How Do Smartphones Affect Children

Smartphones Are Hurting Our Kids Although smartphones have only been around for 30 years, it has become a crucial part of our life. With smartphones, we are able to connect with colleagues, teachers, friends, families, and even the outside world. We have instant access to countless information and continuous updates on current events and issues. However, our obsession with smartphones has a dark side. Research over the past few years has shown that smartphones are actually hurting people, specifically children. For example, children who spend an increasing amount of hours on smartphones leads to the reduction of productivity, lack of communication, obesity, and more. The alarming issue is that more and more parents are buying smartphones for their children at a young age. With these concerns in mind, the real question is: when is it too young for children to have smartphones? Although

Children are often exposed to television at a young age. In fact, children spend more than "15,000 hours watching TV" by the time they graduate high school (Costa 55). You may not realize it, but television can become an addiction. According to the article, “Measuring Television Addiction,” the term addiction can be applied to “all types of excessive behavior such as abnormal dependence on drugs, food, exercise, gambling, and television viewing” (Horvath 379). Television viewing becomes an addiction when a person watches television for four hours or more per day (Horvath 378). In comparison, the average hours a normal person watches is only two to three hours (Costa 55). Smartphones are the same way. When you spend too much time on your smartphone on a daily basis, it becomes an addiction (Boumosleh and Jaalouk 2). In her article, “Fast Forward: Are Smartphones Hurting Our Kids?,” Costa explains that teens use their phones six to eight hours a day. Addiction starting at an early age is not good for a child, especially when their brain is still