Gen-Z nowadays is very much exposed to gadgets, which impacts both ways positively and negatively. This article will tell you all about the impact of gadget on child development.

Therefore, there are a lot of negative impacts of using gadgets, but the role of gadgets in modern educational practices is becoming very influential and effective nowadays. These visual aids are addictive to children; on the other hand, they also stimulate their sense of imagination.

However, children nowadays cannot live without gadgets because it is a generation of the digital world. But using them a lot is harmful to them.

Negative Impact of Gadget on Child Development

There are different negative impacts of the excessive use of gadgets on your child. These are mentioned below:

1. Delay in language or speech
2. Learning problems
3. Attention deficits
4. Childhood depression
5. Anxiety
6. Negative impact on child`s character

Positive Impact of Gadget on Child Development

There are different positive impacts of the excessive use of gadgets on your child. These are mentioned below:

1. Better motor skills
2. Improvement in autonomy and cognitive skills in your child.
3. Occupying children`s minds with something informative through documentaries, live shows, etc.
4. Children enjoy playing games for fun.

Research on the Impact Of Gadget on Child Development

People are becoming more and more dependent on technology at a rate that has never been seen before in history. In addition, in the modern world, children and adults alike are overly engrossed in electronic devices, raising concerns and problems about the impact these gadgets have on kid`s physical and mental development.

However, according to US-based research, it is found that 62% of children between the ages of 12 and 18 owned cell phones altogether. Following are a few problems that occur in the children`s lifestyle due to the use of gadgets:

Moreover, questionnaires, parental consent forms, and educational booklets were sent to the participants in the chosen schools. The booklets also contained a phone number in case you had any additional questions.

Therefore, Interviews for cognitive function assessments were done with 769 children who completed the questionnaire within a week and gave written consent from their parents.

Questionnaire

The questionnaire was of a semi-structured type, including three sections for data collection:

Section no 1:

• Sociodemographic factors (gender, age, radiance, family type, and income, and also the parental educational status.)
• Birth Order (or of the child in their siblings)
• Method of Delivery
• EPI (Expanded Programme on Immunization)
• Vaccination status
• The child`s status for deworming and feeding

Sections no 2 and 3:

• PedsQL Cognitive Functioning Scale and Problematic Media Use Measure Short Form PMUM—SF.

The PedsQL Cognitive Functioning Scale

Six questions make up the PedsQL Cognitive Functioning Scale: “It is difficult for me to focus on things;” “It is difficult for me to remember what people tell me;” “It is difficult for me to remember what I just heard;” “It is difficult for me to think quickly;” “It is difficult for me to remember what I was just thinking;” and “It is difficult for me to remember more than one thing at a time.”

However, measurement development methodologies, cognitive interviews, pretesting, and field testing were employed in the development of this scale. In addition, this scale was evaluated using a five-point Likert scale, where 0 represents never, 1 represents nearly never, 2 represents occasionally, 3 represents often, and 4 represents practically usually.

Moreover, following known scoring standards, each response was reverse-scored and then linearly converted to a 0–100 scale (0=100, 1=75, 2=50, 3=25, 4=0). Higher scores indicated higher functioning, and any score below the mean was seen as poor cognitive functioning.

Analysis

Every analysis was carried out with Stata (V.16). For quantitative data, descriptive statistics were computed. As mean and standard deviation, and for categorical variables, as frequency and relative frequency. Using the χ2 test, the bivariate association between two category variables was investigated.

Therefore, a binary logistic regression model was developed in order to evaluate the relationship between gadget addiction and cognitive function. Stepwise selection in a forward manner was used to enter the multivariate model for variables with a p-value of less than 0.2 in the bivariate analysis. One could consider a two-tailed p<0.05 to be statistically significant.

How Long Should Children Use Gadgets?

Children nowadays invest most of their time watching screens like mobile phones, iPads, desktops, or TV. Moreover, in the times of the COVID-19 pandemic, gadgets are used for educational purposes, which had a positive impact, but at the same time, it also impacted negatively.

Children should use gadgets just for 2 to 3 hours per day. Because too much screen time can cause the following problems:

1. Obesity
2. Irregular Sleep
3. Behavioral problems
4. Academic impaired performance
5. Violence
6. Less time for creative and active activities

To decrease the chances of these issues, you can reduce their screen time by following. The guide is mentioned below:

• Reduce your child`s attention from TV by eliminating the TV`s background.
• Do not keep the gadgets in the bedrooms.
• Avoid eating in front of the screen.
• Set screen timer.
• Make them play outside in nature.

Also, if your children are having screen time, make it engaging for them by:

• Preview and plan what your child views.
• Add a parental control application to the gadget.
• Do not let your child use gadgets alone; watch with them.
• Make them watch live and informative programs more.
• You can encourage active screen time.

Conclusion

The impact of gadget on child development can be both good and bad. In this article few suggestions are given to limit your child from excessive screen time. You can encourage your child to use these gadgets educationally.

Moreover, gadgets can have a great impact on your child`s day-to-day life, but it can be healthier if you make them use constructively and effectively for them. Research is also mentioned above to help you positively.