"Show Mom YouTube" Is It Okay to Soothe Crying Children with Smartphones?

Initial Smartphone Use at Age 1: 45.1%
Smartphone Addiction Negatively Affects Development
Smartphone Usage Restrictions Implemented Abroad

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[Asia Economy Reporter Heo Midam] # Kim Mo (33), who has a two-year-old son, always keeps her smartphone charged. This is because whenever her child bursts into tears, she has to show nursery rhymes or 'Pororo' on the smartphone. Kim said, "Before having a child, I promised myself not to show the smartphone, but when I play videos, the child quiets down, so I can't help but show the smartphone."

Recently, more parents are using digital devices like TVs or smartphones for childcare. Due to busy work life and exhausting housework, they cannot fully focus on childcare, so they use smartphones to divert their child's attention.

The problem is the risk of smartphone addiction among children. Experts warn that continuous exposure to smartphones can affect developmental processes and urge parents to be cautious.

The age at which infants and toddlers start using smartphones is getting younger. According to the report "Status of Smart Media Use by Infants and Toddlers and Parental Perception Analysis" released by the Korea Institute of Child Care and Education on the 13th, the usage rate of smart media among infants and toddlers aged 12 months to 6 years was 59.3%. The highest percentage of first smartphone use was at age 1 with 45.1%, followed by age 2 at 20.2%, and age 3 at 15.1%.

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As a result, the age of smartphone addiction has also lowered compared to before. A (35), who has a 7-year-old son, said, "When my child comes home from kindergarten, he immediately looks for the smartphone," adding, "He quickly gets bored playing with toys and only looks for the smartphone."

She continued, "Even when I try to take the phone away, he keeps crying, so I end up giving it back," and confessed, "I know smartphones are harmful to children, but I don't know what to do, so I'm worried."

Parents were negative about their children's smartphone use but allowed it to get their work done or soothe their children.

According to the Korea Institute of Child Care and Education report, parents cited reasons for showing YouTube videos to their children as "to do other tasks without being disturbed by the child" (31.1%), "to soothe the child" (27.7%), and "because the child likes it" (26.6%). Also, half of the parents (50.4%) responded that "smartphone use is allowed when necessary."

B (34), who has a 6-year-old child, said, "At first, I let my child play with the phone to soothe him. But these days, he gets annoyed and asks for the phone often, which worries me," and lamented, "Every day with my child is a battle. It's hard to break his stubbornness."

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However, such smartphone use is fatal during the infant and toddler period when the brain is developing. Excessive smartphone use by infants and toddlers can lead to 'popcorn brain,' where the child becomes responsive only to excessive stimuli due to continuous stimulation from the smartphone's vivid colors and rapid changes.

Additionally, strong stimulation from smartphones mainly stimulates the left brain, relatively weakening right brain functions, causing 'right brain syndrome.' Persistent brain development imbalance can lead to disorders such as ADHD (Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder) and tic disorders, requiring caution.

For this reason, some countries restrict children's smartphone use.

Taiwan prohibits digital device use for infants under 2 years old, and parents or guardians are fined if children aged 2 to 18 show signs of smartphone overuse.

France has banned the use of mobile phones for students in kindergartens, elementary, and middle schools since 2018. The United States also prohibits digital use for children under 18 months and recommends limiting digital device use to within one hour per day for children aged 19 to 60 months.

Experts suggest that alongside proper parental discipline methods, a process to develop self-regulation in infants and toddlers is necessary.

At the seminar "Smartphone Overdependence Phenomenon and Countermeasures, and the Role of the Media" held at the National Assembly in April last year, Jeon Juhye, chief researcher at the Media Future Research Institute, stated, "To solve the problem of smartphone overdependence in infants and toddlers, it is important to emphasize habit formation at home to parents."

She added, "Not only teaching proper discipline methods but also fostering self-regulation in infants and toddlers is necessary rather than an unconditional ban on smartphone use."

This content was produced with the assistance of AI translation services.