As a result of the increasing accessibility to the information and communications technology (ICT), smartphones have been rapidly prevalent in the lives of school-aged children. Smartphone-related media have currently been regarded as having positive impacts on education and leisure uses. However, it can easily lead to over-dependence, which can result in various internalizing and externalizing disturbances among children. As smartphone addiction has been recognized as a serious mental health issue, there has been a growing demand for evidence-based approaches to prevent and treat this public health concern [1].

Parental monitoring and the use of mobile applications have been employed in attempts to improve children’s smartphone usage. However, these approaches can be difficult to execute adequately because parents may find it challenging to monitor children technically. Recently, parental smartphone control employing the limits to children’s smartphone use through parents’ smartphones has been increasingly devised and provided. However, because there is no prior research on the effectiveness of this smartphone control in children’s smartphone addiction prevention, the current study focuses on evaluating this intervention using practical techniques in which parents can take advantage of their smartphones for children’s smartphone addiction prevention.

1. Understanding the Impact of Phone Addiction on Children

Section 2 dives into the understanding the impact of phone addiction on children. From here you will discuss about how is affect to children. Although, the part of the impact on educational and overspilling the time watching phone is needed as eduction, gaming and trading, social network or texting, etc. is not mentioned, you can discuss those points analyzing from gaming/education and social networking. A few references already important strong enough supportive references which can support.

Phone Addiction on Children Smartphones appear to replace conventional televisions as children’s main source of entertainment. Kids now have a constant source of media access even in the car, at school, and at home during mealtimes, thanks to portable, light-weight screens. There is mounting evidence that heavy media consumption is connected to negative effects on children’s social, compensation, attention, and learning difficulties. Children may dislike the screen restriction as they are accustomed to numerous screen usage, causing arguments and tantrums. There is also a great deal of worry about how to restrict phone usage and when to undertake restrictions before the child becomes addicted [2] [3]. Nonetheless, the absence of restrictions may exacerbate the development of addiction-like behaviors and impair family functioning in particular ways. Simultaneously, households with strict limitations may experience resistance and retaliation from children, which makes continuous monitoring of phone consumption difficult and contaminates family harmony. Recognizing their rising worry regarding their children’s phone use, there is an increasing interest among parents in researching techniques for effectively restricting their children’s smartphone usage.

Stereotypical patterns of phone cut-off attempts, reminders, attitudes, and mediation strategies prevalent among parents were outlined. The format for online discussion of parenting issues was used, permitting a thorough exploration of subjects and collective identification of patterns in decision-making processes. The perspectives of both sets of parents were taken into account separately to comprehend the parenting dilemma better and address the discrepancies in the expectations and experiences of mothers and fathers, respectively. In terms of empirical findings, the relevance of smart parenting for economic disparities between households using premium and standard phones was depicted. The dependency on nurturing mediation strategies to limit consumption durations significantly differs based on the phone’s price and differentiates the gradual acceptance of diverse mediation strategies among affluent and low-income parents. The ways in which culture influences parenting techniques and strategies suggested the necessity of increasing culturally sensitive smart parenting research on a global scale.

2. Mental Health Effects

Several forms of mental health morbidity have been related with smartphone use. The key mental health morbidity was anxiety. The brain’s amygdala reacts to close phones, regarding them as important signals, resulting in high anxiety levels. Young individuals suffer from mental health issues due to inadequate coping resources. The second mental health condition was insomnia, defined as difficulty falling asleep. The phone’s keyboard, light beam, and electromagnetic waves may alter neuronal circuit function, particularly in the suprachiasmatic nucleus, which affects melatonin production and triggers insomnia. The third area of intervention was attentiveness decreases. Continuous notifications from discussions and games result in lower concentration, attention declines, and lower learning efficacy. Attempting to concentrate while muscle memory diverts attention leads to a decline in work efficiency. Long-term phone use leads to loneliness, hostility, impatience, cooperative nature deterioration, and stress aggravation. This fear of missing out on phone information developments leads to a deteriorative perception of happiness and general life satisfaction [4].

