You may find the following scene familiar. A parent and a child sit together in a public space without exchanging any conversations as they are too engrossed in playing with their phones. Has our excessive reliance on digital technology changed our family dynamics? CWLF has conducted a randomized study to investigate into the current situation of the use of digital technology among families with children.

Children’s life nowadays is inseparable from digital technology. Over half of the children participated in the study ask their parents for digital products to play with when they are bored. 36 percent of the children carry digital products with them at all time. Almost half of the children find themselves in a terrible mood when they are unable to play with digital products. Some 18 percent of the children even become agitated when they do not have the gadgets with them. Also, almost 30 percent of the children have had the experience of playing with digital products until midnight.

The study further reveals that many parents themselves are addicted to digital technology. Almost 30 percent of the children observed their parents spending most of their time at home playing with their phone. 35 percent of the parents have played with digital products until midnight. As such, the children easily complain about the unfairness when their parents restrict their time on playing with digital products. Moreover, the more addictive the parents are, the higher the risk of the child becoming addictive too. Therefore, when children start to show addiction towards digital technology, it might be best for the parents to reflect on their own frequency in playing with digital products and be a convincing role model.