Children and tabletts, the good and the evil !

It’s not just about saying that tablets or smartphones are completely good or completely bad. It’s just a matter of saying why you have to be careful.

Indeed, you have to be careful to not use too much your tablet or watch TV. Because it is when you do too much something that problems appear … and this is valid for everything:

If you eat too much candies, the problem is that you will have carries and gain weight … while a little candy from time to time, on the contrary, it’s good. There is nothing wrong with that.

Another example: if one evening from time to time, you go to bed late, because you have been going out, it does not matter. On the contrary, it’s good! On the other hand, if you go to bed too often late, you will be tired, nervous … and the more nervous you are, the harder it is to fall asleep.

So if we have one thing to remember, it is that ultimately all good things have an end and that we should not abuse it. So tablets, smartphones or video games are the same.

First of all, scientists agree that everything you can do with these technological tools can be positive. I’m thinking of games in general, of apps that allow you to learn or do sports, or even communicate with family or friends.

But, scientists have studied the issue and agree that there are 2 problems. The first is that the activities carried out with these supports are not very varied and remain focused on tha same games, where you often perform the same tasks, same cartoons and social applications with same friends. Then, the second problem is that the daily time spent on a tablet, television or smartphone, is also a concern. It is only increasing and reaches today more than 4 hours a day for young people from 6 to 17 years old.

And it is a shame because there are lots of different things to do … the screens are part of it but we also have sports, reading, drawings, manual activities, board games, cinema, toys, construction games …
But despite all of that, everything seems to indicate that some of you want to play more with your tablet or smartphone. But then why?

The reason is in our brain. And let’s find the explanation together with candy.

For the brain, the rule is simple… the more sweets you eat, the more you want, the more you eat, the more you want, and so on. It’s a hellish circle. Why ? Because in your brain, there are neurons that will react to candies. These neurons will give you what is called pleasure, every time you eat one. But this pleasure, the brain tends to want more. So, the more candy you eat, the more your brain will order you to ask for more, and so on… and that has no end !! except when there are no more candies. Indeed, at this moment, you are disappointed, and your brain too, because it no longer produces pleasure. So, you can make a whim, without wanting to, you can also get upset or cry. You have what is called a lack and you will end up thinking about it often. Therefore, all adults know that you should not give too much candy, not only to avoid the carries and weight gain, but also to avoid that you feel this lack.

Yes, but this article is about smartphones and tablets. Is it the same thing?

Yes. When you use the TV, video games or tablets, the same neurons become active and give pleasure. And since the brain always wants more pleasure, it encourages you to use these tools more. And when your parents are tired of seeing you on your tablet, they take it away from you and for some of you, it will be hard. Anger, disappointment, crying, etc.

So the first reason to say that you have to be careful is that you’re going to have bad feelings. By doing it only moderately, you will not feel these feelings, and it will be very good for you, your family and your friends.

Yes but that’s not all… life is just great because we do a lot of different things: learning at school, playing with friends, playing board games, playing video games, playing sports, drawing , visits and much more. All these things will bring you a lot of knowledge, knowledge and happiness. They are therefore positive and help your brain to grow or evolve normally. So if you play too many games on the phone or tablet, you spend less time doing other activities that are very useful to you. Scientists say that if you spend too much time playing on these tools alone, you risk having a delay in learning words and vocabulary, problems concentrating on doing work, but also memory problems. only difficulty falling asleep. All this is important for working well at school. But also for later when you have a job, whatever it is.

During the lockdown, you was probably more tempted to use your phone or tablet. But so that you grow well, and that you continue to have a schooling which goes well, I advise you to continue to use these numerical tools, but in varied ways and in a limited daily time. I advise you to play games (but different ones), also to spend a little time on applications adapted to your age and which will allow you to discover subjects like history, science or the environment. You can also write emails for example to your grandparents or your cousins ​​or friends, etc.
Also, try to do several activities (board games, cooking, sports, drawings, etc.). In short, you can do all kinds of different things that are great for your brain. So my advice remains simple: the screens, yes but they must be put back in the right place!