Smartphone addicted parents reduce the odds of their kids becoming a success
Some parents may attend their kids games and recitals, but they spend the whole time staring at their phones.
Smartphone addicted parents are hurting their kids | Image by YourTango
Parents of young children need to be honest with themselves when it comes to how often they use their phones. A study published in Frontiers in Psychology studied 600 minors in the US age 12-17. The study showed that kids with parents constantly looking at a screen felt neglected.
Children of smartphone addicted parents might have trouble becoming successful
Such children might have low self-confidence, have trouble making friends in school, and face issues when it comes to intimacy. Parents who are addicted to their phones could leave their kids unwilling to take the chances they need to in order to become a success. This comes from someone qualified to make these assessments-media psychologist, addiction expert and American Psychological Association (APA) fellow Don Grant.
Who is the smartphone addict in your family?
Grant said that having a parent or both parents addicted to their smartphones "could really unfavorably impact their attachment security, which they will carry for life." Grant blames social media sites for the way they design their platforms to keep kids coming back for more. But parents are also becoming more hooked to social media, too, with Grant stating, "Bravo, you got us too, we were not immune to the psychological motivations and manipulations."
Digital addiction is something that affects parents as well as the kids
"Digital Addiction," has always been considered strictly a pre-teen and teen problem with very little focus on parents' use of their phones and the impact on their kids. Nearly half of teens say that their parents get distracted sometimes with their phones according to 2024 Pew Research Center data. Parents don't totally agree.
A much smaller percentage of parents believed that their smartphone use is a problem for their kids, according to a 2020 Pew survey. Still, 68% of parents admitted that sometimes they do get distracted by their phones.
Don't be one of these parents
The APA's Grant says that he has spoken with parents who say that they were at every one of their kids' ballgames or plays, spelling bees, debates, or piano recitals. They were feeling good about their participation in their kids' lives only to hear their kids agree that their parents were there, but, "Every time I looked up, you were looking down at your device."
Social Media companies are getting sued
Social media companies like Meta (Instagram, Facebook), TikTok, and Google (YouTube) are facing many lawsuits accusing them of causing psychological distress, physical impairment and death. Over 3,000 such cases have been filed by children, adolescents and young adults. Ironically, in some cases it was the parents who brought the case.
If you are a parent of a 12-17-year old, you might want to stop and take a breath when you are using your phone when your kids are around. Most of the time whatever it is that has you captivated by your phone can wait until later.
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