As families become nuclear and both parents join the workforce, there is a growing perception that little children are a nuisance because they need a lot of attention and cry a lot.

Tired parents are struggling for ways to occupy their children.

Playing children need constant supervision, and children crave attention all the time when they are not occupied or asleep.

This can easily overwhelm stressed-out parents, and the screen, in the form of televisions, tablets and phones, has become a deadly lifesaver in homes.

In the last century in Europe, little children were routinely given concoctions containing morphine so that they would sleep longer and parents could work.

The result was that death from respiratory arrest became common, and surviving children had psychological issues as adults, leading to suicide, depression and anxiety.

This is playing out in Ghana with screen addiction.

Childhood brain development

The human brain starts to develop in the first month of pregnancy and grows rapidly in size and maturity throughout pregnancy and early childhood.

It is known that the human brain is almost at its adult size by three years.

The brain’s ability to perform complex tasks such as reasoning, concentration and memory comes from brain cells’ ability to synapse with others. 

This also occurs through the right nutrition and experiences from interaction with the environment.

The most important time is from birth to five years.

Problem with screen

It has been known that screen addiction can affect all ages; however, its impact on children below five years and adolescents is much more severe and can have long-lasting effects.

This coincides with the time when there is rapid growth and development.

Children coming to the clinic with symptoms of screen addiction are spending about six hours or more a day watching a phone screen. 

Most of the time, the television is also on in the background.

So the child is bombarded both visually and auditorily. 

This constant sound limits a growing child’s ears to certain frequencies and their vision to certain bright colours and shapes.

Effects

The most important effect on children and adolescents is the destruction of communication and social skills in the growing brain.

Children develop communication and social skills by interacting with others.

They learn to interpret facial expressions and body gestures, which are crucial.

An important milestone is the social smile, which should be well established by three months of age.

A baby smiles when you smile at him and his eyes follow you around the room.

The screen interferes with this critical developmental milestone, and the child loses it very quickly, even when it has been achieved earlier.

Screen-addicted children may have little or no eye contact with others and become uncomfortable when a person looks into their eyes. 

Without good eye contact and facial recognition, communication skills become impaired.

The screen also provides an individualised experience for children.

In a room full of people, the child is locked onto the screen and can forget everyone and all surrounding sounds, lights, people and experiences. 

After a while, the child becomes oblivious to the natural world and becomes very distressed when exposed to it, like in church, school or any unfamiliar place.

Their agitation is demonstrated with loud cries, screams and a strong desire to run away from the stimulus.

It is distressing to see a child in this condition.

They avoid hugs and will not turn when their name is called.

This is because they don’t recognise their names either.
Speech occurs naturally if a child participates socially with others.

Since there is no social participation, and because the screen does not require a response from you, the child does not see the need to respond to others.

For adolescents, there is a withdrawal from society and more time spent on gaming and social media.

Persons represented in the social media space appear real, and their opinions become more important than those of real people around them.

So anxiety, depression and loneliness become common. In other countries, severe social withdrawal has become a recognised condition associated with extreme screen addiction.

The solution

The measures needed to curb this challenge must happen at many levels.

Policy should be clear on screen exposure in children. Using World Health Organisation (WHO) guidelines, children below two years should have no screen exposure at all.

Children from three to five years should have only one hour of supervised screen time a day.

Older children and adolescents must also be supervised.

In addition, guidelines can ensure that screen activities aimed at younger minds are monitored and limited in Ghana.  

Schools and Day cares can also be issued directives and guidelines on the use of screens for educational purposes.

The Ghana Health Service (GHS) should provide training and resources to identify and treat children with screen addiction issues early.

Parents and guardians need to put restrictions on screen use at home, like limiting it to one day a week.

Children, like all humans, benefit massively from the outdoors.

Teaching children to enjoy outdoor play (fresh air, sand and sunshine) with others is what will help and heal children who are already affected. 

Our Ghanaian environment, with its rich social events such as festivals, markets, and sports events, is are good opportunity for socialisation for children.

Screen addiction is preventable if we all chip in by educating the public and putting in preventive measures and treatment therapies in our health and education services.

*The writer is a Developmental Paediatrician