��������� Technological
developments in this era have become increasingly advanced, especially the use
of gadget technology (Putra, 2017). Gadgets are
no longer foreign objects, we all know this because almost everyone has a gadget (Kurniawati & Sutharjana, 2023). Its
users are not only used by adults for work, but also by teenagers or children
for education and entertainment. So it is common nowadays that many children
use gadgets in their daily lives (Sukor & Razak, 2023).
��������� The
main aim of creating gadget technology is
to make our daily lives easier in positive ways, whether in the fields of
communication, searching for information, work or education (Wijaya & Sandriya, 2019).
Before gadgets were created, we
always went through our daily lives manually which could take a lot of time.
But many gadget users use gadgets in negative ways that are very
dangerous and affect other users in a short time and in large numbers (Firmansyah et al., 2023).
��������� The
development of gadget technology has
had many positive impacts on children in improving education and creativity for
children aged 7-9 years, but in certain situations the presence of gadgets has had many negative impacts on
children (Astuti et al., 2022).
One of the negative impacts is the emergence of a feeling of addiction and
dependence on gadgets. This feeling
of addiction can make children increasingly dependent on excessive gadgets (Masfufah & Darmawan, 2023). Excessive use
of gadgets in children aged 7-9 years
can reduce discipline and interest in learning. Excessive use of gadgets can also have a more fatal impact if
left untreated, it will damage the child's mentality (Shah et al., 2020).
��������� According
to Rohmah (2022),
children aged 7-9 years are already at one of the four stages of cognitive
development, namely the concrete operational stage (7-12 years). At this stage,
children are starting to be able to use logical thinking, but can only apply
logic to physical or real objects. Children begin to be taught who is moral or
immoral by giving genuine or solid examples, one example is parents teaching
children how to interact with friends of the same age properly or telling
children that watching television for too long can damage their eyes and
disturb them. Study time. So it is not difficult to find out why children aged
7-9 years are easily addicted to cellphone gadgets.
��������� Recently,
many parents think that cellphones can be objects of interaction that are safe
and easy to monitor (Lemish et al., 2020).
Children will think of cellphone gadgets as
physical objects for their logical thinking. Without parental education,
children will absorb all age-inappropriate information without knowing whether
the information has a positive or negative impact (Danet, 2020).
A feeling of dependence and addiction will arise in children because they think
of cell phones as interaction partners and it is very dangerous for their
mental health if they continue (Scott et al., 2017).
Children will lose their interest in going to school, learning knowledge that
is useful for their future as the next generation (Docherty, 2018).
Children will also find it difficult to control their emotions, when gadgets are not nearby children will get
angry and throw tantrums at their parents (Widodo & Wartoyo, 2020).
The period when children listened to what their parents said, studied hard and went
to school diligently, and played with friends or family physically at home or
outside the home will gradually fade if this continues.
��������� From
the explanation above, it can be concluded that parents have an important role
in controlling, limiting and educating children in the use of gadgets (Yulianti et al., 2023). Parents
have an obligation to control and in addition supervise children's activities
when using cellphones in their daily lives by providing good and appropriate
explanations. Parents also have an important role in accompanying children in
the educational process in the family environment by teaching them to behave
well and have good habits too. In accordance with this phenomenon, the
increasing use of gadgets without
knowledge and education from parents will have a negative impact on children's
cognitive development. The following are some of the roles of parents in
controlling children's use of gadgets:
(1) limiting children's use of cellphones and other digital devices; (2)
accompany and monitor children when using social media on cellphones; (3) teach
children to use gadgets in a good and
positive way; and (4) help children choose safe and appropriate media and
broadcasts; and (5) divert children's attention from gadgets by encouraging children to play outside with friends.
��������� But
unfortunately many parents ignore these things and events. The role of people
in educating children can also prevent children's addiction and dependence on gadgets. Even though many parents ignore
it and think that it is normal for their children to use gadgets and don't need to worry about them, there are also parents
who do everything they can to educate their children well and protect them from
the negative impacts of gadget technology
.
The objective of
this research is to investigate how parents manage and prevent feelings of
gadget addiction and dependency among elementary school children aged 7-9
years. By understanding effective parental strategies, this study aims to
provide insights into promoting healthier gadget use habits among children in
this age group. Specifically, it aims to explore the strategies employed by
parents to manage gadget usage among children aged 7-9 years, identify the
challenges parents face in preventing gadget addiction and dependency in
children, and examine the impact of parental involvement on children's digital
habits and behaviors.
