Concern Rises Worldwide Over Children Addicted to Smartphones
Major investors in the Apple Corporation have been urging the iPhone maker to take action to slow the growing smart phone addiction among children.
School Wellness Coordinator for the Missoula City County Health Department’s 'Let’s Move' Program, Mary McCourt, said children and their smartphones are almost inseparable.
“By the time a child is 18 they’re spending about seven hours of non-educational time every day on screens,” McCourt began. “When they are using their iPhones they are not being physically active. In fact, I was just at a meeting today and there was a woman there from the Glacier Ice Rink, and she said that kids have their skates on, they’re on the ice and they’re not moving, because they’re on their iPhones.”
McCourt said the Apple Corporation is particularly concerned about smartphone addiction because of the adverse effect of spending too much time in front of a screen.
“They’re concerned because they need very creative people as potential employees,” she said. “If you have children that are high users or even addicted to their devices, how creative are those kids when it’s a passive activity? In other words, you just keep hitting that button and you’re not learning anything and you’re not creating anything.”
McCourt said her office has developed a strategy for children called ‘5-2-1-0’.
“It’s a recipe for kid’s health,” she said. “Five fruits and vegetables a day, no more than two hours of screen time, one hour of active physical activity, and zero sweetened drinks.”
Apple investors said the company must offer more tools to help children fight addiction to its devices.