MOBILE PHONE USE IN CHILDREN
The first patient today was a three-year-old child who had been crying non-stop since 5 AM. His mother and aunt were there with him, helpless, as they couldn’t understand the reason for his crying. They had tried everything they could think of.
It's not the reason for the crying that I intend to write about here, but something else.
He’s a three-year-old child. By this age, he should have started talking. Usually, incessant crying is something we see in children who aren’t yet old enough to communicate or express their discomfort. While taking the history, I asked, “Does he not speak?” “No, Doctor, he had begun saying a few words, but now he hardly speaks,” was the response.
After giving the child medicine and leaving him under observation, I called the mother aside to ask more about his developmental history. From what I could gather, the child had reached all other developmental milestones (like sitting and walking) at the correct time. When I asked if they had done the hearing test at birth, the answer was "yes." Before I could ask the next question, the mother said, “Doctor, we own a shop, so we leave him with his aunt during the day and gave him a mobile phone to keep him occupied. He used to speak a little, but then he stopped speaking altogether. When we took him to a speech therapist, they told us that using the phone had taken away his ability to speak. Now, we are doing speech therapy, and we are seeing some small improvements.” After she finished speaking, she sighed deeply.
In 2018, the term "Virtual Autism" was coined by Romanian psychologist Marius Teodor Zamfir. Autism is a mental disorder that affects learning, communication, and speech. We may have seen children with autism — they stand apart from other kids in their communication skills and decision-making abilities, often isolated from society. Raising such children can be a challenge for parents. Autism spectrum disorders are generally caused by genetic mutations. However, now think about a situation where children develop autism due to excessive use of mobile phones. It’s heartbreaking to see many parents around us struggling with children affected by virtual autism, caused by mobile misuse.
We all know how essential physical activities, proper sleep, and playtime are for growing children. A few days ago, I read an article that studies have proven that excessive mobile use in children leads to conditions like depression, anxiety, and sleep disorders. It also affects their adolescence and youth. Parents do not realize the extent to which giving children mobile phones, to make them eat quickly or sit quietly, affects their memory, thinking ability, and learning capacity.
- Dr Najmath Swabah MP
