PANAJI
With the new norms of online learning, children as well as adolescents are spending more time watching screens in various ways – mobile, computers, laptops, tablets, kindle, television or any hand-held visual device. But excessive screen time spent on viewing these devices can lead to various physical and mental disorders, and also can hamper social interaction and scholastic performance, especially in children.
Releasing screen-time guidelines for parents, the Indian Academy of Paediatrics (IAP) has appealed to the parents to restrict the negative screen time of their kids, and also warned to not expose kids below two years of age to any type of screen, with the exception of occasional video calls with relatives. “Screentime for children between the age of 2-5 should not exceed one hour, the lesser the better. For older children and adolescents, it is important to balance screen time with other activities that are required for overall development. These activities include an hour of physical activity, play time, age-appropriate sleep time, school-work, meals, hobbies and family time. If any of these activities is displaced due to screen use, then it is called excessive screen time and it should be reduced,” says the guidelines.
“IAP has warned of multiple ill effects of excessive screen time on child, IAP mentions that it can impact physical health (obesity, sedentary lifestyle, disturbed sleep, headache, eye strain, neck,back and wrist pains), mental health (delayed speech, hyperactivity, aggression, violence, desire for instant gratification, poor concentration, fear of missing out, fear of being left out, cyberbullying, media addiction, distorted perception of sex by exposure to pornography, drug use, self-harm, anxiety and depression. It can also affect social interaction and scholastic performances,” explains Dr Dhanesh Volvoikar, State president, Indian Academy of Paediatrics (IAP).
There are both advantages and disadvantages of using social media platforms. Children and young adolescents are not mentally ready-to-use social platforms, as it is difficult for them to analyse the pros and cons of social media. Hence, it is best avoided in this age group.
Minimum permissible age to use various social platforms like Facebook, Twitter, Snapchat, Instagram, and Google Plus is 13 years, WhatsApp (16 years), YouTube (13-18 years, require parental permission), PUBG (18 years). For 13–18 years there should be restricted play time on social media platforms, and for those less than 13 years, should require parental permission.
