47% Of American Parents Fear Mobile Addiction Has Set In For Their Children

Mobile addiction among adults and teens has been well-documented over the past decade, with suicide rates among adolescents skyrocketing as a result of advancements in the handheld devices. According to a recent survey, nearly half of the parents in the US believe that their kids are already addicted to smartphones, tablets, and other mobile products.

The survey was conducted by Common Sense Media and SurveyMonkey, which asked 1,024 parents who had children under 18 years of age via poll various questions about technology. Among the results found is that 47 percent of parents say that their children are addicted to smartphones and other mobile devices.

Perhaps more disturbing, however, is the fact that only eight percent of the parents who admit mobile addiction in their children expressed extreme worry over how this would affect the mental health of their kids. In contrast, 36 percent say that they are not very concerned about it at all.

In a statement on Thursday, SurveyMonkey’s chief research officer, Jon Cohen also notes that the parents are more worried about their children’s mobile addiction than theirs, USA Today reports. This is despite the fact that parents are also becoming more glued to their mobile devices than ever.

"For as much attention as technology addiction receives among adults, parents — particularly those with teenagers — are far more concerned about their children's device usage than their own," Cohen said.

In response to the increasing threat of tech addiction to the health and well-being of children, even investors in major companies like Apple are now urging them to start implementing better practices in terms of how much protection they can afford younger users. Expanded parental control is among the measures being considered right now.

It doesn’t help that companies such as Facebook are ignoring warnings from children’s health advocacy groups with regards to services like Messenger Kids, either. Despite the clear signs of how dangerous tech addiction is becoming, tech giants seem intent on targeting younger and younger audiences for the sake of profit.