The pandemic has been a turning point in many young children’s lives, where in they were forced to stay at home. They could not go anywhere to play or even meet their friends. They were not used to reading books. The only relaxation was gadgets and television. The pandemic led to a spread of a new disease, addiction to gadgets. They started watching television and playing
video games almost for the whole day. This addiction of gadgets and electronic devices started affecting their health by making them lethargic.
Soon, it became a habit. Some parents encouraged their kids to watch more television and movies. So many families went on for subscriptions to portals like Netflix and Amazon. The main reason was that these parents did not want to be disturbed during online meetings. The flip side of this was kids got used to watching unlimited movies. The result is that today even after we are trying to come back to normalcy, children are unable to get over their addiction. Technology has become an inseparable part of most children’s daily life, and it's not surprising to see even a two-year-old unlock mobile phones, operate apps, play games, and hit the correct links on touchscreen gadgets. Young kids sometimes refuse to cooperate unless allowed to watch their gadgets. Many kids get their mobiles from their parents when they are 8-9 years. Excessive use of electronic gadgets has led to young children spending less time playing outdoors and hardly having any social interaction. The constant use of gadgets has resulted in poor concentration in studies and a lack of interest in day-to-day activities. Playing video games of a violent nature has a negative effect on young kids' behaviour.
We cannot say that technology has only negative sides. There are few benefits too. Today, E mail, chats, and group discussions all are made possible using gadgets like tablets, smartphones, and computers connected via the Internet. Students are able to share information, prepare reports, and take part in group activities and projects via their electronic devices. With the help of the internet, they can quickly get information and complete their projects on time with just one click. This may save them time and effort. But it also makes children dependent on it. They stop thinking by themselves and copy content from the internet. This ultimately destroys their creative thinking and originality.
Children need to be given an opportunity to explore the outside world instead of being left at home tinkering with their devices. When screen time becomes a habit, it can be tough to break. Due to the addiction to gadgets, young kids have to wear glasses. It is because of watching more television and playing more video games that these young kids have to wear glasses. Gadgets and electronic devices have many benefits. But they also have some disadvantages with them. Gadgets help students when they have some doubts or want to explore. It helps to store a lot of information and also contains lots of apps. When seeing gadgets or electronic devices for a very long time, we get some pain in our eyes. Young kids who spend too much time on gadgets, especially at night, slowly develop insomnia. This non-stop usage of gadgets has made kids behave aggressively. Toddlers throw tantrums as they realise that is the only way to access gadgets.
If parents and teachers don’t take the required steps to stop this addiction, we might have a whole generation that would be dependent and a generation that cannot do any work with originality. Not to forget about the various ailments that would come at an early stage. Every year youngsters are prone to heart attacks
, and the main reason is the lifestyle. This is the consequence of not having an active childhood. If children make exercise a daily habit and discipline their lifestyle as they grow up, nothing can affect their routine. They will learn to be mentally strong and face the challenges of life very boldly. A sincere appeal to parents with young children, let's teach our future generation to use technology in the right way and not be slaves to it.
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