Digital captivity: Children's attention and patience are running out!

The unlimited content offered by the digital age weakens children's patience, attention and social skills. Generations growing up in a culture of instant gratification face problems such as difficulty concentrating, inability to cope with stress and emotional fragility.

Today, digital devices have become an indispensable part of children’s lives. However, this situation causes serious erosions in their patience, attention and social skills. One-touch games, ad-free content and auto-playing videos weaken children’s ability to wait and tolerate. This causes them to lack vital skills such as resilience, stress management and long-term planning.

Increased screen time

Studies show that the amount of time children spend in front of screens is increasing day by day. According to a 2023 report by the US-based Common Sense Media, children aged 8-12 spend an average of 5 hours and 36 minutes in front of screens daily outside of school. This figure was 4 hours and 44 minutes in 2019, meaning an increase of more than an hour in four years. Similarly, the American Academy of Child & Adolescent Psychiatry (AACAP) stated in its guide published in 2022 that children aged 8-12 reach 4-6 hours of screen time per day, while those aged 13-18 reach 7-9 hours.

In the UK, Ofcom’s “Children and parents: Media use and attitudes 2023” report shows that 45% of children aged 8-11 own their own smartphones, and around a third of children aged 5-7 regularly spend time on online video platforms (YouTube Kids, TikTok, etc.). The report highlights that the “autoplay” feature is widely used among children, fueling long-term consumption.

Loss of patience and attention skills

The "one-touch skip to the next video" and "auto-play" features of digital platforms are gradually decreasing children's patience threshold. They can easily move on to more appealing content without fully consuming it; this almost eliminates the "waiting" process from their lives. As the expectation of "instant results" increases, children tend to give up quickly when faced with a small obstacle.

Experts say this situation has negative effects on children's emotional and cognitive development. Problems such as distraction, social isolation, sleep disorders and decreased academic success are among the results of excessive technology use. In addition, children's social skills decline, lack of self-confidence and increased aggressive behavior are also noteworthy.

Parents and educators have a big responsibility to cope with these challenges brought by the digital age. Here are some precautions that can be taken:

Set limits on screen time: The American Academy of Pediatrics recommends limiting recreational screen time for children ages 6-12 to an average of 2 hours per day.

Delayed reward practices: Rewarding children with digital content after they complete a certain task can improve patience skills.

Encouraging alternative and physical activities: Outdoor activities with the family can reduce the time children spend online.

Parental involvement and awareness: Communication with the parent while the child is consuming digital content contributes positively to patience and long-term thinking skills.