Young Cell Phone Addicts Brains Turning To Mush

Those dopey electronic devices keep coming at us. Since I ignore almost all of them, particularly the cell phone and its ilk, I can't even identify them.  I am an adult and can say no to every new electronic device or update Microsoft, Apple and the rest of those annoying companies try to cell. But small children have not the capacity to evaluate the cell phone and other devices that are being thrown at us. Left to their own devices the kiddies would lock themselves in their rooms and live 24 hour virtual realities. Oh..wait....some already come close to doing that.

The most recent statistics show that today more than 30% of U.S. children first play with a mobile device when they still are in diapers, according to Common Sense Media. Furthermore, almost 75% of 13- to 17-year-olds have smart phones, and 24% admit using their phones almost constantly, according to the Pew Research Center. Their parents must know this, but then, the parents are also cell phone addicts and probably never think about the damage the cell phone, I pad and others do to their little darlings small brain.

But medical doctors  such as pediatricians and psychologists are noticing what is happening to the brain of babies who are exposed to too much electronics and not enough human face to face communication. Most common of the recommendations they make are guidelines that discourage “screen time” for children under age 2 and limit “screen time” to two hours a day for children over age 2.  My anecdotal evidence from observing the diaper set in public say the parents are not in agreement with those kinds of rules.

Among the damage a single cell phone use each day by a child under the age of two are: damage brain development by overexposing to the devices causing, attention deficits, cognitive delay, impaired learning, impulsive behavior, and a decreased ability to regulate one's own behavior; restricting movement of the child which causes developmental delays and learning disabilities; obesity, children with any of the devices in their bedrooms are on average 30% fatter than those without the devices; sleep deprivation; increases in a wide assortment of mental illness including, anxiety, attachment disorder, attention deficit, autism, bipolar disorder and psychosis; increased aggressive behavior; decreased concentration and memory; addictions, even an addiction by the parent to technology that separates the parent from the child (who then uses the technology as a substitute for the parent).

Wow! What are too many of today's parents doing to their kids?  fact is.....the ways in which children are raised and educated with technology are no longer sustainable. Children are supposed to be our future, but there is no future for children who overuse technology since many will have damaged their brains so much from their cells and other devices.