manipulative activities in addition to the entire attentional and motivation component described above.

How to make responsible use of technologies?

On the other hand, we cannot deny that we are witnessing a social change with new technologies, so to prevent this excessive use, children and adolescents can be provided with tools to make good use of them.

Play with them and share what motivates them, share emotions, learn together and get to know each other better. Place devices in the common space to avoid isolation and informally observe their behavior. Inviting friends to play is always a better option to find out how they relate. Schedule usage times, which involves a balance between all dynamics, always determining its end before starting so that it is easier to achieve commitment. Talk about the Internet in a critical and reflective way, taking into account its pros and cons. Find out about content limiting programs. Always suggest that they do other leisure activities that motivate them.

Cristina Oroz Bajo