HOW often do we hear people make remarks about the kids of today and how different they are compared to children of yesteryear, or when they were children? Then there are others who insist that children have not changed at all and it’s only an adult perception of how children should behave that has changed. This is usually said because today’s children are sometimes thought to be out-of-hand and beyond control.

Society has indeed changed by leaps and bounds due to technology and along with technology we now have knowledge at our fingertips. Some of it good and worthwhile, and some of it trivial and worthless, still it is an industry which continues to evolve daily. Regardless of how much the cyber world is entwined with the real world in households, in schools and even on the streets, the necessary ethics and morals that govern our lives should remain intact. Children will always need competent adults to guide and protect them. They will need adults to look out for their best interests: to nurture and love them, to talk to them and to guide them towards adulthood. The internet is not a surrogate parent and cannot provide the warmth, care and personal interaction that is necessary during childhood.

For our children’s sake when it comes to technology and internet use, there must be a healthy balance. Adults are the only ones who can create this necessary equilibrium for their families in this new technological era, but first they will need to do an assessment on their own cyber world use. Is it excessive or obsessive? If it is, do they care enough about their families to make a change? Every day there are more stories about the negative effects that excessive internet use can have on children and adults.

Many adults are still intrigued by what they can find and see on the internet; they spend a vast amount of time either surfing the web (for only God knows what) or chatting to people online until, what once was a useful tool, becomes a daily obsession. Because of this engrossment, it is difficult for these adults to then moderate their children’s internet use; neither do they realise the impact that the cyber world is having on theirs and their children’s lives.

For adults to stay aware and focused they need to learn how to use the internet and not allow the internet to use them. There should be a time for everything, which means equal amounts of indoor and outdoor activity: a time for resting and a time for interaction as a family. Adults may need to re-programme themselves to spend less time on their phones or online and more time re-establishing sincere relationships and spending quality time with their children and spouses.

The internet has invaded our homes, our workplaces and private lives, it is hard to imagine a time when instant messaging did not exist. This doesn’t mean that you are out of touch if you turn your phone off for the evening and spend time with your children. You are simply doing something that was considered quite normal not too long ago. Meanwhile, your children are benefitting from your company and you theirs, in a way that is slowly diminishing, because of the technological gadgets that are taking over our lives.

There is no doubt that the internet has had the biggest influence on today’s children worldwide. It bombards them with information and social pressures more than it has any past generation. Children are walking around attached to the world and with the world at their fingertips, and the downside to this phenomenon is the bearing it could have on their health and well-being

It’s true that the easiest way to keep the average child quiet for a long time, nowadays, is to give the child an Ipad or tablet full of games. But many parents, babysitters and carers who use this method of distraction, fail to realise that to be constantly looking at screens and other gadgets, requires eye muscles to work harder to focus: this increases the chances of children and adults developing migraine headaches. Other conditions associated with excessive internet use are: brain shrinkage, (up to 20 per cent) eye strain, bad posture, sleep deprivation and relationship stress, as well as, psychologically: anxiety, depression, sadness and loneliness.

Today’s children are no different from yesterday’s children, except for the fact that the pace of technology is seemingly overpowering most of them like a tidal wave. As many young people move along with the flow unchecked, parents alone have the chance to decide the answer to the following important question. In their children’s lives, what, when, where and how will technology be used?

If you are concerned about the welfare of a child call the CPA hotline on 227 0979 or write to us at childcaregy@gmail.com
A MESSAGE FROM THE CHILDCARE AND PROTECTION AGENCY, MINISTRY OF SOCIAL PROTECTION