Toddling into Tech

The sight of a toddler’s face illuminated by the faint blue glow of a smartphone screen, their pudgy hands gripping tightly to the device, is not uncommon. It appears that today, technology occupies the role of caregiver to many children. Once a characteristic of childhood, imaginative games in the garden are trumped by the theme song for Candy Crush. A parent in search of respite no longer sends their child outside to nature; instead, a smart device is thrust into the toddler’s hands and an online game swaddles them in a bubble of colourful distractions.

The childhoods of millennials and older generations look practically pastoral in comparison to those of today, which appear to be fuelled by technology. The positive effects of being outdoors (like exposure to Vitamin D, which regulates the sleep cycle and fights infections) are no longer being felt by today’s generation of children. Instead, Thrive Global says that children make a beeline for their smart devices after school, which provide on tap entertainment. The light from the sun is replaced by the harmful blue light of a screen, which actually causes headaches and eye strain for children.

An app for developing social skills has yet to be developed, because according to Today’s Parent, this can only be learnt from face-to-face interactions. The evolution of one’s sense of empathy and ability to communicate cannot be replicated by anything on a screen. In order for children to generate opinions and ideas, it is essential for them to experience the world around them, says PsychCentral. Children learn through mimicking the interactions between their parents or caregivers, yet constant exposure to digital technology might be hindering this process. The decline in interactions between parent and child, often as a result of being interrupted by the resounding ring of an iPhone, are of concern to many.

The rise of digital technology has facilitated access to smartphones from an increasingly young age – according to Today’s Parent, children aged four to six should not have access to smart devices, due to the dangers to brain development. Despite this, PsychCentral says that approximately 25% percent of children between the ages of two and five are able to use a smartphone. Apparently, the synthetic stimulation from digital devices provides a constant conduit of ‘easy dopamine’. Children’s brains consequently struggle to produce dopamine in situations when it is not flowing directly from the screen. This opens the door to behavioural issues, loss of focus and even anxiety when their smart devices are absent. Today’s Parent warns that later in their childhood, social media cultivates children’s need for peer validation. Being a slave to the screen clearly starts much earlier than previously thought.

Today, smartphones and tablets are the babysitters for many children. The tie between toddler and technology is almost umbilical, the disconnection of which results in behavioural issues and difficulty to produce dopamine. The imaginary worlds created in many back gardens have faded away as the smartphone’s blue glow grows brighter.