Today, kids are permanently connected to the Internet and social networks, and if they split more than two meters away from their mobile, they feel like they are missing a part of their body. This dependence is real, and in the opinion of the experts, it is getting worse. Kids depend on screens for everything: in the field of work, with emails, the agenda, Google to solve every doubt…, and during their leisure time, with WhatsApp groups, Facebook or Twitter updates or uploading everything what they do in the form of photos to Instagram. But we must prevent technology from taking over them, because an abuse of it can cause damage to physical and mental health.

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A solution that can be effective to reset, unhook before the abuse becomes addiction, and establish new habits, is to make a digital detox, which consists of a total temporary disconnection of electronic devices to learn to make reasonable and responsible use of the technologies.

Negative effects of the dependence on technologies

Being stuck to the mobile phone has serious consequences for kids’ well-being. Among these negative effects is the so-called text neck syndrome- a misalignment of one or more vertebrae caused by keeping the head tilted down for long periods of time; hand problems such as carpal tunnel syndrome, or tendonitis in the thumbs for the unnatural position that we adopted when holding the device.

To this we must add that the light emitted by the screens of the devices, added to the short distance to which they keep them from the eyes, can cause damage to the retina, worsening their vision. It also influences their circadian rhythms, since it is proven that handling electronic devices before sleep worsens the quality of sleep.

But the psychological consequences are even more important, and that is that people who do not leave the phone have higher levels of stress and anxiety than those who make responsible use of these devices. It is increasingly common for friends to be left with several who do not take their eyes off the screens, something that in the long run can deteriorate social and couple relationships.

Social networks have generated a problem called psychiatry as the factor of comparison and despair, which is to compare our lives with those we see in other people’s social networks, which seem perfect. That is when kids judge themselves, which can generate anxiety and even a problem of low self-esteem.

Limit screen time apps to detox kids digitally?

There are options to make the digital disconnection such as rural escapes in which mobile phones are prohibited, and in which explorers can only connect with nature. This is a good way for kids to meet people, rediscover what they have around them, dispense with phones and computers, and realize that the important thing is that they control technology, and not the other way around. To implement rural escape and to detox kids successfully, parents are suggested to make use of trendy limit screen time apps such as FamilyTime that help them manage their kids’ screen time and restrict their access to not only some applications but to the device too. Do you wish to see how does the app work? You can! Give FamilyTime app a free try by downloading it with all premium features from the app store.

After spending the time of total disconnection, kids will feel less stressed and more vital. They will improve social relationships. But, to avoid relapsing into bad practices, it is important to establish new habits in the use of the telephone to prevent the situation from recurring and thus protect their physical and mental health from the effects of the abuse of new technologies, a weapon with the double edge.