Pandemic Diary: Children’s Gadget & Internet Addiction Surges

ANOTHER day in the pandemic-ridden world, another issue coming up.

The more children are made to stay home, the more they are prone to internet and gadget addiction.

They have to learn online and they also find solace and entertainment through the internet.

Not because they want to escape from the real world but because they have no other options.

News emerged that there are some young children got addicted to gadgets. So addicted they have to be sent to nearby mental hospitals.

Another news showed a boy died after a prolonged use of gadgets and playing online games. News outlets said he died of nervous disorder, which is unclear.

Who to blame?

Their parents?

Or these poor little souls?

Meanwhile, a psychologist advised that they need to observe a schedule and parents had better tell them the importance of observing this timetable, or else they’ll get consequences.

Also, children need to get out and find some fresh air, and get physical as well.

Sounds easy but how you can tell children living in a tiny house in a slum area in Jakarta? They are not as lucky as their counterparts living in countryside with lots of open space and fields to play soccer on.

It also sounds easy to tell parents to give good examples by not using gadgets at home or after normal working hours but in the working from home scheme, parents are also unforgivingly pressured to be able to respond even at wee hours. So that advice is a bit insensitive and unfeasible for those parents working as corporate or startup slaves.

Another solution is signing them up at an internet detox bootcamp. This may turn these children wild and rebellious but they need to do it.

Internet addiction treatment, instead of Korean boyband content, is what Indonesians need to learn and adopt from Koreans. (*/)