Virtual Autism: Hidden Dangers Of Excessive Screen Time On Kids

In the growing pace of technological advancement, screens are found everywhere and have become a part of us but too much screen time is bad and can hinder the growth of brain development in kids below the age of three. Virtual autism is a phrase formulated in 2018 (Marius Teodor Zamfir, 2018), by a Romanian psychologist. He found that children 0-3 years old who stared at the screen for over 4 hours a day had sensory-motor and socio-effective deprivation. Specialists have advised that kids below the age of three years not be exposed to screen time because of the dangers it can pose to them. In this article, we will look at some signs children with virtual autism exhibit and also look at how to curb or reduce these symptoms.

IMPAIRED SOCIAL SKILLS

Kids with virtual autism don’t like sharing or playing with others, they are mostly reserved type and comfortable on their own and do not allow people into their spaces. This happens because their minds have been trained to be alone with their screens and don’t fancy experiencing real-world activities. So my year-old son would cling to me anytime we went to public places or cry for his tablet because I exposed him too soon to screen.

DELAYED SPEECH OR COMMUNICATION

Children learn better from interacting with peers, parents, and caregivers but unintentionally we tend to replace them with having a real-world experience with screen time. This action in the long run affects their communication and sometimes results in delayed speech. My son was still babbling at age one, he couldn’t even say mama/dada or point to that toy he wanted but rather drag me to it.

POOR COGNITIVE SKILL

It is very difficult to retain their attention or get them to process information. This results in poor eye contact, that is how they block information. I saw my son cover his eyes a lot of times when I was trying to teach him to say a word. His covering his eyes meant he didn’t want to learn.

BAD MOTOR SKILL

They have a hard time using their motor skills which involves them using a muscle in any part of their body to perform a task like jumping running or even walking.

CAN VIRTUAL AUTISM BE REVERSED?

The answer is yes when discovered early so don’t be alarmed as a parent. I have been there and I can tell you for a fact that worrying will not do you or the child any good. First, I advise you to get your child to visit a pediatrician for a thorough check and diagnosis. This will educate you the parent on how mild or severe his/her condition is. Knowing this will enable you to help your child at home. But before you see a pediatrician I will list some factors that helped my son develop his brain.

• Remove screen time: when the doctor told me to remove screen time from my son’s routine, what I said in my mind was ‘how is this possible”? After a week my son got used to no screen time and was running around more.
• Spend more time interacting with your child: bonding with your child helps the child learn from you. They tend to imitate you the parent or caregiver in a positive way. So you try to portray positive stuff that is healthy for your child.
• Encourage more outdoor activities: Peekaboo helmed my son a lot and I sometimes raced around with him to see who would win, I let him win all the time.
• Gluten-free foods: these special foods help the kids get the energy they require for brain development.
• Enroll them in school as soon as possible if you haven’t enrolled them already: kids learn better from peers. they imitate what their peers do so enrolling them in school will help them build or improve their social skills.

IN CONCLUSION

As a parent, I know how difficult it is to see your child with these symptoms, but I need you to know it isn’t a death sentence. With early intervention, virtual autism can be fixed. My son is three years old now and he is doing amazingly well with his communication and comes back home from school every day with a new vocabulary.