Digital addiction in children: how screens steal childhood

Максим Бадзюнь
Aug 27
2 min read

Children looking at phones. Digital addiction in children

📱 When the phone is the new pacifier

In today’s world, a screen is not just entertainment. It is a digital parent, nanny, teacher, and friend all in one. The statistics are staggering: the average child aged 3–7 spends more than 3 hours a day in front of a screen. Teenagers spend up to 8–10 hours a day.

On the one hand, this is part of reality. On the other hand, it is a trap that not only children but also parents often fall into.

🧬 How screens change a child's brain

A child's brain is formed in close connection with emotional reactions, bodily sensations, and lived experiences. Constant stimulation with bright pictures, short videos (TikTok, YouTube Shorts), and a rapid pace of change causes:

Decreased concentration
Dopamine addiction (feeling “not enough”, “bored” without a screen)
Emotional regulation disorders
Decreased creativity and imagination

American studies indicate that excessive screen use under the age of 7 is correlated with increased anxiety, hyperactivity, and emotional instability.

🧠 Digital addiction. What about AI?

Modern technologies work on algorithms that adapt to a child's emotional weaknesses : Meta and TikTok reports directly indicate that the content is designed to cause addiction, maintain attention, and encourage repeated use.

Artificial intelligence today is not just a tool. It is a machine that studies a child's behavior more deeply than their teacher or parents.

🧭 What can parents do?

🔹 Don't forbid - accompany

Instead of a complete ban, teach your child to use technology consciously. Provide alternatives: books, sports, active creativity.

🔹 Digital boundaries

Up to 3 years old - 0 screens
Up to 6 years old - up to 30 minutes a day
Up to 12 years old - up to 2 hours, with breaks

🔹 Parents' example

Children copy. If parents have a phone in their hands, the child will too.

🔹 Digital detox for the whole family

Try at least one day without screens together. The results may surprise you.

🌱 Silence as a space for growth

Digital addiction. A child needs not only knowledge, but also silence, contact, love, space for the inner voice . That is where personality is born. That is where it hears itself.