Nowadays, gadgets like tablets and smartphones are owned by almost every individual and this is not the case for elders but for children as well. Children from a very young age seem to convince their parents for a smartphone. Most parents give in easily and fulfill their wish without considering the negative affects it might bring just because smartphones are affordable. As a result, children spend their entire day on smartphones playing games, watching content of their choice, making tik toks and what not. I agree with the statement that this is a negative development.
Children in this era seem to be engaged with their smartphones so much that their outdoor and indoor games have almost abolished. It seems like smartphones are putting a stop on their creativity. They spend their entire time using their smartphone due to which their mind is never free and they never sit idle and think about the usual things. As a result, all of their energy goes into using smartphones and none is left for doing anything else. But children are not the real culprits here because it is the adults from whom children are learning all of this. Adults themselves are hooked into their screens every time giving very little or no time to their children. It often seems that mothers give smartphones to entertain them when they are crying and when it’s difficult to control them. Due to this, even infants now seem to be obsessed with smartphones.
On the contrary, a very few children make good use of their phones by watching educational content, science experiments etc. Some children get help with their studies from smartphones as well. A cousin of mine completed his science project on his own by only taking help from his smartphone. There are children too who take help from YouTube for their studies and claim it to be the best teacher. But this case of utilizing smartphone for good depends on the age group as well. Most of the children who are likely to use smartphone to their advantage are secondary or higher secondary students. Children in pre-primary and primary school are much vulnerable to the negative impact of smartphones.
For any situation, the case of majority matters and so is the use of smartphones. Exposing smartphones to children at a young age can definitely impact their growth, development and creativity. Unfortunately, these days, children are given smartphone from a very young age or they perceive smartphones to be an essential thing from their elders. Excessive usage of smartphones is deeply involved in our culture and is affecting children by all means.