Texting Addiction: Kids Face Health Dangers From Cell Phone Abuse

Most kids have a cell phone, now most of you know what I think about the electromagnetic radiation that these devices emit, but I would like to talk about another issue, texting.

For most kids this is the cell phone activity they prefer.  But texting among young people is so popular– even addicting, that they are missing sleep in order to text to their friends late at night. Pediatricians and sleeps clinics are reporting that they are seeing high numbers of kids who are developing sleep-deprivation-related symptoms and illnesses from late-night texting.

Texting late at night– at 2 and even 3’clock in the morning–is keeping teens and tweens from getting adequate rest.  Missing sleep on a regular basis means kids’ immune systems aren’t healthy, they miss school and their educations suffer–even to the point of flunking out.

Dr. Margaret Stager, Metro-Health Medical Center Pediatrician in Cleveland, Ohio, goes on record: “I'm concerned about it,” she says, “We know kids need their sleep — they need eight to 10 hours every night…When they miss school, they increase their chances of messing up their futures, too. Those are the kids that get in trouble with the law or in trouble in the neighborhood…it's a cascade effect.”

Texting Addiction and Lack of Parental Control Leads to Unhappy, Sick Kids

Dr. Stager goes on to point out that loss of sleep from late night texting can be responsible for kids losing out on higher education and missing out on creating lives that are worthwhile.

Loss of sleep in young people has also been shown to cause obesity and even more serious conditions like diabetes, depression, heart disease and serious mental health issues.

Not only that, but the preference for using cell phones for a large portion of their social life leads kids to under-developing other social skills.  Face to face socializing is being replaced by gadgetry texting.

Texting in place of real relating can stunt young people’s ability to interact with each other in a mature and authentic way. Young people may have a much harder time with their future relationships because they’ve fallen behind in developing their social and relational skills.

Texting And Radiation – The Cell Phone Double Whammy

Many doctors and scientists now warn that cell phones are not safe for kids at all.  I don’t use a cell phone for health reasons and I do not recommend them for children either. They are so widely popular, however, that kids may face intense peer pressure and possible ridicule if they don't have a cell phone, making it difficult to refrain from participating in the texting fad.

In our house my daughter does not use a cell phone in our home at all, because she knows how it affects me. If doing away with cell phones entirely seems too radical and unrealistic a position for you, then at the very least, set boundaries for kids with real consequences. Limit cell phone use, set a good example and take them away at a reasonable hour, so sleep isn't affected.

Which ever way you look at it, cell phones are bad news. On the one hand there are the long term health effects brought on by the exposure to radiation, which to my mind is massive, and on the other, there are the behavioural effects of extreme texting. It’s up to you, as a parent to reverse the trend of un-regulated cell-phone use and late-night texting.

It is vital for you to take charge.  Your child’s immediate health and future well-being depend on it.