The Impact of Smart Devices on Children

Introduction

With tremendous advancement in technology, smart devices have become an inherent part of human life and have changed lives of most people including parents and their children. Smart device encompasses all the electronic devices that are cordless, mobile, always connected via Wi-Fi or 4G (such as smartphones, iPad, television), and is capable of internet browsing, video or voice communication, and entertainment among others. These devices are considered essential in some aspects of human life in this era of digital revolution and children are no exception. Daramola (2015) asserts that recent studies in the US and Europe have recognized most of the children, surprisingly preschool periods and toddlers already have access to computers and can even effectively use them. Many researches have also studied that average of children’s time is spent on gadgets (smart devices) including television, iPod, and other smartphones. Children use these smart devices for different purposes including watching videos, playing, games, browsing various websites when doing homework or learning, chatting with friends among other activities. Also, smart devices give children new opportunities for engagement, creativity, and entertainment, and make it easier for them to stay connected even with their parents. These advantages show that smart devices have become an important tool for children, especially in the academic arena.

However, with the bountiful benefits of smart devices to children lies some drawbacks. Spending a long time in these activities without paying attention to screen brightness and distance to their eyes, and posture has raised many health issues such as eye irritation. Additionally, smart devices have a negative impact on children character and parents are worried about the increasing challenge of managing the applications, connections, and contents that children now have at their fingertips. Also, children use of smart devices has been associated with issues such as depression and anxiety among other problems. As a result, concerns about the impact of smart device usage among children has been recently highlighted by different scholars. Children are the future of tomorrow, and as such, it is important that these negative effects of smart devices on children be resolved to protect their lives for a better future.

This paper, therefore, this paper focus to address the impacts of smart devices on children. The first part will discuss the meaning and types of smart devices, while the second section will discuss the positive impacts of smart devices on children. The third part addresses the negative impacts, and next section discusses some solution to overcome the negative effects of smart devices on children. Finally, the last section will contain conclusion and recommendations based on the observation from the discussion.

Smart Devices

The term smart device refers to an electronic which is cordless, mobile and always connected via 4G, Wi-Fi, 3G, and is capable of internet browsing, storing data, location search, video and voice communication and can autonomously operate to some extent (Davy, 2013). As such, there are various physical components of smart devices. This includes memory component which allows smart devices to make intelligent decisions, power component, processing component based on its ability to make intelligent decisions, and a communication interface which enables them to convey information or communicate with smart devices (Davy, 2013).

There are different types of smart devices. Smartphones are one of them. According to Davy (2013), smartphones are phones that are highly sophisticated with access to Wi-Fi and internet, where consumers can easily use and download apps. Examples of smartphones include iPad, Blackberry, iPhone, and all phones that use the operating system of Android. These phones allow people to communicate, store data, memories and personal information.

Other types and examples of smart devices include Personal Digital Assistance (PDA), Tablets, digital televisions, iPod, iPad, iPhone, laptops, smartwatches, smart brands and smart appliance devices among others. These devices are in communication (to relay information), to provide for direction which is the GPS location, play music or video games, to browse information through different websites (Sundus, 2018). Over the years, with technological advancement, smart devices keeps evolving with new features. In the modern world, smart devices have become so inherent in human lives and even in the society as a whole because of the functions they perform. Research shows that most kids access these smart devices as early as six months and some children even know how to operate them before the age of two. Though most children do not own these devices, they access them through their parents or other family members. Kids use of smart devices have both negative and positive impacts, and therefore, efforts should be made to minimize these negative impacts through controlling their smart device use and maximize on the benefits (Campbell, 2015).

Positive Impacts of Smart Devices on Children

Smart devices have become a significant factor in the lives of children due to voluminous benefits it gives children. One of the advantages is that smart devices play a key role as an educative tool for children (Sundus, 2018). Sundus asserts that the use technology (smart devices) has been proven to be very significant in educating children because children can access educational websites and find comprehensive information about a topic. Things like visual presentations, interactive programs, educational videos, and learning various books and tutorials available on the internet through smart devices have revolutionized education and help children in the better understanding of things, learn tools and methods for state of the art. The more quizzes, brainstorming riddles and online tutorials available, the more they learning is enhanced (Sundus, 2018). This point is in agreement with the findings from a study conducted in North Carolina schools in ninth and 10th-grade students who were given smartphones to study algebra. The student used these phones to do various tasks such as recording themselves when solving problems and posting them to their classmates. The findings documented that students having the phones performed better by 25 percent on the end-of-year exam of algebra than students without in the same classes (Daramola, 2015). Additionally, the findings are also similar Campbell (2015) literature, which states that the application of smart devices is useful for young children with short attention duration as educational media, and also help in some specific intellectual development which involves visual thinking. All these findings show that smart device use among children is a significant educative tool to kids.

Secondly, smart devices have been found to help the cognitive skills of children (Sundus, 2018). Cognitive skills refer to the ability to reason, remember, process information, and relate objects with one another. These skills are related to the language and memory directly, and the use of smart devices (technology) assist in better and faster development of these skills in kids. For instance, ranging from video games to interactive apps, educative programs to various kinds of challenges available on these smart devices helps to improve the cognitive skills of children (Sundus, 2018). These findings contradict Kim (2013), who says that digital media use (smart devices) can hinder brain development of a child and the overall development. Kim argues that brains are designed to be effective when an environment that is socially interactive stimulates exploration and curiosity. Therefore, the possibility of excessive involvement in digital media limits the social interaction of students and this may hinder their brain development.

