Addicted to Screens this Christmas

Are you addicted to your Screen? Playing Games, Social Media updates, Chatting/Trolling, Videos and the like, well you're not alone. Not only have screen usage by pedestrians increased accidents, but also driver incidents including deaths, death from selfies, marriage breakups, job loss and more have occurred due to the Screens we Love to watch; such as Mobile Phones, Tablets, Laptop, Monitor, TV and similar.

Don't let a screen get in between you and your loved ones this Holiday Season, take the time to turn off and communicate face to face, keeping it real and not virtual.

Balance and Common Sense

No matter how old you are, there needs to be balance around the use of technology, in addition to common sense; phones and cars don’t mix. With concern to balance, I have witnessed parents reprimand their children for playing games over 30 minutes, yet turn around and watch TV shows on their tablet for 3 to 4 hours straight. Don’t believe you have an issue? Record how much time you spend on a screen for 1 week, then multiple it by 52 and see what else you could do with the time; for those who work on a computer consider taking a break every 30 minutes, even just to stand up and stretch.

Parents

Telenor Sweden said a survey in September carried out by Demoskop found that 85% of parents indicated that their children played computer games or watched TV, with 34% saying the children spent too much time doing so. 51% of these parents have rules around playing games, with 40% that would set time limits. Also, 18% of the parents feared their children could become a social hermits.

Structure

Do you have any structure in place for your children? If not, consider a reward system that equates to time allowed on a screen with a limit of 10 minutes for children, 1 hour for teenagers and under 2 hours for adults. Also, during this period, every 15 minutes have them walking around and have a sip of water (should drink a glass within an hour). Note, that sipping water allows the body to absorb more, while gulping it down you will more than likely need the toilet soon after.


Video Game Health and Addiction
www.VitalityForGamers.com

Game Addiction in Children
www.gamerkids.com.au

Gameaholics Anonymous
www.GameaholicsAnonymous.com