2.1. Social Development Implications

As children continue to depend upon mobile devices to navigate tasks in their daily lives, these devices seem to be taking on a dual nature in the minds of children. On one hand, there is an understanding of devices as tools that can be trained and utilized for many purposes. On the other hand, there is the notion that devices are toys that are to be picked up and played with repeatedly. With either conception, personal devices would change how children interact with each other, and the world around them. Most importantly, parents using devices are often seen as distracted, unapproachable, and unsupportive by children as young as six years old. The prevalence of mobile device use, and the number of children expressing discontent concerning their parents use of devices, suggests that this disconnect may be dramatic enough to alter expected developmental pathways and potentially diminish social skill development.

Although children nominally understand the ability for devices to change attentional focus from one object to another, they accept that a sudden shift of attention will occur. This understanding does not appear to extend to the idea that parents can purposefully choose to not attend to children’s needs, desires, or activities. As devices become common fixtures in both adult and child life, children may be developing a social narrative that parents are no longer attentive to children when they most need it [5]. Such a narrative could have immense implications for early social cognition, development, and relationships more broadly.

2.2. Academic Performance Consequences

Phone addiction is posing immense danger to children and causing unwanted consequences in society. Due to distractions from social networking sites, texting applications, online gaming, and video streaming, many students are getting poor school grades or are not able to complete their homework, which directly affects their educational performance [1]. Consequently, this results in poor academic performance, which is the lack of interest among students to attend school or pay attention during classes. Problems due to phone addiction affecting educational parent’s concern that students are attending school while still using phones like doing assignments and studying [3].

Moreover, some spend their time on the phone during class hours texting and browsing which affects learning and discontinuing studying participation. Students are also getting into conflicts between teachers and school officials—for example, taking their phones and suspending their school attendance figures in discord. Furthermore, this study is beneficial for students’ guardians and caregivers for understanding what their children are dealing with in such a troubled digital age.

3. Signs and Symptoms of Phone Addiction in Children

Understanding how phone addiction manifests in children can facilitate early intervention. A child who struggles with phone addiction may exhibit some of the following characteristics:

1. An inability to get off the phone, resulting in anger and acting out when asked to do so. The child may lie about a phone’s use during the night, hide it, or break phone contracts. If the efforts to curb phone use escalate to a power struggle, it is important to consider that the child may be struggling with a phone addiction. 2. Hiding phone use with secrecy and guilt. Children may experience a compulsive need to check their devices dealing with angst when the phone is out of reach. Phones may be brought to bed, school, and family outings. Teens have been found to be especially skilled at deceptive behaviors and tiptoeing around avoiding parental controls. 3. Neglecting responsibilities outside of social media’s influence. The child may be failing or has failed classes despite previously performing well. Critical conversations about avoiding risky behavior that occur at school do not get communicated to the parents. Homework or chores aren’t completed, even with assistance, or a ‘don’t care’ attitude is displayed. Students who were previously engaged in extracurricular activities aren’t joining any clubs or sports. 4. Noticeable changes in emotional well-being. The child may struggle with making their mood better regarding anything else and becomes increasingly agitated and anxious when not on the phone [6]. There may be car rides or waiting at an appointment that may have previously prompted spontaneous family fun conversations, but all that is left is awkward silence because the child doesn’t know how to engage. Previously vibrant family interactions have become filled with tension, resentment, and sadness.

4. Factors Contributing to Phone Addiction in Children

This section explores the various contributing factors to phone addiction in children. It may discuss parental influence, peer pressure, and the design of technology as influential elements. Understanding these factors can guide parents in developing targeted strategies to mitigate phone addiction.

