Parents urged to address risks of children's cellphone use
RALEIGH, N.C. (WTVD) -- Child psychologists and parents are raising new concerns about how young people use their cellphones, following a series of troubling incidents involving local students.
This week, a Wakefield High School student was charged with felony secret peeping after being accused of using a cellphone to take photos and record video under teachers' skirts. In another case, a sexually suggestive image shared online by a student at Athens Drive affected students at Broughton High School after it circulated on social media.
Parents like Claire Lanning, a mother of three children ages 8, 16 and 18, say they are increasingly aware of the risks. Lanning said her family enforces strict rules around phone use, including parental controls and automatic shutoff times.
"We have had parental controls. We've had a time where the phone shuts off, you know, at a certain time of night, and then it turns back on the next morning at a certain time," Lanning said.
Lanning said she worries about the pressure social media places on children. "The effects of social media, and when it does to a young child, they just are not equipped to handle that, you know, all that stuff coming into their mind," she said.
Experts say those concerns are well-founded. Research shows cellphone use can affect a child's mental health, and Dr. Anthony Smith, Licensed Psychologist and executive director of Alase Center for Enrichment in Durham, said he sees several families each month in crisis over a child's device.
"So it's very important for parents to be aware of what power they're giving their children when they give them a cell phone," Smith said. "I tell parents all the time that it's like giving a four-year-old AK47, right? Because of the power of that cell phone."
Smith said parents should delay giving children phones for as long as possible, a recommendation echoed by the American Academy of Pediatrics. A study cited by the organization found early adolescent smartphone use is linked to depression, obesity and insufficient sleep.
"Parents need to really have conversations with their children, make sure they are utilizing these phones for the intended purposes, and not giving in to the groundswell of what their peers might have them do," Smith said. "That's inappropriate and ultimately harmful."
For Lanning, setting boundaries is essential. "These kids can't handle it. It's too much, too much pressure," she said.
