Counsellors in Dubai are calling on schools and parents to combine in a joint approach to reduce children’s use of mobile devices and cut the impact on their mental health.
Doctors at the Priory Clinic in the UK have backed results from a straw poll on more than 1,000 parents that revealed 44 per cent supported a ban on smartphone use by children under the age of 16.
Of those parents polled, 92 per cent said social media and the internet are having a negative impact on the mental health of their children.
“Many studies have highlighted the various dangerous psychological and medical effects of significant smartphone use, particularly on those using them for more than three hours a day,” said Dr Rasha Bassim, a UAE psychiatrist at the Priory Wellbeing Centre in Dubai.
“Research demonstrates the brain chemistry of young people, who are addicted to smartphones and the internet, can become imbalanced.
“This leads to irritability, increase in emotional distress, broken sleep patterns, isolation and higher levels of anxiety and depression,” she said.
“Children can feel immense peer pressure to have a smartphone and participate in social media if they are not to be excluded from friendship groups and social activities.
“These are all often intrinsically linked to phones.”
In September, a nationwide campaign in France led to banning children under 15 from using their smartphones in school.
The Priory Group poll found that half of parents said cyber-bullying was an issue related to smartphone use by young people, 41 per cent said it was damaging self-esteem and 47 per cent it was reducing physical interactions in families.
A further 43 per cent of those asked said it was having a damaging effect on healthy sleep patterns, and 39 per cent of parent said mobile phone use was leading to the early sexualisation of children.
Almost half of parents said their child worries about their appearance as a result of the internet and social media.
“Children in this age group really only need a basic phone to keep safe and ensure their parents or carers are aware of their movements,” said Dr Bassim.
“With half of teens now feeling addicted to their mobile phones, a consensus between parents and teachers on the appropriate age for the use of smartphones among young people would remove the many burdens that can come with them.”
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Read more:
World Mental Health Day: Social media cause of unbearable pressure among young people, says parent
World Mental Health Day: Cycle of anti-depressants proves difficult to break
Understanding ADHD: UAE researchers seek to understand a condition often confused with 'naughtiness'
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Tell-tale signs of a child’s phone addiction are irritability, mood swings and reduced social interaction with friends and family.
If children become anxious when unable to send or receive messages, or if they are increasingly tired and lethargic — that call be an indication of smartphone addiction, said Nadia Brooker, a Counselling Psychologist in Dubai.
“Smartphones allow our children to access sites which promote pornography, gambling and violence and allow cyberbullying, with the potential for serious consequences,” she said.
“To develop into strong, healthy and happy individuals, young people need to be encouraged to be active, engage in face-to-face social interaction, and to explore and participate in ‘real life’ situations and activities.”
Parents can consider investing in software to monitor what a child is watching, and when.
Other advice is to limit children to just one social media account and ensure privacy settings are in place and that parents are aware of what they are posting and who they are communicating with.
“Social media can present a highly distorted view of the world with the capability to negatively impact an individual’s confidence, self-esteem and general well-being,” said Ms Brooker.
“It’s vital parents ensure children feel supported and comfortable with their identity and have the confidence to express themselves freely.”
COMPANY PROFILE
Name: Kumulus Water
Started: 2021
Founders: Iheb Triki and Mohamed Ali Abid
Based: Tunisia
Sector: Water technology
Number of staff: 22
Investment raised: $4 million
Day 1 results:
Open Men (bonus points in brackets)
New Zealand 125 (1) beat UAE 111 (3)
India 111 (4) beat Singapore 75 (0)
South Africa 66 (2) beat Sri Lanka 57 (2)
Australia 126 (4) beat Malaysia -16 (0)
Open Women
New Zealand 64 (2) beat South Africa 57 (2)
England 69 (3) beat UAE 63 (1)
Australia 124 (4) beat UAE 23 (0)
New Zealand 74 (2) beat England 55 (2)
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The bio
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Emergency
Director: Kangana Ranaut
Stars: Kangana Ranaut, Anupam Kher, Shreyas Talpade, Milind Soman, Mahima Chaudhry
Rating: 2/5
THE BIO
Ambition: To create awareness among young about people with disabilities and make the world a more inclusive place
Job Title: Human resources administrator, Expo 2020 Dubai
First jobs: Co-ordinator with Magrudy Enterprises; HR coordinator at Jumeirah Group
Entrepreneur: Started his own graphic design business
Favourite singer: Avril Lavigne
Favourite travel destination: Germany and Saudi Arabia
Family: Six sisters
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The Owo building is 14 storeys high, seven of which are below ground, with the 30,000 square feet of amenities located subterranean, including a 16-seat private cinema, seven lounges, a gym, games room, treatment suites and bicycle storage.
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The White Lotus: Season three
Creator: Mike White
Starring: Walton Goggins, Jason Isaacs, Natasha Rothwell
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What is graphene?
Graphene is extracted from graphite and is made up of pure carbon.
It is 200 times more resistant than steel and five times lighter than aluminum.
It conducts electricity better than any other material at room temperature.
It is thought that graphene could boost the useful life of batteries by 10 per cent.
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Real estate tokenisation project
Dubai launched the pilot phase of its real estate tokenisation project last month.
The initiative focuses on converting real estate assets into digital tokens recorded on blockchain technology and helps in streamlining the process of buying, selling and investing, the Dubai Land Department said.
Dubai’s real estate tokenisation market is projected to reach Dh60 billion ($16.33 billion) by 2033, representing 7 per cent of the emirate’s total property transactions, according to the DLD.
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Director: Basel Adra, Yuval Abraham, Rachel Szor, Hamdan Ballal
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Construction workforce peaked at 40,000 workers
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Main themes of expo is ‘Connecting Minds, Creating the Future’ and three subthemes of opportunity, mobility and sustainability.
Expo 2020 Dubai to open in October 2020 and run for six months