Factors Contributing to Phone Addiction in Children

The use of smartphones by children is a global phenomenon that has grown at an alarming rate over the past decade. The extent of mobile device usage among children is extensive. These devices dominate children’s free time, with average daily usage exceeding adult usage in many countries. One in eleven children across 36 countries is estimated to suffer from smartphone addiction. Children are more vulnerable to the use and possible addiction to mobile devices due to their lack of knowledge, experience, and judgment about technology. This predicament puts children at risk for many negative consequences, such as poor academic performance and social isolation, as well as physical and psychological problems. Hence, concerns about this growing yet poorly understood phenomenon have arisen.

To address children’s use of smartphones, it is important to understand the factors contributing to or protecting against smartphone addiction. Numerous studies regarding the risk factors of children’s and adolescents’ addiction to mobile devices have been conducted. However, understanding the parenting styles and parental factors that exert direct influences on children’s mobile device use and its addiction, which should be the first line of control before considering children’s own characteristics, remains limited. As children grow, the primary caregivers are usually parents. Parents have a responsibility to set limitations on their children’s use of mobile devices [1]. Therefore, a focus on parental factors can better explain the variance of children’s mobile device use and addiction than a focus on children’s own characteristics. In addition, it is important to understand different parenting styles since they can exert dissimilar influences on the same undesirable outcomes.

4.1. Parental Influence

[2] provide several exploratory guidelines for the investigation of parental influence on enhancing their children’s phone addiction. Based on the exploratory findings, specific areas for future consideration include more specific parental influences (e.g., parental role modeling, parents’ approaches to setting boundaries, or overall parental guidance) that warrant more systematic investigation. Active parenting is acknowledged as a potential strategy for preventing or managing excessive online gaming. Similarly, it is presumed that active parenting regarding phone usage would assist in understanding how parents may enhance their children’s addictive use of mobile phones. Peng et al. [7] suggest that proactive action strategies in managing children’s phone addictions would be the first step toward an effective overall intervention strategy, while more specific parenting strategies would be particularly useful for low parental influence participants.

Identifying opportunities for challenging phone addiction from children’s perspectives is a starting point for further research and intervention. This is particularly meaningful since children were not considered in previous discussions of preventing or addressing their addictive use of mobile devices. Among the identified approaches, actively seeking alternatives and exposure to other activities may provide ground for further exploration. Since alternative actions cannot occur in isolation, a perspective of environmental approach strategy may work together with children’s agency (e.g., alternative engagement) for more comprehensive considerations of strategizing action steps. More systematic investigation of children’s strategies and opportunities to challenge phone addiction would offer wider implications for understanding children’s developmental agency in relation to the problematic consequences of their behavior.

4.2. Peer Pressure

Peer pressure refers to the external social influence for children to use smartphones. Influential peers may lead to intensified smartphone use through social interaction. Online group dynamics within peer groups are identified as a relevant group factor that impacts children’s smartphone addiction. By enhancing children’s social interaction with certain groups, peer e-comparisons in smartphone use become more salient, thereby reinforcing group conformity [8]. Meanwhile, relative deprivation feelings within the peer group resulting from deviating smartphone behaviors may lead to heightened smartphone usage for compensating purposes. There exists a need to pay more attention to peer group factors that may contribute to smartphone addiction.

Previous studies have emphasized how peer influence contributes to smartphone addiction in children. This study enriches this stream of research by identifying online group dynamics as an important group factor that links peer pressure with children’s smartphone addiction. In addition, it is revealed how online group dynamics with peer comparison and relative deprivation mechanisms impact smartphone addiction behaviors. This research deepens the understanding of how external social influences lead to smartphone addiction among children and sheds light on possible intervention strategies [9].

4.3. Technology Design

In this section, the focus is on the influence of technology design, that emerges as a crucial factor to consider in the effort to regulate children’s phone use [1]. Broadly construed, technology design consists of various strategies in app design, gaming design, or other interactive elements made with an intention to capture children’s attention with technological devices. By understanding the framework of technology design that is responsible for the addictive nature of devices, parents may be better equipped to manage children’s interaction with the technology.

In the full item pool considered for the study, many items clustered into technology design influenced children’s phone addiction [3]. Kids in elementary school years have been placed in a busy technology environment with the pressure of keeping up with digital changes, and children’s desire for technology may conflict with their capacity to manage technology designed with a deliberate exhaustive goal.

