Disconnect kids from digital and reconnect them with life
WORKSHOP HELPS CHILDREN AND PARENTS DISCOVER A SOCIAL WORLD BEYOND GADGETS
Technology and social media is an undeniable and intrinsic part of our lives that cannot be wished away. But living from one screen to another with the blue light lighting up most of our lives is hardly the way life was meant to be.
The most alarming trend is to see digital addicts as young as one- and two-year-olds who are oblivious to the flowers and sunshine and outdoor games and who remain transfixed to their phones, iPads and tablets watching cartoons and revelling in a two-dimensional world.
It not only robs them of appreciating a full life of physical games, friendships and real relationships, but also steals all of their waking hours and enslaves them to their smart gadgets.
It was something that a group of 45 children recently discovered when they attended a digital detox workshop on August 4 for an entire day and came back reclaiming their lost childhood at the Aster Hospital Al Ghusais.
The highly successful workshop divided the kids into the age groups of 8-12 and 13-18 and had different activities designed for the children. There was a ‘Know Your Child’ session for parents who were counselled about their own digital addictions and advised on how to gradually wean off their children tactfully.
A different perspective
The children had a packed day of activities that included yoga, art and crafts, physical games and social interaction opportunities, some creativity practicals and a treasure hunt, all of which helped them discover the exciting social world beyond the electronic gadgets.
Most children came back absolutely focused, alert and happy, resolved to keeping more time for real interactions in the real world.
Dr Sejal Patel, paediatrician at Aster Hospital, said: “Digital addiction that we see around commonly in kids affects all their developmental milestones, especially when you see kids as old as one year playing with tablets and iPads. It is during these crucial years from zero to two years that maximum cognitive and neural development takes place.”
According to Dr Patel, kids learn socialising from parents and older siblings. However, by devoting a major part of their time to the digital world they miss out on social and emotional cues. That not only isolates them but also seriously interferes with their ability to build interpersonal relationships. One major factor that impacts their performance in schools is their engagement with social media and the digital world past their bedtime.
“Nowadays, most kids are playing with their smartphones,
chatting with friends, sharing pictures and video clips way past their bedtime. This interferes with their sleep cycle and Circadian rhythms. Sleep deprivation makes them irritable and aggressive in school when they are unable to concentrate and their grades fall. It is a domino effect,” she cautioned.
Unnecessary engagement with social media eventually leads to low self-esteem, stress and mindless eating that gives rise to obesity in childhood, added Dr Patel.
Psychological effects
Dr Mohammad Tahir, child, adolescent and adult psychologist and chairman of the American Wellness Centre, Dubai explained the psychological deviations that such addictions bring on: “When a child is born, his or her brain is like an empty disc. The programmes in there are written as he grows up and has human interaction. His emotions develop, he learns empathy and also forges interpersonal bonds.
According to Dr Tahir, socialising is a skill that we human beings learn as we grow and mature. He says the interface with digital media for long hours is dangerous because it allows a child to spend long hours in a one-way interaction without any reciprocal response from the other side. “Today during vacations if there are four siblings at home, each one is engaged on his laptop, tablet or smartphone with little or no interaction with each other. This lack of communication with each other can seriously harm the evolution of normal social skills.”
Citing research on the impact of digital addiction Dr Tahir said; “The frontal cortex of our brain is known to be involved in activities such as organisation, problem solving etc. When we use the digital media that activity helps release excessive dopamine, serotonin which induce the pleasure feelings. However overuse of the frontal cortex causes excessive release of these hormones which in turn causes agitation and aggression.”
Besides inducing aggression, electronic media that is heavily dependent on visuals also kills imagination and creativity in a child. Earlier when children read books they had to summon up the power of their imagination to conjure up characters they read about which made reading a highly creative exercise. Now all the child does is click a button to ‘see’ that character.