Technology or screen addiction previously wasn’t officially considered a disorder, like a drug or even gambling addiction. However, in 2019 the World Health Organization (WHO) decided to categorise ‘online gaming disorder’ to its official list of mental health conditions. While it is a welcome move, it is not just online gaming that causes addiction. Mindless scrolling, watching mindless videos can be equally harmful. It has become difficult for us adults to put down our gadgets, imagine how much worse it is for young brains to cope with this malaise?
To find out whether your child has a screen/technology addiction, below are the list of warning signs that you can look for:
1. Is your child staying up late at night to stay on the computer?
2. Is your child get fidgety, anxious and/or angry if he/she doesn’t have his/her device?
3. Is your child’s tech usage negatively impacting their schoolwork, family life, or other activities or interests?
4. Is your child having difficulty in getting virtual imagery out of their heads?
5. Is your child dreaming of virtual imagery?
6. Is your child only talking about virtual imagery/games with you?
7. Is your child hiding screen usage or device from you?
8. Does your child seem more apathetic and bored easily?
9. Does your child seem to have difficulty in regulating emotions (known as emotional dysregulation)?
10. Is your child sleep deprived and exhausted?
11. Are teachers complaining that your child is falling asleep or constantly distracted?
Anyone or a combination of symptoms/behaviour listed above could be a red flag for screen/tech addiction.
Talk to your child and encourage a healthy dialogue about both their screen usage and your concerns. It is very effective with kids when you share the negative clinical, neurological and psychological impact of excessive screen usage. You can come up with a digital detox plan that is helpful for your child and have controlled screen usage. Replace screen time with physical and creative activities. Make household chores fun for kids with a reward system. Substitute game time with family time. It is only when kids are bored, the creativity emerges.
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