Harmful Impact of the Internet on Children

 Introduction:

The Internet is not only a source of information but a

medium that connects almost every aspect of our life.

The Internet is a place of great ease and infinite

connectivity, but also a place of great vulnerability. In

a world of the internet, we live through infinitely

complex virtual networks, barely able to trace where

our information is coming from and going and thus

posing a threat not only to our lives but also to the

lives of our children. The digital world plays an

immense role in the day-to-day activities of 21stcentury

children. The U.S. National Library of

Medicine National Institutes of Health (NIH) reports

teens between the ages of 8 and 28 to spend about

44.5 hours a week in front of a digital screen,

according to another report 23 per cent of kids have

reported that they feel that they are addicted to video

games. As the younger generation is growing more

and more tech-savvy and dependent on the internet,

they are being exposed to the various malicious side

of the internet.

Online Games:

With fast internet and the advancement of gaming

technology, the internet got bombarded with

thousands of online games. Even though online

games are a fun way to socialize encouraging

teamwork, it comes paired with risks of it own that

parents need to be aware of. Without the right

guidance and supervision, games can expose

children to risks such as game addiction and

addiction of any kind is harmful. Now that games

come paired with the option of buying in-game

perks, these perks are tempting and can only be

bought with real tangible money. Children end up

buying these perks blowing a hole in their parent’s

pockets.

There have been cases around the world where

young children would buy game credits online

without even informing their parents. Parents not

being as tech-savvy as their child would come to

know of it only after a month or two when they have

almost lost all their savings. These addictions are not

only affecting the pockets of the parents, there are

many more harmful effects of game addiction. There

have been many cases where children committed

suicide because of their inability to complete various

tasks in-game. Blue Whale, a notorious game that

forced children to commit suicide as a task, took the

lives of many. One needs to understand that these

problems arose because of the lack of proper

supervision from parents. Parents should

understand that taking care of their children even

includes monitoring and supervising their activities

and always help their children to understand the

writers and wrongs of life. Activities and always help

their children to understand the writers and wrongs

of life.

Social Media:

We have all seen an immense rise in the number of

social media users in recent times. According to the

statistics, 90 per cent of teens ages 13-17 years are on

social media. 51 per cent of them are daily active on

social media, shocking. Isn’t it? Social media

platforms were introduced to connect people around

the world. However, it is not the same place which

was introduced to us. In recent times, we have only

witnessed violent, sexual and hateful content

dominating these platforms. People could have used

it to share positive and learning stuff instead of

sharing dark content. This kind of content has a

harmful impact on psychology, especially on kids.

No parent around the world would want their kids to

absorb this kind of content. Especially after seeing

the huge rise in the number of depression cases.

Parents are quite limited in keeping an eye on the

content their kids are absorbing on these platforms.

On the very last World Mental Health Day, experts

suggested taking a break from social media

platforms as these are having a negative impact on

mental health

Health problems: –

Having access to the internet on smart devices led to

the overuse of smart devices like laptops or

smartphones/ tablets. You would be shocked to know

the number of diseases reported among children

globally. All this is a result of cutting off physical

activities because of playing games or accessing the

internet or binge-watching for long hours. There is a

huge rise in the number of patients with insomnia,

depression, obesity, and eyesight among children.

Conclusion: –

As mentioned in the above paragraphs, it clearly

shows how harmful the internet can become for

children. And as a parent, you would all be more

worried now and looking for solutions here and

there.