Constant web use shortens attention span

A recent survey carried out by the BBC programme The Virtual Revolution has found that young people to be increasing unable to focus academically due to a habitual computer use of flicking between pages.

Parenting expert Julie Johnson sends a strong message to parents to keep lines of communication open with children’s friends’ parents and not to be persuaded into getting your offspring a computer: “just because their friends do”.

Dr Pat Spungin, author of The Teenager Manual, agrees that although one set of parents may have given in to getting their 10-year-old a laptop, the majority remain appalled.

Although Johnson argues that peer pressure into buying a laptop is wrong, there may come a time when prioritising school work becomes necessary. Getting a laptop to assist with your child’s homework may in fact be worth the sacrifice but should come with restrictions:

“Limit the amount of time they spend in front of a screen, whether it's the TV or the computer. The maximum recommended time is two hours per day, but on average, British children clock up five hours a day."

Managing Director of Grid Learning, Simon Fuller, stresses that you need to closely monitor your children’s web activities and talk to them about it:

“What's more, you need to listen to what they are telling you, and resist the temptation to be negative. Ask if you can play one of their computer games with them. You don't have to compete; you can go on a two-player game, where you'll both be on the same side."

The no laptop rule can simply apply to parents, Johnson also insists, but to adults as well: “It’s important for mothers and fathers to set an example.”