Thursday, March 28 2024

Smartphone yes or smartphone no?
This is the question that many mothers daily face before the increasingly
insistent demands of their children, actually children well below the age
of 14. Let’s put it all out there. On the one hand, the cell phone gives a
mother a sense of security and peace of mind. It is useful, for example, to
contact and track down your child at any time of the day, to know how he is
or where he is. A smartphone in a child’s pocket significantly lowers the
parents’ natural anxiety threshold.

On the other hand, however, it is also true that many mothers are worried
and even scared. The risks are many: being contacted and enticed by
strangers and malicious people on social media or viewing violent,
inappropriate, or otherwise extreme content. In short, the pros and cons
are numerous. But let us not be paralyzed by doubts. It is advisable to
start to educate one’s children about the correct use of technology,
without alarmism, but with common sense and practical wisdom.

We offer you 10 rules — the best practical advice we have
gathered for you on the web — to explain to your children how to use
technology correctly and stay away from the dangers, even physical, for the
reassurance and peace of mind of all mothers.

1. If the phone rings, always answer. You never ignore a
call if “mom” or “dad” appears on the screen.

2. Never forget propriety and good manners.

Always reply kindly on the phone and limit the impulse to continually
check the phone while at the table, when you are studying, or while
speaking to someone.

The first to set a good example, in this case, we should be our parents.

3. What password do you use? Make sure that your children
always leave you with all the passwords of the various websites they
access. This rule should not be imposed, but shared as to build a
relationship of trust and mutual respect. If you subscribe to various
social media and forums, it would be better to do it together to avoid the
unwary release of sensitive personal data.

4. Never send or receive photos that portray intimate parts.
It is called

sexting and is one of the most widespread practices among adolescents
and, no doubt, among the most feared by parents.

This rule must be explained well and openly: an improper image shared on
WhatsApp or on social networks immediately becomes public domain. It will
become very difficult to erase it from the Web, risking ruining a child’s
reputation forever.

5. Do not use a mobile phone to lie, make fun of someone,
deceive, or

talk badly about others. Basically, don’t do or say to others what you
wouldn’t want done to or said about you.

Do not take part in conversations that could harm other people. Be a good
friend, before all else. If you do not know what to do, avoid participating
in malicious conversation and stay away from trouble. In this way you will
help your children to recognize cases of cyber bullying and to find the
courage to talk about it if they become victims.

6. No cell phone after 9 p.m. Unfortunately, keeping the
cell phone on your bedside table is a widespread and harmful practice
because in addition to depriving us of precious hours of sleep, it can
cause insomnia, concentration disorders, and loss of memory.

7.

On the Internet, look up only that which you could then tell me about.

And if you have questions about any topic, ask it directly to your parents.
They have been there before, and they will surely know how to understand
you and find the right words to explain themselves.

8. Change ear often. When you talk on the phone, alternate
the phone call with both ears. You will reduce the effects of overheating
caused by electromagnetic waves that could damage your eardrums and be an
early cause of deafness. If possible, make short calls.

9. Do not keep the phone in the chest pocket. In general,
it is always good to avoid keeping your smartphone in direct contact with
your body to avoid electromagnetic waves. Finally remember: keep the phone
away from the head while dialing the number. It is the moment when it works
at maximum power and emits more waves.

10. Turn off the Wi-Fi at night or when you are not using it.
You will avoid useless radiation.

Finally, a last rule, not written, but perhaps the most important of all:
“we could take away your phone one day. Then we’ll sit and talk. We will
reach an agreement and start from the beginning. Dad and I are learning
every day, just like you.”

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