In this era, gadget addiction is a virus that has become a global pandemic. Especially since the policy of learning from home emerged to prevent the spread of the COVID 19 virus in Indonesia, children are vulnerable to feeling bored because they have to stay at home and can not go anywhere. To overcome boredom, playing games using gadgets like cellphones, tablets, and computers becomes the solution. This will be a trigger for children experiencing gadget addiction
According to the KBBI, addiction is an awakening of a hobby that forgets other things, or is addicted to something to become addicted. Gadgets are actually made to support and facilitate daily activities, but if the child has been exposed to a gadget addiction virus, the opposite is true. Children can no longer control themselves and forget the time when playing gadgets.
If you are addicted to playing gadgets, the impact is a permanent disruption in the developing child’s brain so that the child will have difficulty concentrating, difficult to focus, difficult to communicate and even socialize with others. In addition, the impact is not too often playing gadgets, especially without parental supervision, can make children exposed to things smelling of pornography, violence, and even online bullying.
Prohibiting children from using gadgets is not a solution, especially in today’s digital era. Therefore, to have to prepare children to face technological developments that are so fast, it takes direction from parents to accompany children when using gadgets. One way is to make a joint agreement between parents and children regarding the duration and time of using the gadget. This parental companion feature can be found on Geniora Phone, the first smartphone for children in Indonesia. Please Listen, Modes of Use, and Scheduler features are very easy for parents to prevent their children from becoming addicted to gadgets. More detailed information about this Geniora Phone can be found on Youtube Channel ‘Geniora’ and Instagram @geniora_id.