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Parents aware of gadgets’ harm to children but take risk anyway
The gadget addiction among children has become a growing concern in Indonesia, home to 150 million internet users and 355 million active gadgets – according to a report by London-based media company We Are Social. In the past few years, hospitals and health centers across Indonesia have been treating hundreds of children who have shown symptoms of acute gadget addiction like depression and temper tantrums.
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Various studies suggest that leaving young children too long with gadgets can affect their behavior and brain development. (Shutterstock/Mesk Photography)
T
o mark World Television Day on Nov. 21, The Jakarta Post has prepared a series of articles on people’s shift from conventional television to mobile gadgets. This is the second part of the series.
For 26-year-old mother Muthia, raising two toddlers at home has not been easy. She has to do all the daily household chores alone while keeping an eye on her two daughters, aged 2 and 5.
She is often faced with a dilemma; she has to do all the chores, but her toddlers want to play. When this happens, Muthia usually uses her smartphone to keep her children amused and calm.
Her physically active daughters can sit with the phone for an hour, watching cartoons and toy-unboxing videos on Youtube.
Muthia acknowledged that having too much screen time might negatively affect children in the long run. She said an acquaintance's child had a speech delay because of excessive screen time.
"But I cannot deny that smartphones can be very reliable to calm my kids down."
