Expert Recommends Gradual Reduction of Children's Social Media Use
Experts point out that increased digital screen and social media use during summer vacation can make it difficult for children to adapt to school, and recommend a gradual reduction process instead of sudden bans.
Child and Adolescent Psychiatry Specialist Dr. Canan İnce Börekçi stated that the increased use of social media during the summer period can complicate children's transition back to school, and emphasized that technology should be reduced gradually rather than being suddenly banned.
Increased Screen Time During Summer
During summer vacation, the amount of time children spend with social media and digital content can increase significantly. This situation can make the process of returning to school and adapting to the new term difficult for children after the holiday.
School Life and Digital Stimuli
Social media offers very fast and intense stimuli to children through constantly changing images, short videos, and notifications. The school environment has a quite different structure from this.
In school life, children are expected to listen to the teacher, maintain their attention for long periods, wait for their turn, and sometimes be willing to endure boredom.
Gradual Reduction Instead of Sudden Bans
The return to school for children who are heavy social media users is a process of readjusting to a structured routine. Experts recommend that technology should not be suddenly banned during this process, but rather reduced gradually.
Filling Daily Life with Real Activities
It is of great importance to fill children's daily lives with real-life activities. This process can be started by limiting social media use right after waking up in the morning and before going to sleep at night.
Making Time for Social and Physical Activities
It is necessary to create time slots during the day where the child moves around, meets friends face-to-face, plays games, spends time with family, and reads books.
Limiting the Scope of Technology
The main goal here is not to completely remove technology from the child's life. The aim is to prevent technology from negatively affecting sleep, responsibilities, school life, and face-to-face relationships.