This study aims
to benefit both academic and parental communities by providing insights into
effective parenting strategies to mitigate gadget addiction among young
children, enhancing understanding of the roles parents play in shaping
children's digital behaviors and habits, and offering recommendations for
parents and educators on promoting responsible gadget use among elementary
school children.
RESEARCH METHODS
This
research uses a qualitative approach because the data used is in the form of
sentences, not numbers. This research aims to determine the role of parents in
educating and controlling children in using gadget
technology. The data collection technique used in this research is
interviews. Interview techniques were used to obtain information about how
parents prevent addiction and dependence in children aged 7-9 years on gadgets. The data from the interviews
will be used as the main data for the article.
Interviewing activities were carried
out at the subject's residence which is located in South Manggarai
sub-district, Tebet sub-district, South Jakarta district, capital city of DKI
Jakarta. It was held for two days on June 18 and June 20 2022. Date the subjects
I interviewed were the parents of a child who is 9 years old this month and is
in grade 2 going up to grade 3. In the interview activity, I asked several
questions related to the topic what I chose, one of which was asking the mother
about how to prevent her child from feeling addicted and dependent on gadgets.
The research instrument used is a human instrument (own research), the
researcher himself acts as the research instrument. This Human Instrument is used to obtain research data that is valid and
focuses on the research objectives so that the results of the research carried
out can be accounted for. The tools
used in interview activities are paper and writing tools which are used to
record important information said by the subject. Technological media in the
form of a cellphone is used to record conversations between the subject and me.
The analysis technique for this research is a descriptive analytical technique.
Descriptive analytics is a technique used to describe the facts contained in
the object of research, then continue by explaining them up to the stage of
providing understanding and explanation.
RESULTS AND DISCUSSION
Being
aggressive is one of the negative impacts of gadget technology
��������� Initially
the parents still let the subject play on their cellphone without knowing the
consequences. But because of an incident where the subject slammed and hit the
cellphone until it broke and was damaged. The reason was because the subject
lost a game on his mother's cellphone. When they found out about this, the
parents decided to control the subject and make rules limiting the use of
cellphones for the subject and the subject's siblings.
"So he once played with his
cellphone until the front of the screen cracked. He hit him, until he was
annoyed and emotional. "His cellphone is broken and can only be used to
hear sounds." (Interview 2. June 20, 2024)
Nowadays, many
parents do not understand that if children are given gadgets and allowing them to use gadgets without a time limit can make children addicted to gadgets. This is a serious problem
that needs attention and immediate action to reduce and eliminate gadget addiction in children. The
following are some of the negative impacts of
gadgets on children's cognitive aspects: (1) Decreased learning
concentration (when studying, children do not focus and only remember gadgets); (2) Lazy because he has no
interest in learning; and (3) (cognitive or thinking psychological processes
related to how individuals study, pay attention, observe, imagine, estimate,
assess and think about their environment will be hampered) (Damayanti et al., 2020).
Children's
Cognition Is Hampered Due to Using Gadgets
��������� Imagine
children forgetting all the knowledge taught at school and needing a lot of
time to understand it with a lot of effort. Initially being able to do
assignments with high grades decreased to low grades
�Once Mathematics grades dropped. After being given a schedule, thank
God, I didn't feel like I was joking anymore. He understands all the lessons.�
(Interview 1, June 18, 2024)
All children's
memories related to lessons are replaced with those related to gadgets. Children find it difficult to
quickly recall what they understand from school because they play with gadgets for too long without time limits
. The subject cannot do math problems
smoothly because the thing he immediately remembers is the game on the gadget. When the subject's mother
found out about this, she immediately restricted the subject from using a
cellphone and as a result the child was able to use his cognitive abilities.
The subject can search and recall the lessons he learned quickly.
Children's
Time Management Using Gadgets
Time management
is a method used by parents in an effort to limit children's use of gadgets.
One way of managing time used is by making a schedule for using gadgets after
the child comes home from school. There are children who are allowed to play on
their cell phones only from Friday to Sunday, and there are also those who are
allowed to play on their cell phones after all their school assignments have
been completed (Sisbintari & Setiawati, 2021).
