Raising kids in a screen-obsessed world
Published: 04:06 PM,Jun 27,2025 | EDITED : 08:06 PM,Jun 27,2025
Summer breaks haunt most of us as parents. The kids are all set to lose in a sea of virtual world from gaming and social media to mindless scrolling. In an aggressively digitally driven world and with these kids as its future drivers, it's quintessential to set a mental wellness compass that regulates their digital behaviours. How much is too much is the real concern.
Little do we realise that the youth are losing their vision and sight towards a balanced life, their career pathways, family bonding and relationships. Not all the content consumed is bad, but we are not aware of what they have been through all day, virtually. Might be it had been crap they had been watching and imitating as one of their anime characters or some cringe influencer.
A few days back, one of my clients was discussing her kids’ behavioural attention issues. The child, around 12 years of age, went to the park with his bicycle and returned home on foot leaving the bike at the park. Thankfully, it wasn’t stolen and when the parents walked across the park the next day, they got the bike and the kid couldn’t even recollect that he had forgotten the bicycle.
The gist is the rising attention deficit and a lack of focus in children and youth alike. Following basic instructions about performing chores is becoming an ordeal for them. A more worrisome part is that the present-day youth lacks interest in staying present in an offline world. Nothing in the real world fascinates them more than virtual shots of dopamine.
Various scientific research and studies are stressing the role of over-screen usage leading to diminished language learning and interactive behaviour with parents in infancy and early childhood, poor academic performance in middle childhood, decreased participation in sports and other physical activities, which are altogether a driving force for a meaningful and successful life.
A research published in the PubMed Central states, “Screen time-induced poor sleep, night time use of digital devices and dependency on mobile phones have been associated with depressive symptoms. Sleep issues, excessive screen time and exposure to content that is violent and fast-paced trigger dopamine and reward pathways in the brain, all of which have been associated with attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder (ADHD)-related behaviour. Early and persistent exposure to violent content raises the chance of engaging in antisocial behaviour. Psychoneurological effects of addictive screen time use include a decrease in social coping skills and the development of craving behaviours resembling substance dependence. Structural changes in the brain related to cognitive control and emotional regulation have been observed in individuals with addictive digital media behaviour.”
Moreover, if you had been a parent, you wouldn't have been saved from the tormenting chants of your kids: ‘I am bored’. And as vigilant parents, we move the moon and the earth to engage them productively to hear the same statement. On the contrary, we must understand that they don’t need continuous stimulation or hopping from one activity to another. When we let them be bored in the form of merely sitting and staring out of the window or watching the people pass by from the balcony, it's when their brain begins to rewire and crazy ideas pop into their heads. Here they explore ways to keep them interestingly engaged and directed to learning a new skill out of it.
What's more impactful is that we set strict discipline for screen watching time that applies equally to the whole family, we can't expect harmony by confiscating their devices, but as guardians lost on our phones.
It is also our responsibility to hold their hands and make them feel the true essence of the real world, not by pushing but by setting healthy boundaries.
Little do we realise that the youth are losing their vision and sight towards a balanced life, their career pathways, family bonding and relationships. Not all the content consumed is bad, but we are not aware of what they have been through all day, virtually. Might be it had been crap they had been watching and imitating as one of their anime characters or some cringe influencer.
A few days back, one of my clients was discussing her kids’ behavioural attention issues. The child, around 12 years of age, went to the park with his bicycle and returned home on foot leaving the bike at the park. Thankfully, it wasn’t stolen and when the parents walked across the park the next day, they got the bike and the kid couldn’t even recollect that he had forgotten the bicycle.
The gist is the rising attention deficit and a lack of focus in children and youth alike. Following basic instructions about performing chores is becoming an ordeal for them. A more worrisome part is that the present-day youth lacks interest in staying present in an offline world. Nothing in the real world fascinates them more than virtual shots of dopamine.
Various scientific research and studies are stressing the role of over-screen usage leading to diminished language learning and interactive behaviour with parents in infancy and early childhood, poor academic performance in middle childhood, decreased participation in sports and other physical activities, which are altogether a driving force for a meaningful and successful life.
A research published in the PubMed Central states, “Screen time-induced poor sleep, night time use of digital devices and dependency on mobile phones have been associated with depressive symptoms. Sleep issues, excessive screen time and exposure to content that is violent and fast-paced trigger dopamine and reward pathways in the brain, all of which have been associated with attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder (ADHD)-related behaviour. Early and persistent exposure to violent content raises the chance of engaging in antisocial behaviour. Psychoneurological effects of addictive screen time use include a decrease in social coping skills and the development of craving behaviours resembling substance dependence. Structural changes in the brain related to cognitive control and emotional regulation have been observed in individuals with addictive digital media behaviour.”
Moreover, if you had been a parent, you wouldn't have been saved from the tormenting chants of your kids: ‘I am bored’. And as vigilant parents, we move the moon and the earth to engage them productively to hear the same statement. On the contrary, we must understand that they don’t need continuous stimulation or hopping from one activity to another. When we let them be bored in the form of merely sitting and staring out of the window or watching the people pass by from the balcony, it's when their brain begins to rewire and crazy ideas pop into their heads. Here they explore ways to keep them interestingly engaged and directed to learning a new skill out of it.
What's more impactful is that we set strict discipline for screen watching time that applies equally to the whole family, we can't expect harmony by confiscating their devices, but as guardians lost on our phones.
It is also our responsibility to hold their hands and make them feel the true essence of the real world, not by pushing but by setting healthy boundaries.