Hi, Palme School is here and today we're going to talk about what our kids are doing on the internet. Why kids are finally stuck to screens, how they spend their free time and what adults should do about it.
Reading time: 3 minutes.
What are they doing in there
First of all, let's turn to statisticswhich suggests that half of children from birth to 2 years of age are already interacting with screens. This is either TV, smartphones, tablets and parents' PCs. The older the child gets, the situation worsens. At the age of 3-4 years old, already more than 60% children are introduced to smartphones. This is not surprising, parents turn on cartoons and simple children's games on the phone to distract the child.
Then, by adolescence, children move on to social media, messenger communication, and online gaming.
Here are various examples of activities kids spend time doing online:
- View video content on YouTube, TikTok, Instagram Reels and other platforms.
- Online games: both multiplayer and single player.
- Search and consume content based on interests: music, movies, books, podcasts.
- Education and self-education: online courses, webinars, educational platforms.
- Entertainment activities: online movie theaters, browser games, reading comics and manga.
- Creativity and self-expression: blogs, video blogs, creating content for social media.
How all of this affects teenagers
Despite the obvious negative effects of the Internet on children, let's start by trying to find the positives:
- communication skills development - children find it easier to make friends, especially if they are not socializing with their peers at school. Many teenagers start blogs to find like-minded people and even organize live meetings.
- access to education and information - according to analyticsThe older a child gets, the more often he or she looks for useful information on the Internet. And it is understandable, after all, in electronic form it is easier to find the necessary data for a project or essay to be prepared at school.
- self-expression and creativity - children watch short videos and adopt ideas to improve their skills. You can find tutorials on the Internet for absolutely any kind of creativity and try your hand at something new.
But back to the negative factors. Unfortunately, it is difficult for children to cope with some aspects without adult supervision:
- cyberbullying - we wrote a detailed article about children's safety on the Internetwe can study it;
- internet addiction - Due to their immature psyche, children do not yet have self-control and critical thinking. Therefore, they cannot independently put aside Tik Tok and go to do "useful lessons". And this is what parents have to work with;
- physical inactivity - Recent studies show that children between 12 and 15 years old spend more than 6 hours on the Internet. This sedentary time is having an impact on health. Children move less, get less fresh air and have lower immunity.
What are adults to do?
The main thing to remember is that the teenager's psyche is unstable. Any prohibitions and invasion of personal space are perceived as an encroachment on private property. Therefore, it is necessary to choose such tactics that will help to find the key to your child. Adults will have to start with themselves - to reconsider their relationship to gadgets and introduce rules that will be adhered to by all family members without exception. In addition, try not to criticize children, but to be interested in his affairs on the Internet. If the child keeps his blog, ask how many subscribers he has. It is not bad to subscribe and an adult on the channel of the child, in order to timely stop offensive comments. Well, and finally, find a child activity outside the phone - sports, art, acting classes and so on. To switch him to the outside world and help him to release his emotions outwardly.
In the same way that you recommend interesting books to your child, you can recommend useful resources on the internet. These can be age-appropriate and interest-based learning platforms. You can sign your child up for online classes so that he is motivated to attend them regularly and complete the assignments. Become his guide to the world of the internet and your hard work will be appreciated in the future!
Conclusion
At our online school, we cherish our students' families and want them to grow up in a caring and trusting environment. You can find other useful articles on parenting and pedagogy on our blog:
- How to improve a child's memory?
- Top 17 children's books on financial literacy
- Why is it important to read to children from an early age?
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