Medialabuanbajo.com,- In today’s digital era, gadgets have become an inseparable part of daily life, including for children. seeing very young kids skillfully operating smartphones or tablets is no longer surprising.
A study by Wulandari and Hermiati (2019) found that 66% of children showed a high level of gadget addiction and 59% experienced indications of mental and emotional disorders related to excessive gadget use.
On one hand, gadgets offer various educational benefits and easy access to information. On the other hand, excessive use can drag children into serious addiction that affect their physical, emotional, and social development.
Therefore, gadgets should not be completely banned, but their use must be carefully guided and controlled.
As we know, gadgets are no a necessity. In education, digital devices help children access learning materials, attend online classes, and develop creativity through educational apps.
Gadgets can also train cognitive skills like problem solving, logic and hand eye coordination. When use, properly, gadgets can support creativity and independent learning.
For this reason, preventing children from using gadgets entirely is not a realistic solution.
The problem arises when gadgets stop being a learning tools and become a digital babysitter. Many parents out of busyness or lack of awareness hand over gadgets to keep children calm and quiet.
As a result, children may spend hours in front of screens without supervision or time limits. Slowly, this habit can gradually turn into dependency.
Gadget addiction in children brings various negative impacts. Physically, children risk vision problems, reduced physical activities, and irregular sleep patterns.
Psychologically and socially, they may struggle to communicate, become easily frustrated when devices are taken away, struggle to socialize, and experience reduced concentration in school, in the long term, limited face-to-face interaction may affect their emotional development and social skills.
Therefore, the role of parents and the environment is crucial. Gadgets should be introduced as tools, not goals. Parents need to set time limits, choose age-appropriate content, and accompany children while they using digital devices.
It also important to balance screen time with other activities like outdoor play, reading habits, and direct social interaction.
Research also recommends that parents monitor and limit children’s screen time and encourage alternative activities to support healthy cognitive, physical and socio-emotional development (Panjeti-Madan & Ranganathan, 2023).
In conclusion, gadgets are not the enemy of children. They can be a window to knowledge or a trap of addiction, depending on how adults guide them.
The real challenge is maintaining a healthy balance so that children grow into a generation that is technologically skilled while remaining physically, emotionally, and socially healthy. (*)
By Grup Members: Ocalia Deflora Emon; Alberthine Indriani Bero;Fransiska Kabrini Suriyanti; Geraldus K.K Danggur.
