How many times have we heard children and parents diminish the dangers caused by excessive use of technology? Smartphones have now become an extension of our hand and, in some cases, also of our mind. For anything we rely on them. Are we looking for information? We consult our smartphone. We can’t finish the crosswords and that vertical 7 seems impossible to us? Here our smartphone runs to our aid. He knows everything and everything can. But if we put so much trust in our device, why does the whole world keep telling us that we have to push it away?
In reality the question is much more complex … It is not only about how much but also about how a person spends his time online on which we must concentrate. It is obvious that if I use technology to study and do research it is not like spending the same time attached to a video game or on a social profile. We must learn to distinguish the two and to sensitize families and institutions towards digital awareness.
Technology is and remains a tool. It is up to those who use it, to use it with responsibility and awareness. And awareness is something that is acquired, also thanks to the stimulation of the critical thinking of the youngest by adults.
It is good to pay attention to when you decide to give your child a cell phone. The mobile phone, in general, should be given to children after 13 years, making them use it consciously and taking an interest in their online life. It is important to follow your children and ask them how they spent their day; once it was enough to know what they had done outside the home while now it has become especially important to know what they do when they are at home. We must return to dialogue, trying to get to know the world of children, also taking an interest in their online life. And this can be done if one inquires, if one speaks leaving aside the judgments and if one opens oneself to confrontation. What do they like? What are they looking for online that they don’t find in real life? Why does a game hold so much on them? We ask questions and welcome the answers, returning to restore healthy boundaries within which to cultivate respect for others. Only in this way will technology not represent a problem, but a resource.
