One of the prominent issues faced by some parents nowadays is the excessive use of smartphone among their children. The reason behind this phenomenon is the technological advancements and easy availability of internet and smartphones.
The increase in number of students using smartphones sky rocketed after the COVID pandemic. During the lockdown period, since all schools were shutdown leading to online classes asked for the necessitation of smartphones for students. This is one reason for the increased unnecessary use of smartphones. Availability of all kinds of academic help is now easily accessible within our fingertip. Any homeworks, any doubt you have in physics or any maths related brain scratchers , you can find all of them on the internet. Students often make use of this knowledge lottery. But a few “bad apples” make use of this opportunity to access video games or any activities not related to their academics and giving their parents the impression of learning .
The easy availability of technological via internet is also a reason for this phenomenon. For example, ever since the launch of jio in India , we saw a dramatic increase in the use of internet. This trend can be seen in students and children across country too. This cheaper and quicker alternative lead to increase in smartphone usage.
Whether this development is negative or positive depends on the question of “whether the children use it for good”. For example , if they are using it for academic purposes then it is a positive development. But if they are not, then it will be a curse rather than a boon. Another neglected fact is the mental and physical health problems the children face when using smartphones for a long time.