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When I walk around at a fair, concert, or any public event, I often see a little child glued to an electronic device. When this happens, I am saddened as I look back to my own childhood of playing in the woods or causing harmless mischief. A study by Pew Research Center found that about 60 percent of children under 12 use a smartphone. In an ever-increasingly digitized world, these numbers will only continue to climb.
Early years are vital to the development and wellbeing of children. A study from JAMA Pediatrics showed that various electronic activities, including phone and tablet use, of more than one hour a day, are associated with delays in motor skills, problem solving and communication skills in preschool-aged children. Adolescents who interact with electronic devices at young ages are falling behind.
Children under 12 should not have personal electronic devices and should be limited to less than one hour a day of electronics. Children need to explore the real world. They need to learn skills vital for the rest of their lives. Adolescents who spend their youth engulfed by technology may not be prepared when they enter school.
While this is a momentous issue, there is no viable way to enforce a law prohibiting young people from using electronic devices. But we can establish this behavior as socially and morally wrong. I think a parent is fundamentally failing their kids if they are allowing them to be consumed by electronics.
Soren Peterson
Holden
