Gadgets are becoming an integral part of our lives. Many are concerned that children are spending more and more time in front of their phone screens. However, as specialists emphasize, the constant use of gadgets by adults negatively affects their children. Psychoanalyst Alexey Melekhin discussed how this is connected.
— In general, parents' obsession with phones and their constant presence in the virtual space has a highly negative impact on the emotional and mental state of the child. There exists a dyad: parent and child. If a parent is constantly isolating themselves, immersing into the psychological reality offered by the phone, and effectively shutting themselves off from the child, meaning the child is uninteresting to them while the world of gadgets is, this leads to the development of emotional hospitalism.
The child cannot feel the presence of an adult, which can cause various problems, including skin diseases. They also experience a sense of being misunderstood. This makes them vulnerable to various forms of somatization and disorders. Moreover, the child tries in every possible way to attract the parent's attention and bring them back to reality.
Children constantly strive to interact with their parents, expecting approval and the opportunity to share their experiences and emotions. However, if the parent remains closed off, the child begins to experience difficulties with learning, psychosomatic disorders, and an increase in aggression and hostility. They find themselves overwhelmed by their emotions as they do not find an outlet for their expression. This leads to the formation of feelings of loneliness and abandonment in the child.
Children of bloggers or those parents who are constantly working with their phones often end up unhappy. They develop an insecure attachment style. Such children find it difficult to recognize and share their emotional states. As a result, two scenarios are possible: either the children try to pull their parents away from their gadgets by any means, or they themselves immerse into the world of technology to be closer to their parents. This becomes their way of interacting and communicating with adults, ultimately leading to a retreat into their own reality.
