Problematic Smartphone Usage (PSU): Is Your Child Suffering From It?

What is Problematic Smartphone usage?

Problematic smartphone use is smartphone addiction that includes spending excessive time and money on smartphones or device. Using your device all the time even when you are in company with other people or in a social place is considered as problematic smartphone use. Using your smartphone in situations that will put you as well as other people in danger is also included in problematic smartphone use. The addiction is related to the excessive use of websites, social media platforms, various applications, etc.

 

Excessive use of smartphones is quite common in kids nowadays. The reason behind this is that parents give their kids smartphones at a very young age. Kids are naive and it is difficult for them to understand about the harmful and negative effects of the excessive use of smartphones. Problematic smartphone use has a harmful effect on the mental health of a person. It can damage self-esteem and self-confidence. Excessive usage of social media can also lead to depression and anxiety. Internet is full of dark things that can harm the mental health of a kid. Kids can also get bullied on social media, which can cause a negative effect in their mind.

 

Negative effects of Smartphone Addiction

It has been observed that the people who spend a lot of time on mobile phones have difficulty to concentrate for a longer period of time. Kids who are addicted to smartphones mostly spend their time inside a house rather than going out and playing with their friends. This makes them physically inactive and causes a lot of problems like obesity. Using smartphones during night before sleep can cause technological insomnia and can disturb the whole sleep schedule. Because of less sleep. The next day gets ruined and it eventually affects your concentration.

 

Steps to Overcome Smartphone Addiction

In order to overcome problematic smartphone use, kids must learn how to manage the use of smartphones efficiently. Certain steps must be taken to protect yourself from the harmful and negative effects of excessive usage of smartphones. Some of these steps are mention below:

 

1) Reduce smartphone use

 

You must make a proper schedule for using your smartphone. Set some ‘phone-free’ times and avoid using of mobile phones in that specific schedule. Increase the ‘phone-free’ times gradually and this way you can reduce the usage of mobile phones in your day to day life. It will be difficult at first but try to indulge yourself in some other activities during the ‘phone-free’ times. Basically, go on a Digital Detox.

 

2) Distract yourself

 

 

Distraction is an efficient technique with the help of which you can manage the usage of smartphone. Try to involve yourself in various activities whenever you feel like using your mobile phones. You can go for a walk or run for distracting yourself. You can also read a book to keep yourself distracted.  Try to do something that will keep your mind occupied. This way you can easily avoid the excessive usage of mobile phones throughout the day and increase your DigitalWellbeing.

 

3) Stop using phone at night

 

Avoiding the use of mobile phones at night will help you in getting better sleep. As we know that the usage of mobile phones at night can be very harmful. It can cause insomnia and it can also disturb the whole sleeping schedule. This has a negative effect on your daily routine as you feel tired the next day if you haven’t slept properly. Hence, it is advised to not use phone before going to sleep and avoid excessive screen time.

 

4) Parental control app

Even after all these steps if the kid doesn’t stop using mobile phones throughout the day then parental control app is the best option. With the help of parental control app, parents can monitor all the activities done by their kid on the mobile phones. If a kid is using any specific website for a longer period of time then parents can block that website by using parental control app.

 

Parental control app also allows you to set screen time so that you can easily prevent the excessive usage of smartphones without even constantly monitoring kids throughout the day.  Most of the parents prefer using parental control apps because nowadays they don’t have enough time to keep an eye on their kids as they are also busy with their works. Parental control app provides all in one solution to protect the kids from all the online threats and also problematic smartphone use.

These are some of the ways with the help of which you can prevent problematic smartphone use. Kids are very sensitive and naive and it becomes important to pay proper attention to them because they are unaware about the harmful effects that a smartphone can have on them.