Don’t Force Teenagers to Put Down Their Smartphone
By Chong Siew Zhen
In this digital era, teenagers have a complex relationship with technology. Recent surveys have determined that half of the teenagers feel addicted to their smartphone, and more than half of their parents think that their children are addicted to their smartphone.
To avoid children’s from being addicted with smartphone, almost all parents choose to control them, including strictly forbidding them from playing with their smartphone. However, this method may be counterproductive. Crystal Law, a mother of three children believes that teenagers have their own ideas and judgment. A strict ban will only provoke their anti-psychology, where they would play with their smartphone in private or deliberately in front of you.
“Teenagers feel like they are grown ups. Parents must guide them into the right ideas instead of forbidding them to do something. They have their own idea; it is the responsibility of the parents to make them clear between right and wrong.”, she said.
As a mother of three teenagers, Crystal does not think that teenagers need to keep away from smartphone. Smartphone plays an important role in our daily lives, especially given the current situation the Covid-19 pandemic. Online learning has become the latest trend as children cannot go out for school. Not only for teenagers, even kids need smartphone to learn. For her, teenagers would be eliminated without a smartphone.
Crystal would not interfere with her children playing their smartphone, but she will advise them to stop when they take too much time in it as it is not good for the eyes. Sometimes, teenagers may take too much times on smartphone, especially when they are watching video or playing mobile games. In her opinion, parent can advise them nicely and encourage them to have other hobbies, such as reading or dancing instead of playing smartphone.
“I believe that love education is better than traditional education, especially strict education in the Asian style. Getting along with teenagers requires patience, understanding and guidance”, she said.
Instead of forcing teenagers to put down their smartphone, why not guide them with the right idea? Parents play an important role in this matter. Also, smartphone is an important tool in this digital era and teenagers should be familiar with it