�I used to like playing on my
cellphone, but I had a schedule. So the schedule is Saturday and Sunday. So, if
it's Friday, for example, Saturday is the holiday, you're allowed to play on
your cellphone. But on weekdays you can't play with your cellphone" (Interview
1, 18 June 2024)
Apart from that,
there is also a way to allocate time for using gadgets. Based on the information obtained, this scheduling can be
accepted by both parties (parents and children) because it is in accordance
with the allocation given.�
�Even on holidays, we don't do that,
no. There are times when he plays outside. No, it's a holiday, for example
Saturday, it's a holiday when you keep playing on your cellphone, nothing. Only
in the morning to play for a while outside. In the afternoon, after midday
prayers, we played again at home. After Ashar finished playing, he went out to
play football, what did he play? There are a lot more activities outside."
(Interview 1, June 18, 2024)
��������� Children's
use of gadgets must be controlled so as not to interfere with their growth and
development. There are various ways that parents use their children to prevent
gadget addiction in their children. One method used is to make an agreement
with the child regarding a schedule for using gadgets. This scheduling is very
important so that children's use of gadgets is not too intense. Parental
communication is very important in preventing gadget addiction in children. One
form of communication is communication regarding an agreement on scheduling the
use of gadgets with children. Furthermore, well-developed communication between
parents and children has a positive impact on children's mental development
because children experience a democratic education pattern in the family.
�After a while I found out his
schedule (playing on my cellphone). Back then, I didn't give him a schedule, so
I still let him go, but he just got worse, didn't he? But over time, the more I
come here, the more I give you a schedule or not, I'm already following it. I
don't need to bother anymore, I don't get angry anymore because he already knows
his schedule" (Interview 1, 18 June 2024)
Not
Introducing Social Media to Children
Facebook,
Twitter, Instagram, and Tik Tok are social media applications that we often use
to interact with other people and as entertainment for us. It is not unusual to
see elementary school children using social media like the example above. But
there are times when children unintentionally or intentionally see adult
content or that elementary school children should not see on social media.
�
�It's like Facebook now sometimes
has (adult posts) these kinds of pictures, right? Many are now entering
everywhere. That's why, all my children don't make Facebook, I don't make
Twitter. Because it's scary, there are a lot of pictures now. Facebook is like,
what? It's really easy for people to share all kinds of things. No, I said it
was really scary." (Interview 2. 20 June 2024)
Based on this
description, parents are worried about the dangers of social media for
children. Parents think that social media can damage children's brains and make
them mentally ill. Adult content can damage a child's brain and over time make
the child unconsciously addicted to seeing things that are not appropriate for
children. That's why it's important for parents to always check their
children's cellphones to avoid the dangerous incidents above. As parents, they
must protect their children not only physically, but also mentally.
Scolding
is not the right way to educate children
��������� As
a parent, their duty and obligation is to educate their children so that they
are on the path that is blessed by Allah SWT. To achieve good goals we must
also have good methods. There are times when parents scold their children to
stop being lazy and start studying. There are some children who listen to this
anger even though in the end it will only traumatize the child slowly. There
are also some children who fight back against their parents with angry
emotions.
"Well, if I get angry, he ends
up rebelling and sulking. So I tried to persuade him to study without getting
angry. Over time it becomes easy to obey and learn straight away. "His
father was the same when he woke him up, he continued to kiss him." (Interview
1, June 18, 2024)
��������� The
subject's mother tried to persuade the subject gently without needing emotion.
The subject will rebel and try to avoid their parents. This is a common reason
because children's dependence on gadgets makes
them easily emotional and see their parents as a threat to their entertainment
time. This can be avoided with smooth communication between children and
parents without any coercion. Parents must also understand what their children
really need and forget about using gadgets.
Children will be open and willing to listen to parents' words in the form
of gentle persuasion and non-coercive suggestions.
CONCLUSION
��������� Based
on the research results, it can be concluded that there are 3 efforts used by
parents to prevent children's addiction and dependence on gadget technology. The following are the efforts: (1) children's
time management using gadgets; (2) do not introduce social media to
children; and (3) Scolding is not a fast way to educate children. This is an
effort by parents to reduce the intensity of children's feelings of addiction
and dependence on gadgets. This will
not arise when parents focus on children's development and do not take the
solution that playing with gadgets is an effective shortcut so that children
learn to live independently without solid
education from them. Parent. The adult role as a parent is a very important
role for their children for the future. Children may have many needs that they
want in very large quantities, but the needs that they really need in their
lives are support and education from parents, and their presence when children
are in bad situations that make them worse off. Of course there are times when
parents can't make time because of work and need to earn a living for their
children, but at least take a little time to communicate with children and
understand the child's situation and feelings. In this way, children will feel
safe, happy, and not feel lonely, so their motivation to grow well will appear
whether they have help from their parents or not.
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Copyright holder: Naila Alifa Handoko (2024) |
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