Teens and mobile phones are an unstoppable force — in fact a recent study found that 50 percent of teenagers are outright addicted to their smart phones. Here at Tutor Doctor, we know how concerning your child’s obsession with technology can be. Is all that time spent texting, listening to music, calling friends and scrolling through social media good for them? We’ve gone through some of the benefits and negatives of teens using smart phones so you know exactly what’s going on and when they need to take a break!
The Benefits
Surprisingly there are a few benefits of your teenager using their smart phones. Being aware of these will make sure you and your teen can make the most of them.
Learning Apps
There are so many fantastic learning apps that your child can benefit from and use on a daily basis. Not only are there puzzles and games that make learning fun, there’s now a wide variety of information that’s easy to digest and understand. Apps can even provide some of the most engaging ways to teach difficult subjects such as maths, science and languages. Having these resources at the touch of a button means your teenage son or daughter can learn anywhere at anytime, which is a revolutionary concept that should be embraced. Check out our blog post on the best learning apps here.
Keeping in Touch
Mobile phones are an excellent way of staying in touch with your teens when they aren’t at home. If they are at a friend’s house or a party and you want to see what time they’ll be home, it’s as easy as simply texting or calling them to check in.
Emergencies
Teenagers having a smartphone on them at all times means they can use it to call for help if they ever need to. In potentially dangerous circumstances, such as getting lost, having a mobile phone could be extremely helpful.
The Negatives
There are also a few dangers with teenagers excessively using their smart phones. Here’s the ones you need to know about.
They’re Expensive
Smartphones can be expensive for parents. Phone bills, lots of data, app and music downloads can add up really quickly. Make sure you try and monitor this usage regularly and enforce limits if they go overboard.
Disrupted Sleep
Excessive use of smartphones, especially at night can cause teenagers to develop sleeping problems or disrupted sleep patterns. The bright light from the screen actually keeps kids from developing melatonin, which is the hormone that regulates the sleep and wake cycle. Instead of screen time, try and encourage your teens to read before they go to sleep- this will help them relax and drift off much more easily!
Distraction from Learning
Smartphones present a huge distraction in classrooms and sometimes teachers have to compete for their students’ full attention. Making sure your teenager knows how important it is not to use their phone during lesson time is super important. Being unfocused will not only impact their grades but can also affect note taking and comprehension of new concepts.
