Last Updated on 2016-06-23 , 12:27 pm
The new millennium has produced Gen-X parents who are totally different than the previous baby boomer generation.
One of the things that set them apart is definitely their dependence on their smartphones and the danger here is that this dependence may turn into an addiction. Parents seem to spend hours looking at their social media pages, taking selfies or answering e-mails.
Parents who are addicted to their phones risk negatively affecting their kids in many ways. Since this is a relatively new phenomenon, most people are at a loss as to how to tackle this problem, and some aren’t even aware that it’s a problem.
If you’re a parent, or even if you’re not yet one, but believe that you’ll have children one day, you’ll want to know how your dependency on your mobile phone will affect your kids:
You Make Them Feel Insignificant
A recent survey showed that as many as 32% of children feel that they were competing with technology for their parents’ affections. This made them feel unimportant and more significantly, it made them unloved. These kids will grow up feeling insecure and may develop issues about self-esteem later on in life.
You Set a Bad Example
If your attention is forever captured by your phone, your children may believe that this type of behaviour is normal and will begin practising it themselves. This may lead them to withdraw from actual human interaction and communication, which is very bad for their development. Additionally, there’s a chance they may grow up socially awkward and have difficulty making friends or maintaining relationships.
Your Kids Will Have a Shorter Attention Span
A recent study published by the Journal of Current Biology has scientifically established the linked between parents who look at their phones and the attention span of their children. Apparently the longer parents look at their phones, the more easily their children get distracted by something else and cannot focus. Should this happen, your children may have trouble focusing on lessons when they get to school and this will interfere with their academic performance.
You Promote Unhealthy Competition and Unattainable Standards
Social media is a great tool for communication, but it’s also a place where you can see how others live and how your friends’ children are performing. This creates a condition whereby you will strive to outdo your friends by pushing your children above and beyond, thereby stressing them out. This is dangerous territory as your kids will grow up into what you want them to be, instead of who they truly are.
You May Drive Them to Depression
Children who have been interviewed about their feelings when their parents refuse to leave their gadgets reveal that they feel a deep sadness. Some are so traumatised they believe it is their own fault. Despite the fact that as parents, you may love your children immensely, this may not get translated properly to your child if you continue to face your phone rather than spend some quality time together.
Top Image: TinnaPong / Shutterstock.com
This article was first published on goodyfeed.com
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