'Every fifth child in UK aged three to five has smartphone'

London: One in five three and four-year-olds in the UK have their own mobile phone, an Ofcom research has revealed. This rapid increase in phone use by very young children has elevated the problem to the forefront as a public health concern. However, experts in this field are typically eager to change the narrative away from the “harms of screen time,” pointing out that this theme is both false and unhelpful given the wide variety of uses for mobile devices. Professor Tim Smith, a cognitive psychologist at Birkbeck University, stated that not all screen time is created equal. “It may be good for the development of young children if apps that aid in word learning are introduced to them. Fast-paced, more intense, action-based entertainment that doesn’t ask the child to do anything could actually make it more difficult for the kids to comprehend what they’re seeing, the study said. But creating a solid data base for such risks and advantages is extremely difficult, and much of the research is only conclusive in nature. Smith’s report found that longer screen time could have detrimental effect on brain development of infants if they start using mobile as early as 12 months of age. It said infants who used touchscreens often at 12 months of age performed worse on some working memory and attention control tests at the age of three in one of the few longitudinal studies of toddlers. Another view is that parents were more likely to give a device to a restless toddler who may have been prone to perform worse on attention activities. Families participating in studies should ideally be randomly assigned to no screen time, but Smith acknowledged that this would be challenging to implement in the real world. According to him, progress in research must be made slowly in order to be effective, in contrast to the quickening of current cultural change. Scientists emphasise the importance of the context in which kids use applications and consume content, and some have expressed concern or even confusion over the high number of three- and four-year-olds who own their own smartphones. Read all the Latest News, Trending News,  Cricket News, Bollywood News, India News and Entertainment News here. Follow us on Facebook, Twitter and Instagram.