“Kids hooked on screens” is a common complaint today, but a new study reveals parental screen time can be just as damaging to their children.
The research out of the US found that when teens felt they had to compete with their caregivers’ phones for attention, they could develop attachment issues and even mental health problems.
Parents who are constantly on their phones can negatively affect their kids’ mental health. dikushin
“About 10 years ago, I started to notice some concerning primary caregiver device use behaviours,” Dr Don Grant of the Centre for Research and Innovation at Newport Healthcare, a corresponding author of the article in Frontiers in Psychology, said.
“In addition, my teen clients began sharing their negative feelings about the same behaviours. These were also introduced by kids during our family counselling sessions.
“Finally, a clinical psychologist colleague of mine, who is also a fantastic mum and familiar with my work in the device behaviour space, came to me several years ago and shared that her daughter had asked if she loved her phone more than her.
“My brilliant colleague was both dumbstruck and devastated.”
Looking further into the issue, researchers determined teens who felt this way could develop an “insecure attachment style”.
People so afflicted can become anxious and cling to others for reassurance, or avoid relationships to minimise the risk of emotional pain.
Insecure attachment is associated with poorer mental health and problems with healthy relationships, while secure attachment is associated with more successful relationships and greater wellbeing.
“Thus, even if there is an established secure attachment with a child, it can be pivoted to an insecure one, even during teenaged years,” Grant said.
“Obviously, this is not something any parent would want for their child.”
Grant said the study was particularly pertinent to millennials, the first “digital native” generation.
Millennials grew up incorporating smartphones and other devices into their daily life, and many are now parents themselves.
Teens with insecure attachment issues can struggle in relationships. Olga Yastremska
“I really want them to know about our study to help them avoid potentially negative outcomes of their device behaviours in terms of their children’s attachment security,” Grant said.
The researchers did point out that while a strong correlation was discovered between teens’ opinions of their caregivers’ device use and their emotional dependability, causation was not confirmed.
They said it was possible that children with insecure attachment styles tended to perceive their caregivers as unavailable, regardless of their phone habits.
But Grant hopes the study acts as a warning.
“We are not saying that every time a child submits a bid for attention a parent has to drop everything, including whatever they are doing on their devices, and answer it,” he said.
“We are recommending that when those bids occur, a parent does acknowledge and respond to them in some way.”