is Smartphone Dangerous for Children?

Smartphone for children

Recent day, gadget use is dominance for adult. Smartphone, tablet, notebook, and other gadgets are used by our children now. This phenomenon usually found in rich family where the gadget is not an expensive thing for them. Some children are facilitated by their parent because the parent do not want to accompany  their children in certain time. There are parent that want their children to be close with gadget. Those children really want a gadget, and the parents buy a gadget for them.

I think children are really easy to access the applications in their gadget. It does not take time for them to access and master in some applications. In other sides, there are many benefits from gadget to children. Children will be aware and know about the gadget. Vendors made a game to help children in brain development such as like puzzle, words game, and something like that. Children that play gadget or smartphone will always stay at home, this is good for busy parents, if the children are in home, they will be easy having activity without worrying their children. Some parents buy smartphone for their children so that they can monitor their children position. In kidnapping risky district, it can prevent children from kidnapping. But in other side, smartphone or gadget can have negative effects for children. The smartphone can be positive and negative. For the negative effects, it might be instant or later effects.

We have already talked about negative effects or smartphone, from that article we know that smartphone have an extraordinary negative impact for our health, but as we know that children also have a smartphone. Actually they are the victim of parent ignorance. Parent gives their children a smartphone without know the effects of smartphone its self to children. The parent may think that if their children have a smartphone, the children will be aware of technology. That is parents expectation. But, their expectation is totally a mistake, because the negative effect from smartphone to a children is worse than adult. Here are the negative effects of smartphone to children:

Electromagnetic Radiation

It is different between under-five years old children and adult, the children is much more risky from environment danger. We know that every gadget have an electromagnetic exposure that can influence the body. It is not only danger for adult but also children, it is danger for children with high exposure with electromagnetic because the nerves of children are developing. And the electromagnetic radiation can block this development. And the result for this condition is pending cognitive development in children, the children will be hard to have a concentration about something.

Psychomotor Problems

Spending time in front of smartphone will make delay children abilities. One of them is psychomotor ability. Children should explore and develop their psychomotor ability such as drawing, singing, and playing. During these activities, other abilities are developing too. For instance, drawing, children will develop their right brain, playing, it can develop children socialization ability.

Adaptation in Lessons

Application and operating system serve multimedia interaction. Coloring games and animation make children feel comfortable spending their time in front of the smartphone. While school time, children will feel so familiar with smartphone, and they will be difficult to get lessons from school. The school method is like monotone. It is like black and white without animation, so it can make the children feel bored.

Addiction

Although addiction problem tends to adults, parent must stay focus on smartphone addiction for their children. Without parent guidance, the children can be a gadget-holic or smartphone addiction.

Attention Deficit

Smartphone in children will make the children do not aware of around. They just focus on smartphone till they forget about everything. Children with smartphone tend to have a naughty characteristic, resistance.

Growth Problem

If smartphone is used by children in wrong position such as lying down or look down in long time, so it will disturb the physical development directly.

Bad Moral

Children tend to have a bad moral that is caused by online interaction in smartphone, and all of information in Internet is easy to access for children. Internet is an information center in this world, there are many information that not need to know by children. If those informations are known by children, they will have a bad moral.

Based on the explanation about negative effects of smartphone to children above is very dangerous for children. If parent has no active role to control their children to use a smartphone, the children will get the bad impact of those mistake parenting pattern. But, parent do not have to worry about it, there are some guides for parent if they want to give smartphone for their children:

1. Be a digital parent, do not make high technology as a ghost for children. Before buying a smartphone for children, you must be good at it. Invite your children to show the application or game that they love. Before that, you must find the application or game information so that you can filter whether good or not for your children. This moment can be a quality time between parent and children. Online world is like a playground for children. You can be part of children online world. If your children active in social media, but you do not have a social media account, you have to make it soon.
2. Choose based on need. There are many smartphone. According to me, under 13 years old children does not need to be bought a smartphone, low end phone (only call and sms fiture) is enough. Internet connection for children is limited, for chatting without browsing only is better for them. This is the cheapest and safest choice.
3. Use password. Password is available in every smartphone. Ask you children to use a smartphone if their phone is missing, phone number, and data should not be accessed by other people.
4. Use restriction menu. Android or iOS system smartphone have a restriction menu for some application. If it is on, the applications cannot be downloaded, opened or accessed. For iOS, chose setting – general – restriction – enable restrictions. For android, tab market app – settings- content filtering – maturity level – lock or set / change PIN. In this case you must manage restriction menu for browser application or youtube.
5. Block negative content. It is depend on children age, you may choose whether free access or blocked access. You have to check the activity of you children in smartphone or their tablet. For you who want to control the children smartphone, there is an application for parental control. Calling, sms, mms, email, photo, and video can be controlled well. But this moment, I will not explain about that application, you may check it on Google play store or apple store.
6. Save history chat . if the children have been exposed in chatting world, parent must give an attention that children should not talk with stranger. Basically, it is from real world adaptation. Children must be well mannered while chat with their friends. For messenger application such as MSN Live messenger or yahoo messenger, and BBM, there is a chat history. You may choose whether save the chat history or not.
7. Pornography warning. Pornography trigger dopamine hormone in human brain, it will decrease the analysis abilities, attention, and norm. Because of that, sexting (sending vulgar content via smartphone) must be explained to children. But, the parent must give an attention of sex education for their children, because sex education is based on children age.
   

   

   Parent guidance is needed

8. It is better if parent know about the children game, to know what kind of online game that is played by children can prevent all of the  negative impact of that game. You may check whether that game is good or not in game review in internet.
9. Be a friend or a follower in social media, so that you can check your children’s friend on social media. Avoid reprimand or bad comment that make your children embarrassed your children in social media. Ask your children to introduce their friends  to you, otherwise you must introduce your friend too to your children.
10. Be wise in social media, update your status or picture that is in detail and privacy is a risky action. Give children about the dangerous of privacy sharing in social media. Especially for adolescence, remind about the danger of sending a body part picture to other people.
11. Optimize the privacy settings. Learn privacy setting in facebook to choose what things that need to share to public or just for friends. Not only that but also chose account privacy or public in twitter in setting menu.
12. Beware of cyber bullying, cyber bullying such as like sexual abuse or posting a threat is a risky thing in social media. It is better if children know the negative impact of cyber bullying and how to overcome it. If your children as a victim, remind them not to revenge. While this case occurred in chatting, leave chat room immediately and block the person that do cyber bullying from children account. If it is possible, take a screenshot of that chat and report it to police or children protection organization.
13. Control your children with check in location in facebok, foursquare, Koprol, or Path, those application should not be used by children. Explain the risk of kidnapping if many people know where children are.

I conclude that smartphone is not only have a good side, but negative side. We have to be a smart parent before we want to buy a gadget or smartphone for our children. We have to compare whether good to buy a smartphone or not. Then, be a good parent.