Children with smartphones – rapid development or a danger?

Even before they learn to walk and talk, our babies already know how to play with smartphones and tablets.

One in three babies aged 6 months know how to use a smartphone and tablet establishes a US study. The shocking results were presented at the annual Congress of Pediatrics in San Diego. American scientists have conducted research among nearly 400 families with small children and found that the age at which kids start to play on mobile devices is getting lower.

In numbers

According to the survey, before the age of one year old, 53% of the babies are watching TV and 36% regularly use a smartphone or a tablet. Scientists say that 24 percent of them even know how to call someone – it’s not specified whether this is intentionally or not. 15% are able to search through various applications and 12% can play a favourite game.
“We knew that the age at which the children begin to use such devices is getting lower, so we started this study, but we did not expect that babies under six months are provided with smartphones or tablets. It always carries risks because some of the parents surveyed acknowledged that their kids are standing in front of the screen more than half an hour a day, “said the head of the US team that carried out the study.

6 hours per day

A research from British scientists shows that children between the ages of 6 and 13 years old spend an average of six hours a day in front of a screen. This is 50% more compared to the last decade. The reason is that the kids today use mobile phones, tablets, TVs and video games to entertain themselves, while in the past the kids were playing outside.

Healthy risks – vision and sleeping

Pediatricians emphasize that it is not recommended tablets and smartphones to be given to children under two years of age even for a short period of time. For children who are 3-4 years old, play time should be limited to 10-15 minutes per day, possibly not at once. But even for older children (5-9 years) there should be limits and the experts do not recommend more than half an hour standing in front of the screen. Yes, there are some kids that spend six hours in front of a screen per day, so some parents might think 30 minutes are not enough, but scientists say that it is necessary to control the time your children spend with the smart gadgets. There are also some parental control mobile applications you could try to prevent your children from using your smartphone too much.

Ophthalmologists remind that eye problems affect one in every four children and overuse of computers and tablets at an early age increases the risk of developing myopia, hyperopia, strabismus and other problems.
According to experts, the early use of mobile devices may not only lead to vision risks, but also to problems with the development, loss of appetite, even hyperactivity and sleeping problems.

Why you should invest in mobile applications if you run a business

Mobile devices are used by everyone in the modern times. Most people already appreciate the benefits of the mobility for business and most of the people have realized that the future of business success lies in the creation and supply of mobile application company.

Despite the rise of the mobile traffic, only 28 percent of the companies have their own mobile application. Apparently many owners of companies still don’t realize the need for their clients to be able to find them and use their services from their mobile devices.

There are a lot of reasons for businesses to invest in mobile applications. According to analysts, the media companies have to comply with the trend and every business owner should understand and assess the need for a mobile application.

1. People spend more time on their mobile devices than on the computer

You might be surprised to hear that, but the owners of mobile gadgets spend 89% of their time browsing and useng various applications from their smartphones. This amounts to 29.5 hours for men every month and almost 31 hours for women. That should be enough to make you wonder why so many companies have mobile optimized websites, but do not even think it’s necessary to consider the option of setting up their own business applications. If you do not have this application, people just will not interact with your company when they use their smartphones. 85% of the people in the UK, USA, Germany, France, India and Japan prefer mobile applications instead of mobile websites because they are more responsive and user friendly.

2. Applications help you build relationships with your customers and your brand loyalty

Mobile users often visit a site and never return to it. However, when they make an effort to install your application, they already engage with your brand. You can benefit from this commitment and unleash the true fair connection. Suggest an easy way for the users to share their opinions on the application about your business and try to make them interact with your company. The hearing of the interests and preferences of people gives valuable insights into what you are doing and what remains for you to do to have success. Sending targeted, personalized messages to your users through the application will make them feel special and this will be good not only for the image of your company.

3. This will give you a competitive advantage

As already mentioned, more than seven out of ten companies do not have a mobile application. If you create your company’s application you will be able to offer the people something that your competitors do not offer. If you differentiate your business from other companies in the sector it will be one of the most effective ways to blow your competitors. Moreover, the establishment of corporate application is a great way to reach to younger users.