Technology
What Screens Are Doing To Our Kids

What Screens Are Doing To Our Kids

Bothered by your kids’ screen time? You have good reasons. We’ll explore some of them and find out what parents are doing to reverse the addiction epidemic. ...
Lisa Shaw

Computer technology has the power to enrich our lives through unprecedented efficiency, convenience, and the unique opportunities it affords. Tablets and smartphones bring the world to our fingertips. Screens are commonplace and even necessary, with much of our work and schooling reliant on the Internet, and on-the-go families needing a way to easily keep in touch.

Like any tool, however, this modern miracle presents a double-edged sword. Sadly, many parents are blind to the risks, leaving their kids open to dangers that range from emotional reliance and addiction to physical endangerment and sexual exploitation/victimization. Let’s take a look at some of the challenges faced by a generation raised on screens, and ways parents can help overcome the problems.

An online adult predator began grooming Lucie James (pseudonym) when she was only 10 years old. Using social media to befriend her, he built trust over the course of a year before arranging an in-person meeting where he sexually assaulted her for the first of many times. The abusive relationship lasted several years before her parents realized and stopped it. Authorities determined the man had been grooming and abusing other children at the same time, in a process that is becoming commonplace. The Telegraph, which reported the story, says that in the U.K. alone, police arrest “six people a day grooming children via social media apps.”

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