In society today there are so many screens to view, with continual technology updates and introduction on the latest gadget to the market it is continuing to grow. Pause for a second and think, how many screens do you have in your house?
Video games, TV, smartphone games, and computer games are all easy to play, and some can be educational, but the big concern is that children/users are missing vital social skills building.
Why do screens contribute to the lack of social skills?
Screens are used mostly in solitude and do not help with social skills and proper interaction. Predominantly, they do not involve talking to or dealing with real people in the real world. We live in the real, social world and need to interact with real, physical beings.
As adults, we did not have this problem, as screens and computers were not yet omnipresent when we were growing up.
Researchers say the average child admitted to spending four and half hours a day in front of their smartphone, television, and other digital screens, even on an average school day. Older children in their teens, spend as much as seven and a half hours on screens a day.
In general, parents want their children to grow up to be responsible adults who are on the ball. Children should be emotionally and socially balanced. To thrive in this world, they have to be able to read people’s faces, understand nonverbal cues, read emotions, and have the ability to react accordingly and appropriately. They must be sensitive to other people’s feelings to get along well with people, deal harmoniously with others, and not become isolated. Children who have sufficient social and emotional skills know how to manage their feelings well; they have good emotional intelligence (EI) and the soft skills that employers are looking for.
This generation and future generations need to be socially smarter. Excessive screen time is one of the reasons why employers complain about the lack of required soft skills in this generation, necessary for integrating with society and contributing positively to different organisations.
Soft skills are essential to helping children lead more fulfilling and happy lives, now and in the future. What are soft skills? I’ll cover this in another blog, so you can make sure your child is developing these soft skills that their future employers need. Keep your eyes peeled for it.
In the meantime, if you would like my help with anything click here.
