Parents! Guard against early years DIGITAL ADDICTION

In the new era of the ubiquitous smartphone, accelerating dependence on digital devices has snowballed into what some childcare experts describe as a latter-day parenting epidemic. Harassed middle class parents are increasingly resorting to a few swipes on the smartphone to silence a tantrum, buy ten minutes to finish a work call, or drink a cup of tea in peace

- By KIRAN BALIMANE & CYNTHIA JOHN

The victims of digital media addiction are getting younger by the day. A recent study by the All India Institute of Medical Sciences (AIIMS), Raipur, reveals that in urban India children under five years of age are spending an average 2.2 hours daily viewing digital screens. Another India-specific study published in BMJ Paediatrics Open (July), which surveyed 3,624 parents across five states, found that over 60 percent of infants aged two-five years are exposed to digital screens for two-four hours daily.

The average time spent by Indian infants by far exceeds the World Health Organisation (WHO) guidelines, which totally prohibits exposure of children under one year to digital media and recommends only one hour of supervised, high-quality content for children in the two-five age group.

Both the commendable Indian public interest studies warn that exposure of children in their critical early years to digital media is likely to result in their missing important developmental milestones. They are likely to experience slow language development, impaired cognitive function, hampered social skills development, risk of obesity, and disturbed sleep. “Screens were being used to feed, soothe, and occupy kids. Parents use screen time for their own rest, to carry out household chores, and pacify children. Children with higher screen time were found to engage less in talking with parents and peers, had reduced outdoor play and were less likely to participate in creative activities,” says the study published in BMJ Paediatrics Open.

This is endorsed by Priyank Bhutani, speech and hearing specialist, a Ph D scholar at Tezpur University and coauthor of the study. Bhutani recalls that digital devices began as “digital helpers” and became indispensable during and after the Covid-19 pandemic. “They became the easiest option to keep children occupied while parents focused on daily responsibilities,” he says.