Excessive use of technology is harming our children's development greatly in today's society. If parents and role models do not intervene, the toxic online climate kids are exposed to is only going to continue getting worse. Despite the multitude of benefits that come with technology, children do not need to be more glued to their screens than they already are.
When technology dictates our children's lives, they become isolated and secluded from those around them. While children might be communicating online with friends, their face-to-face social skills start to lack and they often struggle interacting in person. This harm is not worth the benefit of technology and it is up to adults to break children of this addiction.
A decline in children's overall health is a strong reason as to why a screen-time limit needs to be put in place to have a healthier upbringing. According to a report done from CBS, too much time spent on a screen can lead to cardiovascular issues such as high cholesterol and troubles with sleep.
CBS says "kids and teens age 8 to 18 spend an average of more than seven hours a day looking at screens. The new warning from the American Heart Association recommends parents limit screen time for kids to a maximum of just two hours per day. For younger children, age 2 to 5, the recommended limit is one hour per day."
With the addiction to technology, children have a higher risk of getting metabolic syndrome which increases the likelihood of having a stroke. Blood pressure rates also are often elevated because of too much screen-time, proving again as to why parents need to set limitations for their children.
If parents controlled how long their children were with their devices, it would help alleviate the negativity that is often circulating in the digital world. Take the social media platform Twitter for instance. The high-speed rates of communicating with others due to how quick a tweet can be sent out lures people into this deadly trap. Once hooked on the site, it is hard to take a step back and realize how toxic online sites have unfortunately become.
Self-confidence is another issue stemming from this addiction since opening up about one's personal life can lead to comparing oneself to another. It is sad to credit the self-esteem and self-confidence issues we face today to technology, but alas, it has come down to that. Change must be made soon if we want to turn the ways of the world around before it is too late.
The line has been crossed and if we do not turn away from the dark side of technology, society is only going to keep going down from here.
America has the chance to make a difference and turn the toxic environment around. If we want to act on this movement, we must act quickly because we are running out of time before technology begins controlling us all.
