Excessive use of mobile phones by children raises concerns

NIELLI (Pajhwok): Some experts and families in central Daikundi province have expressed concerns about the excessive use of electronic devices by children in this province and considered the psychological and physical effects of these devices to be serious.

During the recent years and the widespread use of internet and electronics in the country, the use of such devices especially among minors and children has become a common phenomenon. The issue has drawn the attention of parents and they talked about the negative impacts of such use electronic devices.

Tahira, a resident of Neilli city and a mother of three children, said her children spent most of their time with mobile phones and playing games. She did not know anything about the negative effects of such devices but now she cannot prevent her children from using mobile phones.

Tahira said: “While my older child wakes up in the morning, he grabs his phone first, he either watches a film or plays a game, but if I take the phone from him he screams, so I have no option than to leave him with his phone. My children sometimes use their phones even in the middle of night and I have a tough time to satisfy them to eat food or go to sleep.”

My children even become nervous due to the continuous use of mobile phones, the issue leads to their depression, touchiness and nightmares during the night sleep time, she said.

Although she knows about devastating impacts of electronics, but now she said she could not prevent her children from the use of electronics, she added: “My children plays with electronics all the day, they see the same sort of nightmares in the night, they wake up and cry. They are busy with their mobile phones, they are not happy to talk to anyone, whatever we tell them, they become more upset.”

Once my older child became ill, when I took him to a doctor for treatment, he told me the reason of the sickness was the excessive use of mobile phone, she added.

Nasrullah Rezaee, another resident of Daikundi, is deeply saddened by children’s addiction to mobile phones. He said initially his children became addicted to mobile phones due to his own negligence.

Rezaee said: “The addiction of children to the use of mobile phones has prevented them from their normal night time sleep, we failed to take their phones away from them and find another alternative for this. This has had an unfortunate negative psychological impact on my children, but I have been experiencing a worse time with one of my children, my child suffered from poor sight and saw frightened nightmares during the night.”

The number and use of smartphones had become a common thing in each family and some of the parents sooth their children with such electronics which leave incurable harms to their children.

Such common use of smart phone has also had negative economic impacts to their families too, Rezaee said she had so far purchased five more mobile sets after being damaged by children in addition to paying for their internet packages.

He asked other parents not to give their children such electronics for their entertainment but address other alternative ways.

Khudada, another resident of Daikundi says the mobile phone of his son prevented him from going to school, working and other daily chores, because he is busy with his phone eight hours on daily basis.

Khudad had purchased a mobile phone for his only son, but now he plays PUBG game every day from dawn to dusk.

He added: “Besides an economic thump to my family, my child was suffering from poor-eye-sight difficulties and red-eye problems. When I took him to a doctor he told me the reason after such problems was the light of mobile screen, additional to advising the use of glasses, he prescribed some medicine for my son and I regret buying him a mobile phone.”

Now Khudad is looking for other alternative entertainment ways for his child because he does not want him experience such harmful entertainment tools that have both negative psychological and physical consequences.

Some social activists have also confirmed that the use of mobile phone by children for entertainment purposes had led to serious social dilemmas.

One of the social activists, Din Mohammad Nadiri said that most of the families expressed their concern about this phenomenon both in official and other gatherings.

According to Nadiri, a number of children became ill due to the continuous use of mobile phones: “Besides expressing his concern, he said most of the children spend their time with their mobile phones in Daikundi. Such indiscriminate use mobile phones have both health problems and create a gap between children and their parents and they benefit less from the intimacy and kindness of their parents.”

A number of the children turn to the prolonged and excessive use of mobile phones when their parents even do not understand the fact, such parents must prevent their children from harmful use of electronics, Nadiri advised.

Nadiri added: “In order to have a good future, all of the parent must think about the right physical training of their children. The more the children are trained better, the more it drives the society to development, so all of the children must be kept away from the harmful use of electronics.”

At the same time, a number of psychologists said the indiscriminate use of mobile phones causes poor vision, various physical illnesses, aggressiveness, and social isolation.

Rahmatullah Rahmati a doctor of psychology said he had met a large number of children in Daikundi who suffered from poor eyesight, insomnia, depression, and some other physical illnesses due to the use of mobile phones.

Besides prescribing some medicine for such children with such issues, he advised the families to have control over their children and prevent them from the indiscriminate of use of mobile phones.

As the children are in their growing period, they must be in interaction with the society to learn social ethics. The indiscriminate use of mobile phones make the children busy all the time so they cannot play with other children which make their relations limited and isolated, Rahmati said.

Such uses of electronics also prevent children from reading books, doing exercises and they stay tied only to virtual world.

According to Rahmati, due to excessive use of mobile phones, children are deprived of the world of sports and other physical activities, sitting for long times and isolation which cause them diseases such as high blood pressure, diabetes, paralysis, boredom and other diseases in children.

As the children are busy with their mobile phones during the night time too, they stay awake, this also leaves negative impact on their concentration, ethics and they grow aggressive.

He added: “The isolation from other people and the society make human just to eat and sleep, grow unsocial, face early vision loss, inappropriate and reckless in behavior in the family and community, irresponsible towards children, family, community and other people. These are the main disadvantages of excessive mobile phone use.”

He urged all of other families to think about the future of their children, learn from other developed countries and not be enslaved to the excessive use of technology.

Aw/nh