In a recent study, 33 per cent of Swedish parents surveyed admitted that their phone and tablet use was a sore point with their kids. The children said that their parents spend too much time on the devices. And experts are weighing in about the developmental damage this could cause.
The study results also indicated that 20 per cent of parents in Stockholm and the surrounding suburbs had lost their child or children, at least for a moment, because they were paying attention to their phones. Sweden has the second highest smartphone adoption rates in western Europe at 63% of adults. Roland Sennerstam, a Swedish pediatrician who has been speaking out about the issue told The Guardian:
Of course it will affect their emotional development . . . [Also] I encourage parents to use language during their daily activities, and give their children new words all the time. If parents are more interested in using their mobile phones, I think it will have a bad effect on the language development of their children.
Not all pediatricians agree that heavy smartphone use is a significant concern in itself, given that children have always had to deal with distracted parents, whether the adults were on a wooly mammoth hunt or playing Candy Crush. But it seems that if the behaviour is extreme enough, it can have real consequences. Examine those priorities, people. [The Guardian]
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