My Kid, Your Kids, and Smartphones

So I was having communication problems with my daughter. It seemed that for some reason she just couldn’t follow any of my simple and very reasonable commands. Whether it was cleaning up behind herself or reporting an issue involving her younger siblings, Haylee proved irresponsible and it finally made me wonder why.

Closer observation of the situation indicated to me that there was a serious problem. Haylee has always been very outgoing and usually self-reliant. Now, after being exposed to the Smartphone, she has to have her phone in her hand wherever she goes and while doing whatever she does. The device, an older Samsung Galaxy, was given to Haylee by her mother as a way to reduce the common naggings of a kid. And though it may have benefited mom, the everyday use of the electronic was turning my kid into a different person.

Being greatly concerned, I began to research the subject of kids and Smartphones. My efforts then led me to the wisdom of Dr. Lloyd Zucker, Chief Neurosurgeon of Del Ray Medical Center.

In the story reported by Terri Parker from WPBF News, Dr. Zucker claims that due to smartphone usage, at some level, the way we use our brains is being altered. He also mentions fragmented attention, which is caused by such usage and based on certain collected data that in children inhibition to properly learn is the result. Dr. Zucker confirmed that the constant reward of social media likes and always being connected produces Dopamine in the brain, and a feeling similar to addiction. He goes on to state that the ten, eight, or six year old just doesn’t know when to shut it down. And I can agree with him there and even add to his findings. After the interview which I conducted with Haylee and posted on YouTube and Facebook, she spent most of the night watching videos on her phone. But it was not only her as her two oldest brothers were also consumed through the night by these devices as well.

As a result, the next day became a pretty strange one. Yeah, breakfast went ok, but by lunch time they were all asleep. On a normal day, everyone would have breakfast and then proceed to the activities of the day. Most times naptime is the furthest thought from their minds at this point in the afternoon. So unfortunately, and not to break their slumber, I had to feed them one by one as they awoke from resting. This brings me to another study on the subject of compulsion loop, the same exact loop that is responsible for the behaviors associated with drugs. The study also calls to attention the fact that 13% of young people report using their phone to avoid boredom as opposed to other activities like reading a book or engaging with other people around them.

Furthermore, such a reality has created a new term called Nomophobia, a topic that needs thorough research in my opinion in addition to the change in brain patterns caused by phone transmissions. Dr. Zucker said that one study showed that people who never surfed the internet and then were instructed to go online for two hours a day for two weeks showed immediate changes in MRI Brain Scans, giving rise to the question: What effect do these changes have on our children?

He concludes, however, by stating that though toddlers are using smartphones it may not be bad for their brain if and only if the content is appropriate. His concern, nonetheless-same as mine- is whether or not digital life replaces real interaction.