“The importance of responsible mobile phone use in adolescents”

SOURCE: https://www.quironsalud.es

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There is a reality right now and it is the appearance in our children and adolescents

of new addictions related to mobile phones and new technologies. six out of

ten children between ten and fifteen years old already have their own cell phone,
increasing the percentage to almost 95% in adolescents over fifteen years of age.
We should not think of the use of the mobile only in a negative way: it is also perfect for

that children are calmer on trips, when sometimes we have to

leave them alone, waiting rooms, meetings, etc. but the excessive use or abuse of the mobile

It generates, although it may seem contradictory, an isolation in our children: they relate less with their environment, with their friends and with their relatives, parents and siblings.

The mobile should not detract from their time to carry out healthy outdoor activities, to play with other children, to
reading, studying or interacting. It must be taken into account that, depending on age and maturity, our adolescents tend to
Lack of criteria for proper use of the mobile.
We must supervise the services of telephone companies and child safety APPS to avoid misuse
of the mobile, but we must not be inflexible or dictatorial, because our best weapon is always the trust that our children place in us.

Using the mobile before bed decreases your sleep quality.
The vast majority of young people and adults sleep with their mobile phones in the room. They use it before sleeping, in bed and
like alarm clock. Using the mobile in bed before sleeping makes the brain more active when it should be
relaxing to be able to sleep well. Therefore, the quality of sleep decreases. In addition, the light emitted by the mobile screen
it causes less melatonin to be produced, which is the hormone that helps you fall asleep. You can also reach
waking us up in the middle of the night by vibrations or sound. The simple fact of having a mobile decreases the hours of sleep and with it the amount of it.

Both primary school children and secondary school adolescents who have mobile phones sleep less than those who do not
they have it, and in the long run they can have a chronic sleep deficit, with the consequences that this causes: decreased
attention and concentration, which leads to a decrease in school performance, fatigue, change of character, etc.

Agree on rules and schedules.
It is important to establish rules and regulations, with assumed and agreed time zone limits of use
of mobile phones between adolescents and their parents.

These rules will be marked by the age and maturity of our children. We must hold them accountable and that their
Appropriate behavior leads them to have certain and new privileges that lead them to autonomy.
In addition, we must set an example of how we use our mobile phones rationally: not using them at night
meals or when we are sharing time with them.
The important thing is to teach our children and adolescents to make good use of new technologies and
interact appropriately with their family and social environment.

AUTHOR: Dr. María Luisa Mompó, head of the Adolescent Unit of the hospital's Pediatric Service
Quirónsalud Valencia (Spain).