The average adolescent is spending greater than 7 hours/day involved with Electronic Media (EM). If they are involved in electronic gaming they are slowly becoming inured to carnage. They witness or partake in the murder of hundreds of thousands of e-People over the years. A report from the official Journal of Pediatrics finds a real downside to over immersion in EM. They report that one perpetrator of a lethal school shooting never shot a real gun before his killing spree. Yet he had accurate and deadly aim form his experience in first person shooter games. In addition in a number of other shooter events the perpetrator was found to be invested in one aspect or another of EM to the exclusion of almost all real time relationships. This along with the avatar goes a long way to the blurring of reality and the identification with the powerful fantasy.

Signs of too Much EM in the Young

Health indicators are the first tell. Obesity, disrupted sleep, attention difficulties are often the first signs.

Social indicators also indicated difficulties. Is your child developing real friends and, in fact, spending time with them?

Emotional Signs: Anxiety and depression are often the result of living in the over idealized fantasies of the virtual world. They can be a direct result of the lack of real connection.

Moreover, look for signs of cyber bullying. Everyone is a navy seal on line. So bullying can result from the invulnerability one can find online.

How Parents Make Positive Changes to Help Their Children

There is no doubt we are all too busy. It is very tempting and effective to sit our children down with an electronic babysitter. True, they can learn an awful lot. However, they can also learn an awful lot. Are you going to be happy with the role models they choose? Perhaps if you share the experience with them you will end up guiding them into useful areas. Left unattended – the evils of the world await one click away from wherever you were last watching your children.

It is fair to say the more time you spend guiding a child’s experience the less you have to fear about them making choices you would not approve.

I also recommend limiting the amount of EM allowed. That will prove very unpopular with the typical adolescent – but it redirects social angst to finding solution is the real world and without a gun.

Establish “NO EM” zones such as the dinner table.

Trust and Verify you child’s online activity.