According to several studies conducted overseas, our digital devices are making us more distracted, distant and emotionally drained. That comes as a surprise in the age of “hyperconnectivity” – a term used to describe person-to-person and person-to-machine communication in networked organizations and networked societies.
The biggest contributor to an unhealthy digital addiction is without a doubt, the smartphone. We have seen families gathered together at a table, but a few members are busy tapping away at their digital devices, oblivious to the conversation going on around them. Here are a few tips and handy apps to help anyone manage the addiction.
Establish a phone-free time
A famous example will be collecting all phones and keeping it in a bag during meal time. Anyone who touches their phone will have to do a forfeiture – in fact, it can be made into a fun game to boost interaction time.
Be a role model
Children are impressionable, and they will mimic your behaviour. Start by being a role model and put down the phone. Impulsive, frequent and constant checking of phone is a sure way to get digitally addicted. If you rely on your phone for the time and date, invest in a watch instead.
Educate, not punish
Talk to your kids about the dangers of digital addiction and cite real examples. Allow them to speak their mind about smartphone use. Punishing kids will only make them find ways of avoiding detection – you won’t want to raise kids with poor sense of accountability!
Engage smart digital solutions
With many routers on the market today, there access controls built into the firmware to limit internet access time. Some more advanced models even have the feature which can be customized for all gadgets. Handy if you want to sneak in a quick session after the kids have gone to bed…
Get App’ed!
There are many smart apps that monitor your smartphone use, as well as your kid. We’ve rounded up the best of the lot!
AntiSocial
www.antisocial.io
This app accumulates all of your activity and delivers an easy to understand report. The app offers the ability to manage, block apps and restrict usage. It also allows you to compare your app usage with others from around the world.
Flipd
www.flipdapp.co
On top of blocking features, Flipd also teaches you how to refocus your mind. It also includes a Wellness Hub for motivational and focus-enhancing features such as background sounds and breathing exercises
Kaspersky Safe Kids
www.kaspersky.com
For tougher cases, the famous anti-virus makers have come up with an affordable solution to monitor your kids’ activities on PCs and Macs, as well as on smartphones. Location tracking and geofencing work in both iOS and Android, as do web monitoring and device scheduling.
