Mobile phone gone - problem solved?

Too much mobile phone use can make you ill. However, there is often a deeper problem behind this.

I often hear the sentence: «If young people are online so much, they must get depressed.» I find such an oversimplification tricky. Depression is a serious illness that can have biological, psychological and social causes. «She's always on her mobile phone» falls far too short here and ignores the complexity of the problem.
In the worst case, the discussion centres solely on the smartphone instead of the adolescent's state of mind or health. If there are signs of depression, professional help should be sought quickly.

The mobile phone - the root of all evil?

In my opinion, mobile phones and mobile phone use are too quickly and too often portrayed as the root of all evil. Many parents hope that by restricting or even banning mobile phones, everything will be fine in one fell swoop. Mobile phone gone - problem solved.
Excessive gaming or a constant presence on social media are unhealthy and can make you ill, there's no question about it. But just as often, intensive media use is not the cause of an illness, but a symptom of an underlying problem.

Show interest, stay in dialogue

For this reason, it is extremely important as parents to stay in dialogue with children and young people, even in difficult times such as puberty. If we can say: We are in dialogue with our children and know what moves them; if we take an interest in where they spend time online and offline and who their friends are, there is a chance that we will recognise early on when something is brewing. Ideally, parents will develop a sense of what's going on when their daughter or son is on their mobile phone or PC non-stop.
Intensive contact with our children is worth its weight in gold. Then we don't have to argue about how many minutes a day they are allowed to use their mobile phones. Instead, we can talk to them about what really matters to them and what worries and needs are bothering them.
On Medienstark you will find tips and interactive learning modules for the competent use of digital media in everyday family life. swisscom.ch/medienstark