Put down your mobile phone: how family shows can help Hong Kong children in need of digital detox
- Psychologist suggests youngsters limit computer and smartphone screen time to three hours per day to avoid negative impact on mental well-being
- Circus show and comedic dance acts from US, UK and Poland to remind city’s dwellers how to laugh, get close to nature and remember true magic of life
We live in a hyper-connected world where our computers and smartphones have become so much a part of our lives that many people feel as if they cannot survive without them.
If a child or teen is only getting six hours’ sleep per night because of their time on their screens, the sleep deprivation will lead to irritable mood, increased stress, attention problems, lower school marks and quality of work, and relationship difficulties
United States-based psychologist Mike Brooks, co-author of Tech Generation: Raising Balanced Kids in a Hyper-Connected World, says we should be wary of excessive time spent glued to the screen.
“Some problems of excessive screen time might include disrupted sleep, weight gain or obesity and possibly greater problems maintaining attention,” Brooks says.
For youngsters, overuse of smartphones and computers can also harm their social relationships – possibly the result of being less skilled at reading social cues and people’s emotions because of fewer interpersonal interactions, he says.
“If a child or teen is only getting six hours of sleep per night because of their time on their screens, then the sleep deprivation will lead to many negative outcomes, such as irritable mood, increased stress, attention problems, lower school marks and quality of work, and relationship difficulties,” Brooks says.
He suggests a limit of “two to three hours of recreational screen time per day” for young children and teenagers – after which the negatives of the screen will start to outweigh the positives.
The benefits of smiles, touch and a warm embrace cannot be replaced with emojis. In this fast-paced world, we must carve out ‘sacred spaces’ in which we unplug and instead connect with others and the world around us
