Smartphone Overuse And Increasing Eye Health Risks in Teenagers

Before smartphones, parents weren’t a lot concerned about the eye health of their kids, unless the kid complains about it. However, with the advent of technology and smartphones, it’s an altogether different ballgame.

A child spends eight to nine hours a day engrossed in their smartphone, which is indeed a matter of concern. Not because they are too busy with their mobile phones, but they are playing with their eyes also.

Some of the questions that may arise with the continuous usage of smartphones are:

  • What are the risks associated with smartphone overuse?
  • What is the best possible way to explain these risks to a child?
  • What is the best preventive measure?

Now, a child may go through the following eye problems with continuous use of their mobile phones:

Source: Healing the Eye

Dry eye syndrome: Dry eye syndrome is a problem that frequently occurs in older people; however, this condition is now also occurring in teenagers. One of the main reasons for dry eyes is the overuse of smartphones. The eyes of your kids could be maturing fast than it should be.

Myopia: It is not confirmed yet, and more research needs to be done regarding this. Still, it is suspect that children who use smartphones more often have more chances of having myopia, and it progresses this condition as well.

More exposure to blue lights: More exposure to blue light means more age-related muscular degeneration. If your kid has an iPhone, you may want to turn on the Night Shift, which blocks the blue light.

Children during their teenagers are always curious to try new things, and they don’t understand the consequences of it. It may be hard for kids of this age to take such risks seriously also. To avoid unwanted confusion, it is best to take a more common-sense approach.

Some of the more common problems that can be seen in children during their teenage years are as follows:

Source: Medscape

Depression and anxiety: Social media feeds, and the internet is overloaded with upsetting updates and news, which can lead to stress and depression among young souls. Plus, a child who is addicted to their smartphone can suffer from boredom as well without their mobile phone.

Lack of imagination: When your kid is continually absorbing ideas of others, it can lead to a lack of imagination and creativity. They might start copying others and not allow their mind to function correctly.

A lot of distraction: Focus is crucial when it comes to studying, doing school work, athletics, and other productive work. Whenever a smartphone buzzes, it takes away that concentration and distracts your child.

What is the solution you can think of?

There are a few things that you can incorporate to ensure that your child is allowing their eyes to go through a constant break before they get their eyes into some kind of trouble. These approaches are effortless and easy to understand.

Of course, there are parental control applications, and once you come to know about the stability of FamiSafe, you will understand why parental control applications are useful. Other than that, you can’t completely restrict your child from using their cell phone because that will be unfair. So, while your child uses his/her cellphone, make sure they do certain eye exercises:

Source: Today’s Parent

20-20 rule: Whenever your child starts using their cell phone, teach them about the simple 20-20 rule. The way to go about it is simple. They will use their phone for around 20 minutes, and once the 20 minutes are over, they will look 20 feet away for just 20 seconds before they start using their cell phone again, and the same needs to be repeated.

Close your eyes: Cell phone screen’s brightness puts a lot of strain on your child’s eyes. Tell your kids to close your eyes for 20 seconds after using their phone for 20 minutes. Ensure that they are doing it, and let them make this their habit.

Now that we have given you some general tips that they can follow, one last thing to do is getting a robust parental control application. A parental control app, like FamiSafe, comes with some amazing features that will let you keep an eye on your kid’s mobile phone activity. This way, you will be able to know how long your child has been using their phone for, and take the necessary steps accordingly.

One quick tip, before downloading the parental control application, make sure that you speak to your child about the use of it, how overusing mobile phones can be dangerous, and how it can affect your child’s eyes.

To download the FamiSafe application, you will first have to visit their official website. FamiSafe is a reliable parental control app that is for both Android and iPhone users. You can go to the Play Store or the App Store to download the app.

Once you registered, you will have to download the application in both yours and your kid’s mobile phone. Connect both the app in the two mobile phones and now begin monitoring your child. The steps are easy to follow, and if you are still in doubt, go to the official site to know more about the steps.

Here are a few features of FamiSafe:

Source: Business Insider Malaysia

Screen time limit: A child using his/her phone for 8-9 hours a day means wasting a lot of their valuable time, which they could have used to do something productive. You never know when they are using their smartphone. You can set screen time limitations and don’t let them use their phone when they are at school, sleeping, playing, or studying.

Web filtering: Within those 8-9 hours, you never know what they are really browsing or surfing on the internet. You need to see what is keeping them so busy. Through the web filtering feature, you will be able to browse through their browsing history, and filter dangerous content, for example, gambling sites, addictive gaming platforms, and pornographic sites. Don’t let your child get older before time.

App blocking: The App Store and the Play Store are also loaded with a lot of unwanted gaming applications, and dating applications. Gaming applications are still fine unless they get addicted to it and start playing those games night and day. But when it comes to dating apps, it becomes even more worrisome. The reason is simple, though, and every parent should know if their kid is using some type of dating application. No one knows who your innocent kid is talking to. Scammers and people often fake their identity to get in touch with young kids, because they are easy to target. Plus, young kids trust people more easily. FamiSafe allows you to block such applications. You will see what they have installed and what they have uninstalled recently. Along with that, you can block all those apps that could potentially be dangerous for them.

Source: BGR.com

Track location in real-time: Know where your kid is heading to, know when they have left school, whether they are genuinely going to their school party or the friend’s house. Get to know everything about their whereabouts with just one click. FamiSafe allows you to keep an eye on your kid’s movement. This will you will have a peace of mind too. Streets are never safe after dusk, and when you don’t get to hear anything about your kid, it worries you. But now you will know where they are, and you can be there for them when you see them in an unknown place. Plus, FamiSafe also has a geofencing feature that will let you set a safe zone for them, and whenever they cross that, you can call them right away to ask why they have crossed that mark.

These are some top features of this parental control app, and now you know how safe and easy it is to use FamiSafe. It makes sense to invest in something that will not only keep your kids safe but will protect their eyes too. In this digital age, it has become more and more critical for every parent to ensure that their kids are protected from all types of threats.

Young age eye problem is a severe problem, and seeing these young kids wearing spectacles at such a tender age does raise a concern in every parents’ mind. Along with downloading the app, it is also a good idea to talk to them about keeping alone time for mobile phone use, and not mix it up with their homework. When it comes to homework, they should do homework only, and when it is about exercise, they should exercise only.

Use screen time feature of FamiSafe to restrict their mobile phone time utility and allow them to sleep, study, play, and exercise when they should. Tell them it is good for them, and instead of using their phone all the time, it is better to get a parental control app as soon as possible and let them stay safe.