5. The Role of Parents in Managing Children’s Phone Addiction

Phone addiction is a pressing issue among children and adolescents, and parents play a crucial role in managing this problem. One effective way for parents to address their children’s phone addiction is to set clear boundaries regarding phone usage. For instance, parents can establish specific times when phones should be put away, such as during meals or before bedtime. They can also limit the amount of time their children can spend on their phones each day. Consistency is key in enforcing these boundaries and explaining why they are necessary to ensure a healthy balance between phone use and other activities.

Parents should lead by example by modeling healthy phone habits. If parents are constantly on their phones, it sends the message that phone use is more important than other activities. Instead, parents should prioritize face-to-face interactions with their children and demonstrate that there is a time and place for phone use. Additionally, parents can encourage their children to partake in alternative activities that do not involve screens, such as sports, reading, or spending time outdoors. Children are less likely to reach for their phones if they have engaging activities to occupy their time. Overall, parental involvement and influence are crucial in managing children’s phone addiction. By setting clear boundaries, leading by example, and encouraging alternative activities, parents can help their children find a healthy balance between phone use and other aspects of life [2] ; [7].

5.1. Setting Clear Boundaries and Rules

The advent of personal smartphones has brought numerous advantages, but it has also resulted in the addiction to mobile phones. This addiction induces stress, anxiety, loneliness, depression, and other issues [2] and has now become a global case to deal with. Children and adolescents, who are highly dependent on digital devices for educational purposes due to the pandemic, are more vulnerable and prone to phone addiction. Even if children are young, the significance of having a phone is growing. To improve this situation and prevent it from getting worse, adults, specifically parents of children, need to address this matter and take action. The first step to address this issue is to understand the problem and then educate parents about effective parenting strategies regarding mobile phones [7].

Setting clear boundaries and rules is one of the most effective strategies to manage children’s phone addiction. Although some parenting styles could be considered as clear boundaries and rules, it is different to provide specific examples and educate the parents on how to enforce it. Parents should firstly impose appropriate screen time, and kids can have a phone-free zone, and most importantly, the rules should be consistently enforced. Setting appropriate screen time is essential in tackling the phone addiction problem. Children who are 11 years old or younger should at least have no phone screen time before having any phones. Kindern should know how to play outside, read, or pursue hobbies instead of staring at a screen. If a child is 12 years old or older and has a phone, a daily limit of two hours could be set. Then, enforcing phone-free zones is a second approach to address the problem. Rooms or places like the dining room or bathroom could be considered phone-free zones for a child under 13 years old. Furthermore, every family member, including parents, should abide by this rule with no exceptions to set a proper role model.

5.2. Leading by Example

Leading by example is one of the most impactful strategies parents can implement to manage their children’s addiction to phone usage. Children will often deny a phone addiction despite how screen time affects their daily lives and social interactions. However, a child’s perception about phone usage will be highly influenced by their parents’ actions. Children are more likely to internalize a negative view on phone addiction when their parents also view excessive phone usage as bad. On the other hand, when a parent continues their own phone usage without practicing moderation, it is substantially more difficult for children to view phone usage issues in the same light as their parent [2]. Moreover, the way phone usage is communicated will also impact a child’s view of it. For example, when phone usage is discussed primarily with anger (ex. outbursts about screen time) children can feel attacked and begin to shield their phone usage with secrets [7]. Alternatively, explaining the impacts of technology in a calm discussion will allow children to internalize the view that technology is a difficult thing to manage, instead of feeling attacked or “caught” for doing something wrong. Even when a parent passive aggressively comments about their own kids’ phone usage, if they are using their phone at that same moment it comes across as hypocritical. At the same time, it is important for parents to recognize how they model phone usage. There are many moments of silent time in public settings and if parents have their noses buried in their phones kids will follow suit.

