Children have no measure: that if they draw on television, then games on the tablet and videos on the mobile phone to end the day. If it were up to them, they would spend hours in front of the screens, without being aware of the risks that excessive use of these devices entails. And it is the task of the parents to establish a time limit, also depending on each age.
The specialists are clear: screens must be prohibited before the age of 3; limit its use to half an hour until the age of 6; and one hour (at most) for children between 7 and 12 years of age. These are just some of the recommendations given by the guide Digital technologies in childhood, adolescence and youth, a document prepared by the Government of Catalonia to prevent, promote and treat behavioral addictions that may involve the misuse of technology .
“We are concerned about the misuse of these technologies, excessive, problematic use,” explained the Deputy Director General for Addictions, HIV, STIs and Viral Hepatitis, Joan Colom Farran, during the presentation of the document on Wednesday. For this reason, what they intend is to “focus on the elements that we must take into account to cope” and “help family members, educators, the environment in general, to cope in a more coherent and correct way”.
Up to 3 years old, children need the real experience of touch: picking up, sucking or throwing any object. That leaves out contact with the screens of any electronic device, explain the authors of the guide.
“Often, they get trapped by the attractiveness of the screens compared to other conventional games and stop carrying out activities that are essential for their proper development. The proof is that, if we let them choose between a story and a screen, what do they choose?”, these specialists point out.
In addition, they remember the dangers that the use of these devices entails. According to data from the Polytechnic University of Catalonia (UPC), the visual acuity of children between 3 and 4 years of age is still 50% and until the age of 12, human beings do not see perfectly in 3D. It has also been proven that the light emitted by screens acts by blocking the secretion of melatonin, alters the rhythm of sleep and the night before, and affects the immune system.
As children get older, they can make more use of screens, but that does not mean that there are no limits. According to the guide Digital technologies in childhood, adolescence and youth, from 4 to 6 years of age, limited and accompanied exposure is recommended (less than half an hour daily).
From 7 to 12 years old, one more step. At these ages, there is a construction of a global face-to-face and digital identity of the child. For this reason, specialists advise a progressive and supervised increase up to one hour a day maximum. And no cell phone before 12: “Regarding the recommended age to have your own cell phone, it is not recommended before the age of 12 and better at the end of the first quarter of the first year of ESO. This will allow you to see your academic performance without mobile phone interference.”
“In any case, it is not recommended that it be available at all hours, it must be a gradual introduction guided by the adult and it is necessary to keep young people from using it while they do their homework to optimize their performance. Other screens are not recommended simultaneously as they interfere with care processes”, the specialists conclude in the document.
