According to some new research, dependence on a smartphone can actually produce some of the same addictive brain responses similar to alcohol, drug, and gambling addictions. If kids grow more and more attached to their phones, they won’t have the proper skills that they’ll need to use later in their lives. Instead they will stay inside, sitting on the couch, replacing energy with laziness. Banning phones for kids at and under the age of 12 or at least limiting their screen time would be the best solutions. This essay will contain why phones should be banned for younger kids because of the following; bad for physical and mental health, social skills go down, and they see bad content. We will dive right into our first topic, physical and mental health.

When someone is on their phone, all body parts are usually still and hardly moving. There is no motivation to do anything except scrolling endlessly. This is bad for our health, especially for kids 12 and under. According to Dr. Gaya Dowling, kids who spend excessive time on phones have thinning of the cortex. Thinning of the cortex is a maturational process that happens in the primary sensory regions, according to an article from July 1st, 2004, by David H. Salat, Oxford Academic. This will present a number of neurological and psychiatric conditions such as: schizophrenia, depression, dementia, neurodegenerative disorders, multiple sclerosis, epilepsy and more. Children start to become depressed and anxious because of all this phone usage. Usage of all this technology can have serious consequences. Not getting enough sleep, behavioral problems, higher chance of being overweight, and less time for active, creative play; nevertheless, their social, interactive skills start to go downhill from here.

Being able to talk to another person can help with many things. From ordering food from the waiter to having a conversation with a friend, having useful social skills will help people in the long run. Many kids only want to play or talk to people on the internet, making friends face to face starts to dwindle. Now they put all their energy into keeping their online “friendships” with either kids or adults they don’t even know. Social connections are important, it keeps people in line on how to act properly in public. It is very dangerous to have these online “friends,” because some of them could be hackers or pedophiles seeking out information about the child. An article from October 12th, 2016, by Beata Mostafavi, from Michigan Medicine, University of Michigan explains how the parent-child relationship is. "Parents are constantly feeling like they are in more than one place at once while parenting. They're still 'at work.' They're keeping up socially. All while trying to cook dinner and attend to their kids," says lead author Jenny Radesky, M.D. Technology makes both the parent and the child give less verbal communication. They start to lose moments that could have been super memorable for the future. Children start to focus on the phone more, and without a doubt, it’s possible that they start to see inappropriate content.

It’s only a matter of time before any kid stumbles upon any inappropriate content that isn’t for their age. According to an article from February 1st, 2007, Janis Wolak, JD, from Unwanted and Wanted Exposure to Online Pornography in a National Sample of Youth Internet Users, 42% of internet youth users had been exposed to online pornography in that past year. Out of that 42%, 66% reported only unwanted exposure. Too many of these kids are exposed to these kinds of things and they either try to stop and tell a trusting adult, or they might want more of it. Seeing innapropriate pictures or words affect a child, this starts to cause behavior changes in the mind. Kids will start to swear at much younger ages and unnecessarily. Some might even be so into the content that they will start to ask for more from the internet and their online friends. A child’s mind absorbs everything that is shown infront of them. Inappropriate content makes them less and less happy.

These are just some of the few reasons why phones should be banned for children at and under the age of 12. Their physical and mental health decline, they start to lose social connecting skills, and eventually inappropriate content starts to change their lives. We need to ban phones from them, and if that cannot be done, manage their screen time so that they don’t become depressed and sad. Playing or watching videos for half an hour to an hour can be nice, but a straight 5 or 6 hours is just too much. We want the next generation of kids to come out with bright, creative ideas; not poor inappropriate stuff that doesn’t make anyone happy.