5.3. Encouraging Alternative Activities

Encouraging alternative activities is an important strategy for managing children’s phone addiction. Instead of solely limiting or controlling phone usage, parents should encourage their children to engage in other activities that do not involve phones. This can involve promoting outdoor activities such as sports, cycling, or hiking, as well as hobbies like painting, dancing, or cooking. Encouraging social interactions with friends and family members can also provide an alternative to phones.

Recognizing the value of alternative activities can serve as a reminder for parents to diversify their children’s interests and explore options beyond the phone. Parents themselves can also benefit from finding alternative activities to phones and incorporating them into family leisure time. By offering and encouraging these alternative activities, children may gradually become less dependent on their phones [10].

6. Effective Communication Strategies with Children about Phone Use

Providing a clear understanding of the child’s phone use is a vital prerequisite of parental management. Parents need to know what services their children use, and how they use them to assist them in their struggles with phone addiction. Effective communication strategies are an important way for parents to create mutual understanding of phone use together with their children. Through the establishment of family media use rules, children will better understand why and how their phone use should be moderated and controlled. Explaining the risks posed by their current phone use helps children resist social pressure [2]. Further, two types of media use rules with different risk levels were created based on the timing of establishment – preemptive setting and corrective introduction. While preemptive prevention provides children with a protective shield against phone addiction, corrective intervention emphasizes previous engagement in risky behavior. Therefore, future directions with regard to family media use rules should include seeking more effective and applicable types of media use rules adaptable to the media landscape of today’s hyperconnected world [1].

Overall, parents bear the burden of moderating their children’s phone use, but they do not know how to deal with the issue of mobile phones with their children. Through qualitative research, several strategies were identified that assist parents in engaging in interactions with their children about phone use, and help them create mutual understanding and agreements with their children. Importantly, both parental and children’s efforts are needed to effectively communicate about phone use. Only when parents first recognize and acknowledge children’s valid reasons for phone use, children will understand parents’ concerns regarding their phone use and will further consider their parental efforts to moderate phone use. Only then will both parties cooperate to create understanding and agreements.

7. Utilizing Technology Tools to Monitor and Limit Phone Usage

Parents can also adopt technology tools to monitor children’s phone use effectively. Common preventive measures in monitoring phone use include the use of parental control apps, which come standard on most smartphones to set restrictions on social media platforms and block unwanted calls as a safety measure. Family Link, a relatively new option, allows parents to create a Google account for children under 13 to monitor Internet history, application downloads, and screen time [11]. Parents may use social media monitoring features on some smartphone devices to track the target person over a designated time frame. Some also believe that reviewing call logs or using a GPS to track a child’s whereabouts in case the phone is lost could work.

Tracking phone use to understand behavior is also common among parents. Smartphone filters can be set to limit calls to parents and relatives outside of limited times and arrange for the device to shut down after a certain hour. In other cases, parents will ask children to write down their phone use in exchange for a credit that allows access to the device, and exceeding capital leads to phone confiscation at night and during class. Some parents have set up a family plan that limits shared phone use in the family between parents and children.

8. Seeking Professional Help and Support

Although it may be difficult for parents to address phone addiction in children by themselves, it is also not easy for children to escape this addiction without help. Therefore, as a parent, you should acknowledge the necessity and importance of outside help and intervention. Parents should play the role of a helpful guide, so even parents cannot help some severe addiction cases. Professional help, such as therapy and counseling, is a good option and resource to consider. There are therapists specialized in addiction-help, so parents can find experienced professionals near their places. These professionals can help children process feelings about their addiction and identify the causes of these behaviors. Children can also experience the feeling of trust when talking with someone outside their family, which can help them engage more in the process. There are also other resources, such as support groups, where parents can contact others in similar situations and share their experiences and actions [12]. These groups can be face-to-face or online, depending on the needs and interests of the family. In both cases, the presence of outside help emphasizes the importance of intervention on these matters.

