Children should not possess smartphone until age of 12: Report

Bülent Sarıoğlu- ISTANBUL

Kids should not be given the possession of a smart device before the age of 12, a report by the parliamentary commission investigating ways to prevent technology addiction has said.

The commission has specified a series of advices for families and institutions following a work of six-months. The headline of the advices was to prevent letting kids possess a smart device until they are 12 years of age.

“Children in the age period of 0-3 should not be exposed to informatics devices such as phones, computers and tablets. Technology should not be presented as a punishment or a reward, and not be used as a digital baby-sitter to silence, feed or put to sleep a child,” the report said.

The commission also warned parents and educators that children exposed to computers in the early development period suffer symptoms of autism spectrum disorder.

“It has been observed that the 18 to 24-month-old babies get lower points in adaptation behaviors including adaptive skills, self-betterment, accord, social life and social conduct,” said the report.

Parents also should be careful not to set a bad model for their children younger than six by staying busy with technology devices for long hours.

Schoolwork should be carried out in face-to-face situations as much as possible instead of using applications such as WhatsApp, according to the report.