The Internet conquered the adult generation, then seduced teenagers and now got to the smallest. It is not uncommon to meet a three-year-old baby, enthusiastically pressing buttons on his father’s tablet. But what lies behind this harmless pastime?
What is the danger of the internet
In preschool children, the braking system is poorly developed. They are quickly excited, involved in the process, but it is difficult for them to inhibit feelings and desires. The worldwide network is full of dynamic games, colorful landscapes, superhero abilities. It is difficult for even an adult to resist what to speak of a baby. It captivates, captivates. He becomes a hostage to virtual reality.
The Internet is a drug for children. Slowly addictive, difficult to break out.
Effects
Yes, there are a lot of educational games and informative cartoons on the World Wide Web. There are children's presentations there that the baby watches with pleasure and expands the knowledge gained. But behind these small pluses are huge cons.
Postural curvature
Sitting at a computer for a long time is a strain on the spine. Now the Internet has become available through a tablet and phone. Children play lying on their stomachs, on their backs, reclining, hunched over in three dooms. Since the child’s skeleton is still being formed, such a pastime is fraught with curvature of the spine.
Vision drops
Looking at one point for a long time is harmful. In addition, children do not observe the distance from the eyes to the screen, often play in the dark. This is a strain on the eye muscles. They get tired and atrophy, which leads to weakened vision.
Speech development lags behind, thinking suffers
At an early age, there is an active formation of brain cells responsible for speech and thinking. The child develops through communication. Asking questions, he learns to think, analyze. The foundations of logical thinking are being laid. Replacing real communication with the Internet leads to one-way communication. No questions are asked, no answers, no dialogue. As a result - lag in speech development and thinking.
Distortion of reality
A small child does not know how to think critically. He perceives any information received as truth. The Internet is full of distorted and false material. Computer games are built on the non-existent abilities of heroes and the fictional properties of surrounding objects. The child carries the acquired knowledge into life. There are cases when children, posing as superheroes, jumped from the roofs of houses.
Cartoons and virtual games lay the wrong values. Now heroes rule not goodness and justice, but power and cunning. Thirst for profit and rudeness occupy not the last place. Children no longer want to be astronauts and scientists. They want to be bloggers, killers, not work at all.
Forms cruelty
There are many entertainments on the World Wide Web containing scenes of violence. When a child sees them regularly, he develops an attitude towards aggression as a normal, natural manifestation of personality traits. If cruelty begins in early childhood, how will it be reflected in the future? Altered consciousness, no pity, no empathy. The World Wide Web brings up a brutal generation.
Information not by age
Many sites, regardless of subject, place banners of non-child content. A child climbing web pages can accidentally run into “frank” pictures.
Programs addiction
In childhood, addiction is formed faster than in adult. Beautiful graphics, superpowers, saturation with special effects and the dynamism of virtual reality mesmerize the child. Time spent online is associated with joy, extreme sports and vivid impressions. This is enough to fix a stable connection “Internet = pleasure”.
Affects the nervous system
Computer entertainment games, for whatever age they are intended, overexcite the nervous system. These entertainments are very dynamic in content. They often have the effect of surprise, which can scare the baby. Children have unreasonable fears. Since the child’s mental processes are not yet formed, the consequences can be unpredictable.
Currently, doctors associate the growing hyperactivity of children with the frequent and abrupt change of pictures on screens, the dynamism of computer games.
No control
The above consequences are only those that preschoolers face. If the “virus” is not slowed down in time, then problems will increase in the future. Take a look ahead and see what threatens adolescents who are uncontrollably addicted to the Internet.
Lack of fresh air
The time that children spend online has previously been spent playing with peers in the fresh air. Now they can not be driven out. On the Internet there are both entertainment and network communication. Children suffer from a lack of fresh air, which affects their health.
Interest in study disappears
With the advent of the Internet, scientists have noted a sharp decline in children's interest in knowledge. The child no longer makes sense to bother. Websites provide ready-made answers to questions, it is easy to find the necessary information there. Unlike studying, where you need to make an effort to get a result.
Low communicative
On the Internet, time passes unnoticed. 60 minutes flies like 6. The child is less interested in talking face to face with friends. Virtual reality is brighter and more attractive. She is preferred. Children who are addicted to computer games become closed, unsociable, lose contact with society.
