Children’s Addiction to Smartphones and Internet Increased Alarmingly amid Covid-19 Pandemic

Smartphone addiction has become an issue of serious concern for all age groups, but the addiction of children towards these phones is seen as a dangerous trend by researchers. Smartphone addiction is not less harmful than alcoholism or drug abuse. During the on ongoing COVID-19 pandemic this addition has increased manifold. The reason of smartphone addiction is that these electronic gadgets are easy to carry and young boys and girls can use them anywhere and whenever they want. More than this, the multifunctional features of smartphones makes it easier to do many things at a time. During the first three to four months of COVID-19 pandemic people became more addicted to smartphones. Those children who were hardly addicted to android cellphones also got addicted to it during COVID-19 lockdown.

This addiction is a kind of secret pandemic which is a very dangerous trend. The COVID 19 pandemic is essentially an invisible enemy. Being forced to stay at home is also very difficult for children with developmental disorders like attention deficit/ hyperactivity disorder or those on the autism spectrum as a lot of therapies to treat them suggest intense counseling and therapy based on physical activity. During the COVID 19 lockdown all the activities related to teaching or learning process, the smartphones have emerged as the most preferred medium for virtual learning and teaching.

Results of a 2016 common sense media report found that 50% of teens "feel addicted" to mobile devices, while 59% of parents believe that kids are addicted to their devices. 95%of teens have access to smart phones. A study conducted by Jaipur-based JK Lone Children's hospital has found that the lockdown restrictions, from March 25th  to contain the spread of COVID 19 pandemic had an...