Pediatric alert: young people addicted to new technologies grow
Usually parents are surprised when they see how their children handle new technologies. The ease that the youngest of the house have to use smartphones Y computers is amazing. However, sometimes the use of these devices by children can have negative consequences.
In fact from the Spanish Society of Social Pediatrics They warn of the increasing attention they give to more and more parents concerned about the addiction of their children to new technologies. In fact, this body explains that currently 33% of pediatric consultations are related to this issue.
Adolescence and new technologies
From this organism it is explained that adolescence is a stage where there is more risk of falling into addiction to new technologies. According to the Spanish Society of Social Pediatrics, this is because in this stage of life, action predominates and not reflection. That is, young people see that they can use their smartphone to talk with friends assiduously but they do not stop to think about the danger that can arise from these activities.
Dangers such as addiction in the first place since little by little they depend on these terminals and are not able to realize that they must stop. But another of the risks involved in this use of new technologies is their misuse. Through mobile phones with Internet connection, many adolescents access sexual content and participate in activities related to cyberbullying such as the transmission of images of other people without their consent.
Dangerous activities
This body points to the study Minors and Mobile Connectivity in Spain to illustrate the current situation of new technologies in younger generations. According to this work focused on 2,500 people between 15 and 18 years old, at least 97% had a mobile phone and 90% connected to the internet.
Some data that a priori are not significant, but if you take into account the use that many teenagers give to these devices, there are reasons to worry. Approximately 40% of respondents admitted having accessed sexual content through their terminals. Similarly, 20% of respondents acknowledged having sent images of other people without your consent.
Educate for good use
Given the obvious problem posed by the addiction to new technologies, we must teach new generations to use these tools. Here are some tips for this:
- Technological devices must be appropriate to the child's level of development and their learning needs.
- The possible risks and rules of use will be discussed and negotiated with them.
- The technologies will be placed in common spaces and when they are small it is recommended that their use be shared with adults.
- The connection time (there is no recipe), it will be shared with the NO connection.
- You have to teach them to interact with other people in social networks as they would like them to treat them.
- Not all the information on the Internet is reliable. You have to teach them to be critical.
- Try to keep abreast of technological developments, to facilitate learning for our children.
- Be an example of responsible use of the internet.
- Be alert for any symptoms of possible addiction.
- Be consistent with the reasonable use we make of technology and with the behaviors we demand of our children.
Damián Montero
