A circular was recently issued to the parents of P. S. Senior Secondary School, Mylapore asking them to reduce screen time for their wards.
The principal of the school, Revathi Parameswaran, says, “Off late we have been seeing an increase in the usage of phones, tablets and other devices by school students. Very often, students are hooked onto facebook and instagram and are constantly posting information and pictures on a daily basis. Many a time this happens when the parents don’t spend quality time with their children. Parents must lead by example as children will imitate their parents. When parents come back from work, they can read books, paint, play games or indulge in other fun activities instead of looking at their phones or giving their children a device”.
She continues, “Nowadays every class has a whatsapp group where discussions on what happens in class takes place. The parent needs to ask the child what happened at school and the child must be encouraged to talk to the parents about what they learnt. If this happens, there will be no need for these whatsapp groups”.
Talking about the health hazards of excessive screen time, she says, “In addition to causing eye problems, it results in a lot of attention disorders in children. They are not able to sit down quietly for some time and finish their work, they seem distracted all the time”.