As families are considered the most important building blocks of society, healthy family relationships are extremely important [2]. On an individual level, a healthy relationship is linked to better mental health and educational outcomes. A negative family environment can be a risk factor for several mental and behavioral issues, so a troubled family relationship may have dangerous consequences, especially for children. In short, a healthy relationship is mutually beneficial for parents and children.

9. Case Studies and Success Stories

Section 9 may present case studies and success stories related to managing children’s phone addiction. It may illustrate real-life scenarios, interventions, and outcomes to provide insights and practical examples for parents. Recognizing the experiences of others can offer valuable lessons and inspiration for managing phone addiction effectively.

[13], [10].

10. Conclusion and Future Directions

The study reveals phone addiction as a critical mental health issue among children, with an alarming prevalence in Hong Kong. It highlights diverse parental roles in phone regulation and proposes effective methods to manage children’s phone addiction. Previous findings support the household influence on teens’ phone usage and the critical role of parenting practices in their online behaviors. Notably, education and communication, modeling, rule enforcement, co-use, and monitoring have a sizeable effect on phone addiction [13]. However, existing knowledge may not directly translate to actionable practices [2]. Therefore, ten concrete yet diverse suggestions are offered for effective regulation.

The study possesses significant academic and practical value. It identifies effective parental management methods for children’s phone abuse in the Hong Kong context, contributing to the largely Western-oriented knowledge in this field. The incorporation of suggestions at various mental and behavioral levels meets diverse needs in practice. Future studies are encouraged to explore other Asian regions with similar cultures for a broader understanding of parental practices in combating children’s phone abuse, as well as to investigate methods other than education.

References:

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[2] E. Y. Doo and J. H. Kim, “Parental smartphone addiction and adolescent smartphone addiction by negative parenting attitude and adolescent aggression: A cross-sectional study,” 2022. ncbi.nlm.nih.gov

[3] D. Wang, M. Zhou, and Y. Hu, “The Relationship Between Harsh Parenting and Smartphone Addiction Among Adolescents: Serial Mediating Role of Depression and Social Pain,” 2024. ncbi.nlm.nih.gov

[4] A. S Rathod, A. Ingole, A. Gaidhane, and S. G Choudhari, “Psychological Morbidities Associated With Excessive Usage of Smartphones Among Adolescents and Young Adults: A Review,” 2022. ncbi.nlm.nih.gov

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[6] H. G. Son, H. J. Cho, and K. H. Jeong, “The Effects of Korean Parents’ Smartphone Addiction on Korean Children’s Smartphone Addiction: Moderating Effects of Children’s Gender and Age,” 2021. ncbi.nlm.nih.gov

[7] Y. Peng, Y. Wang, S. Liu, and X. Hu, “Parenting and mobile phone addiction tendency of Chinese adolescents: The roles of self-control and future time perspective,” 2022. ncbi.nlm.nih.gov

[8] S. Ma, X. Bi, H. Cui, and Y. Ma, “Parental phubbing and mobile phone addiction among Chinese adolescents: a moderated mediation model,” 2024. ncbi.nlm.nih.gov

[9] H. Bai, J. Liu, W. Bai, and T. Cao, “Social pressures and their impact on smartphone use stickiness and use habit among adolescents,” 2024. ncbi.nlm.nih.gov

[10] A. Putri Ramanda, “PARENT-CHILD GAMES UNTUK MENGURANGI SMARTPHONE ADDICTION PADA ANAK USIA 8-10 TAHUN,” 2018. [PDF]

[11] D. J. Johnson, K. M., and P. D. Hertlein, “Parents’ Perceptions of Smartphone Use and Parenting Practices,” 2019. [PDF]

[12] H. Wang and X. Chen, “Intervention Effect of Mindfulness-Based Mental Health Education Therapy on Adolescents Mobile Phone Addiction and Cognitive Tendency,” 2023. ncbi.nlm.nih.gov

[13] K. H. Jeong, S. Kim, J. Hyun Ryu, and S. Lee, “A Longitudinal Relationship Between Mother’s Smartphone Addiction to Child’s Smartphone Addiction,” 2022. ncbi.nlm.nih.gov