Decreased activity
The World Wide Web is addictive. There is not enough time for other activities. Sports, dances, competitions and hobbies are becoming less attractive than virtual reality. Hence the sedentary lifestyle, muscles atrophy, a tendency to obesity appears.
Sexually Deviant Behavior
Unobstructed access to a forbidden topic entails an early interest and desire to try. Children have early and inaudible sexual intercourse, which leads to an unplanned pregnancy and the spread of specific diseases.
Victims of cybercriminals
Little life experience does not allow the child to recognize the danger. Children on the Internet - easy prey for criminals, maniacs, sectarians. Over the past 10 years, the network has been actively recruiting minors to various illegal groups.
Types of Virtual Dependence
Attachment is not always formed through computer games. In order to recognize the problem in time, parents should know and distinguish between three types of Internet addiction.
- Gaming. A child often plays computer games for a long time.
- Network Excessive passion for correspondence on social networks.
- Surfing. Long, aimless browsing of sites and beautiful pictures.
Rules for communicating with the Internet
Is the Internet really necessary for a small child? In fact, the preschooler does not need him. All forks and logical ingenuity are in paper versions. This is a desktop didactic game. But if, nevertheless, they decided to develop the child with the help of a worldwide network, the following rules should be strictly observed:
Time. For children of different ages, the standards for staying at a computer (tablet, iPhone) are established:
- up to 5 years - no more than 10 minutes
- 5-7 years - up to 20 minutes
- 7-11 years - up to 30 minutes
- 12-14 years - up to 45 minutes
- 15-16 years - up to 2 hours intermittently
Control. To know what your child is doing online, place the computer so that the monitor is always in sight. For example, in the entrance room, in the hallway.
Access. There are special limited-access programs that block sites and banners of "non-child content." Even if the child makes a request on this topic, the browser will give him a short biology course. The structure of the organs of boys and girls. Let it develop, once so curious.
In addition, parental control can be enabled on the computer. Its advantages:
- limits the time
- monitors all actions on the Internet,
- blocks indecent sites
- allows you to download games based on age restrictions.
Free time. Often, the child is fond of the computer from stupid pastime, from not knowing what to do with himself. Do not use the Internet as a nanny. Spend time with the kids. Take walks in nature, go to cafes, cinema, talk, read books.
Additional classes. So that the child does not sit down at the computer once again, write it down in the sports section, circle, and dances. So you will kill two birds with one stone: less time on the Internet + physical development.
More communication. Invite your child's friends to visit. Together, the three of them play much more fun than one. Sociability, imagination, creativity, speech are developing. Virtual reality does not replace live communication.
The harmful effects of the Internet are easier to prevent than to cure its effects. Give children more attention, and they will be less interested in virtual reality.
We also read:
- The effect of the tablet on the child: 10 reasons to say “NO” to the tablet!
- 10 signs of children's addiction to computer games and the Internet: harm from a computer
- The effect of modern gadgets on children (pros and cons)
- How do we lose our children
Internet addiction in children: what it can lead to
As for cruelty, it is debatable, but it certainly does not have a beneficial effect on posture. Thus, if a child spends most of his time hunched over a computer, he develops osteochondrosis of the cervical spine.
If you follow the child, then the Internet will only help him develop, and not to teach various nonsense and addictions.My son has access to the Internet and to the street. He has friends there and here. I don’t see too much difference when he builds the Titanic in Minecraft or from Lego, except that the development of motor skills. What is there, what is there, he designs and thinks.
An interesting article, I would recommend reading it to current young parents. In fact, now almost everyone, not like a schoolboy, even a preschooler, has a phone or tablet. My child is no exception, my daughter is in first grade and spent a lot of time at the computer, she didn’t even leave a bed with a tablet. As a result, problems with studies began, the child became closed. I did not begin to prohibit all this, I decided to go the other way. The forbidden fruit is sweet, it would not lead to good. I began to communicate more with the child, to recognize her interests. I was surprised that the child is interested in the musical direction, in our family there are no musicians. I signed up for the piano class, now the child looks “alive”, constantly tells new impressions, there is practically no time for the tablet. I hope my experience will be useful to someone.