Moreover, smart devices help children to have better motor skills (Sundus, 2018). Motor skills refer to those skills that are linked to small movement muscles of lips, tongue, fingers, toes, and wrists. Thus, when kids play games on smart devices like tablets, their hands and fingers get worked out, which is a healthy exercise for kids that are growing. Additionally, these devices act as a source of entertainment for kids, where kids can have more fun when they enjoy playing video games such as puzzle and candy crush. By playing such games, children may have an understanding of simple cause and effect aspects, and even action and reaction, thus enhancing their learning process (Sundus, 2018).

Negative Impacts

Despite the bountiful benefits smart devices impact on children, there are also some negative impacts it carries. Smart devices like smartphones are considered useful to human life in the general society but can also be considered destructive to people and children are no exception. One of the negative impacts is the delay of language or speech (Sundus, 2018). Sundus asserts that many researchers have conducted studies on this issue and have concluded that the more time spends on tablets, smartphones and electronic games, the more likely the delays of eloquent speech by a child. This is because children may only enhance their learning of expressive speech through interactions with others. The research further established that the more time spent by kids between six months and two years using smartphones and tablets, the more likely these children were to experience delays in expressive speech. Kim (2013) supports this point and adds that studies have indicated the use of digital media to delay the language development of children due to addiction and non-interaction, especially for children below two years. 

Secondly, the use of gadgets (smart devices) is associated with health problems such as anxiety and depression (Sundus, 2018). Anxiety refers to the fear regarding future reactions and events, and these feelings can lead to different physical symptoms such as fast heart rate and shakiness. On the other hand, depression is an illness that can negatively affect the behavior of children. These health problems may result from too much use of devices which introduces them to certain things and makes them develop anxiety and depression at different ages. For instance, horror videos may instill fear in children, and this can lead to mental health issues in children (Sundus, 2018).

Moreover, smart devices can cause sleep problems to children (Kim, 2013). According to Kim (2013), research has started to show a link between the use of media and sleep issues in children of preschool age. These studies indicated that the timing and length (evening versus daytime) of screen time (video games, television, and hand-held devices) and the media content (nonviolent versus violent) affected the amount of sleep issues increase (Km, 2013). Furthermore, Sundus (2018) added that smart devices have a negative impact on children’s character. This has become one of the biggest challenges in this technology growing world. This problem comes because of children nowadays, if not controlled by parents, use the internet to watch adult contents instead of searching for educational websites leading to bad character impacts. They forget their moral standards and values and become advanced mentally beyond the level of their age.

Additionally, smart devices cause attention problems to children. As research suggests, the use of digital media may negatively impact attention skills of children such as increasing concentration difficulty and hyperactivity (Kim, 2013). This point conquers with Sundus (2018) point which says that use of gadgets causes attention deficits such as Hyperactivity Disorder (ADHD), which is a mental disorder. This disorder refers to the problem such as excess activity, paying attention, and difficulty controlling inappropriate behavior. This may further lead to restlessness, lack of focus, fidgety, and distraction which can cause issues both at home and at school.

Solution and Recommendations

Even though smart device usage among children have bountiful benefits, the negative effects seem to outperform these benefits and may impact children’s future life negatively. As a result, scholars have suggested some possible recommendations to act as a solution to these issues. For instance, The American Academy of Pediatrics has given some recommendations for to encourage zero smart device use for children below two years and is recommending parents to set the smart device usage limit for children under two years. Secondly, the academy is recommending parents not to put televisions in children’s bedroom, and also encourage the substitution of smart devices with supervised and plan independent play such as coloring on blank paper or playing with blocks. Additionally, the academy is recommending parents not to allow children to own smartphones at a tender age, and also encourage parents to take time children spend on smart device use and substitute it with interactive and real-life experiences such as outdoor activities, games, and sports (Kim, 2013). For parents who use smart devices such as smartphones to keep their children while doing chores, or those who believe that digital media serve educational purposes, then to encourage healthy use among children, parents should have clear expectations and rules about smart devices usage. Also, these parents should choose positive quality programs or apps for older children and preschoolers. Besides, they should limit the usage of smart devices and limit background media when children are using their smartphones (Kim, 2013). 

Conclusion

Considering all things from the discussion, it is evident that smart devices have both destructive and constructive impacts on children. However, the disadvantages seem to outweigh the benefits. Smart devices is an effective tool for education and learning, entertainment, developing motor and cognitive skills. Despite that fact, smart devices negatively influence kids by impacting bad characters, sleeping problems, speech development issues, attention problems, and various health issues such as anxiety, depression, and addiction. Children are the future and backbone of the society, and thus, should be well taken care of. For parents who must allow their children to use smart devices, they should follow the recommendations above to help resolve some these negative effects of smart devices on children. This review will draw people’s attention and the society towards this spiraling and significant issue. The solutions provided will help curb the harmful effects. It is no denial that smart devices cannot be insulated from parent’s life because they are essential in the modern world and children mostly access through their parents, but can be used in a way that helps to develop and raise good children in families and the society as a whole. In overall view, too much of something is always dangerous. Smart devices will remain to be essential tools only when parents are aware of which use they allow their children and children will not, therefore, become dependent on the devices.

References

Campbell, M. A. (2015). The impact of the mobile phone on young people's social life.

Daramola, D. (2015). Young Children as Internet Users and Parents Perspectives.

Davy, A. (2013). Components of a smart device and smart device interactions.  Telecommunications Software and Systems Group , 1-18.

Kim, Y. (2013). Young children in the digital age.  Fact sheet (University of Nevada Cooperative Extension); 13-22 .

Sundus, J. (2018). The Impact of using Gadgets on Children.  Journal of Depression and Anxiety ,  7 (1), 1-3. https://www.omicsonline.org/open-access/the-impact-of-using-gadgets-on-children-2167-1044-1000296.pdf