Zuleyca Ventura Ventura 1

Professor Rodrick

English 115

25 September 2019

Youth Addiction to Screens

Parents are constantly searching for new means to aid their children in having a

successful future. Some of the new technology that is used in this decade include: computers,

phones, learning software, etc. Although it does seem that screens can be useful educational

tools for young children, studies show that extensive exposure to screens can lead to obesity,

anti-social behavior, and aggressive behavior because parents should limit their child's time with

screens.

As technology advances, there has been an increase of individuals that have access to

technology. These kids are at an age where they should be learning and developing new skills

without the use of a phone. According to Hilary Brueck, she states, “A full 89% of students now

report feeling "phantom" phone vibrations, imagining their phone is summoning them to

attention when it hasn't actually buzzed.” This shows that kids at a young age or at an older age

who are using or has a phone isn't helping them in a good way. The way that it is impacting the

proper development of a child’s brain is that according to a University of Florida news story, “a

Japanese study found that children with cell phones often won’t make friends with other children

who don’t have cell phones.”

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 Not only do teenage kids have a problem with the usage of their phone, but so do younger

children. Parents who have kids between 2-5 years of age, their biggest concern is the device

usage that focuses on their ability of learning to be becoming shorter because they will have the

urge of wanting to have a device as their way of having fun instead of learning. According to

Strasburger VC Council on Communications and Media, it states, “screen media effects on

energy intake as the prominent mechanism linking screen time and obesity in children.

Epidemiologic studies reveal that children who consume more screen media also consume fewer

fruits and vegetables and more energy-dense snacks, energy-dense drinks and fast food, receive a

higher percentage of their energy from fats, and have a higher total energy intake.” These include

displacing physical activity, increasing energy intake from eating while viewing and/or the

effects of advertising, and reducing sleep.

This behavior impacts kids of all ages, due to the younger kids starting so young. If older

kids are started at the age of 10-15 to have a screen in front of them they will become addicted

and aggressive towards their parents and hide things from them. There is a higher chance to

change them from becoming aggressive or isolated. Parents cannot tell kids to stop using

smartphones. After all, parents as adults even need and use it for their own benefit. Parents can,

however, stop their kids from being addicted to it by setting an example and having a careful and

thorough explanation as to why there is a need to limit their phone usage.

Since every individual has a device, children between the ages of 10 and 15 are pressured

to go everywhere with their devices. They always need to check their phones for no reason, they

think something is happening when it’s not. According to Lisa Shaw it states, “One in four

young

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Internet users ages 10 to 17 report un-willing exposure to sexual material online.” This argues

that older kids would more likely get exposed to inappropriate content with technology. They see

things that they shouldn't see or learn from the internet. This comes back to the parents for not

watching their kids, because they will see it as a big benefit towards to them when knowing what

their kids have been doing. What parents should be doing encouraging their kids to be more

outgoing.

According to a new study, “Pathological Video Game Use Among Youths,” they state

teens who played more video games and who had lower social competence and greater

impulsiveness were at higher risk of becoming pathological gamers. In addition to being a

coping strategy for children who are already depressed or anxious, study authors suggest gaming

can also increase some mental health problems. According to Kendra Cherry, “Lack of sleep is

also one of the main culprits in the connection between mobile phone use and the current of teen

mental health issues.” This indicates that the lack of sleep and a massive time spent on

smartphones can also lead to teen depression, anxiety and even suicide rates. The health issues

correlate with the lack of sleep because Abby Stutzer states, “A 2013 study from scientists at the

Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute found that blue light from self-luminous tablets can can suppress

melatonin, a hormone that regulates the human body’s sleep-wake cycle.” This also shows that

many teenagers when getting bullied online find suicide as their solution to avoiding the constant

bullying. If these children had never interacted with online website like Facebook, Instagram,

and Twitter, they wouldn't be going through these types of problems.

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 Overall, screen technology has become a big interaction in individuals daily lives. We

should all learn to maintain a stable way to using screens from television to computers and

smartphones, the abundance of screen technology have been more impactful to our youth. We

should limit kids to a 20-30 minutes to a screen for toddlers and for teenagers making sure they

are using it mostly for work on studying and limiting them from using it to play games or watch

videos. As for the parent to make sure their kids are being more proactive going outside more

often than staying in door. It all depends on how we use these devices, which seems that it’s

better used when necessary than just using it for unimportant things. It's going to be difficult

because we are in a world where technology evolves all around, so it's up to us to balance when

to use it and when not. It's up to us to make a change before the new technology grows all around

us ends up changing us individuals to something terrifying.

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 Work Cited

❖ Ferguson, Christopher. “Everything in Moderation: Moderate Use of Screens

Unassociated with Child Behavior Problems” 07 February 2017, Department of
Psychology, Stetson University, 421 N. Woodland Blvd, DeLand, FL 32729, USA

❖ Cherry, Kendra. “The Effect of Smartphones on your Brain” 12 August 2012,

❖ Brueck, Hilary. “This is what your smartphone is doing to your brain — and it isn't good”
01 March 2019

❖ Shaw, Lisa & Terrell, Rebecca. “What Screens are doing to our Kids” 17 June 2019: print
edition of The New American

❖ Pathological Video Game Use Among Youths: A Two-Year Longitudinal Study,” in the
February 2011 issue of Pediatrics (published online January 17).

❖ Stutzer, Abby. “How does Your Smartphone Affect Your Sleep” 22 March 2018

❖ Strasburger VC Council on Communications and Media. Children, adolescents, obesity,

and the media. [published correction appears in Pediatrics. 2011;128(3):594] Pediatrics.
2011;128(1):201–208.

❖ Glaser, Mark. How Cell Phones Are Killing Face-to-Face Interactions. 22 October 2007