Smart way to turn off phones and really live

Banning children from their devices will never work but there are better options out there for frustrated parents

- BY DR RAJ PERSAUD, CONSULTANT PSYCHIATRIST

The epidemic of addiction to mobile devices is damaging our children, and could well be revealed in the longer term to have shortened their adult lives.

While adult obesity probably has its roots in unhealthy, inactive childhoods, future loneliness and depression will almost certainly derive from deficits in social skills and engagement stemming from a dependency on smartphones.

Bullying and the insecurity of unpopularity were always part of the torture of adolescence, but they have been exacerbated by electronic “likes” and “friends”.

Parents seem powerless to do anything about the physical and mental health predicaments the younger generation are facing from their devices. Countries are waking up to the dangers and ineffectiveness of parental discipline, and are moving to legislate and regulate big tech.