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New research suggests a grim consequence of giving smartphones to minors before they even hit their teen years. By analyzing an existing survey of thousands of children and teenagers in the US, the researchers found that kids who owned a smartphone by the time they were 12 years old were more likely to develop eating disorders compared to kids who didn’t own one, they reported in a new study published in the journal JAMA Network Open. Beyond the devices themselves, the findings are the latest to illustrate the perils of being exposed to social media at such a formative part of a child’s life……..Continue reading…
Source: Futurism
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There are applications on mobile devices that allow parents to monitor real-time conversations on their children’s phone via access to text messages, browser history, and application history. An example of one of these is Trend Micro which not only offers protection from viruses, but also offers parental controls to phones and tablets of almost all brands, like Apple or Android. Most of these offer the ability to add extra features to parental controls.
These apps have the features mobile devices already have, but have additional features such as, being able to monitor and filter texts/calls, protection while surfing the web, and denied access to specific websites. Applications of this sort have created a rising competition in their market.
Mobile device software enables parents to restrict which applications their child can access while also allowing parents to monitor text messages, phone logs, MMS pictures, and other transactions occurring on their child’s mobile device; to enable parents to set a time limit on the usage of mobile devices; and to track the exact location of their children as well as monitor calls and the content of texts. This software also allows parents to monitor social media accounts.
Parents are able to view posts, pictures, and any interactions in real time. Another function of this software is to keep track of bullying. Most internet service providers offer no-cost filtering options to limit internet browsing options and block unsuitable content. Implementing parental controls and discussing internet safety are useful steps to protect children from inappropriate information.
Although parental controls can protect children, they also come with some negative factors. Children’s anxiety may increase due to parental controls.[21] In extreme cases, a child may become so angry that they destroy their device, defeating the purpose of parental controls entirely. In that case, it might be a better idea to forgo installing parental controls.
According to the findings of these medical experts in recent years, excessive smartphone use in society may lead to headaches, sleep disorders and insufficient sleep, while severe smartphone addiction may lead to physical health problems, such as hunchback, muscle relaxation and uneven nutrition. There is a debate about beneficial and detrimental impacts of smartphones or smartphone-uses on cognition and mental health.
Use of a smartphone while sitting on the toilet has been associated with a higher prevalence of hemorrhoids. A study found that individuals who use a smartphone while sitting on the toilet spend, on average, more time there, and that the likelihood of developing hemorrhoids increases by approximately 46% compared to those who do not use a smartphone while on the toilet (after adjustment for age, sex, and other medical factors).
With the rise in number of mobile medical apps in the market place, government regulatory agencies raised concerns on the safety of the use of such applications. These concerns were transformed into regulation initiatives worldwide with the aim of safeguarding users from untrusted medical advice. Using smartphones late at night can disturb sleep, due to the blue light and brightly lit screen, which affects melatonin levels and sleep cycles.
In an effort to alleviate these issues, “Night Mode” functionality to change the color temperature of a screen to a warmer hue based on the time of day to reduce the amount of blue light generated became available through several apps for Android and the f.lux software for jailbroken iPhones. iOS 9.3 integrated a similar, system-level feature known as “Night Shift”.
Several Android device manufacturers bypassed Google’s initial reluctance to make Night Mode a standard feature in Android and included software for it on their hardware under varying names, before Android Oreo added it to the OS for compatible devices.
While parental controls have been added to various electronic media and have increased in popularity, the question has been raised if they are enough to protect and deter children from exposure to inappropriate material. Penn State researchers speculated that the strict focus on control may hinder a child’s ability to learn self-governing skills and restricting the growth of open communication between parent and child.
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