Apparently, being a kid and trying to grow up isn’t enough anymore; now you need perfect skin, a gym routine, and a curated aesthetic by age 10. However, the real issue is that kids aren’t just on their phones—they’re being pushed into adulthood way too early. As children scroll on their phones two to three hours a day, they are being exposed to unrealistic beauty standards. To further contribute to this impact, social media normalizes adult habits such as dieting, skincare, and gym routines. This may not seem like a large problem, but it causes comparison, decreased mental health, and stress in children’s minds. Allowing phones and social media to shape childhood is not something that should be seen as harmless. While kids may enjoy the freedom that comes with being online, this constant exposure pushes them into adult expectations long before they’re ready.
Remember the days when we were kids, running around the school playground, playing cops and robbers with our entire class? We didn’t notice it, but at one point, imagination was replaced with screens, the sudden change from running around to scrolling through social media. Now, what used to be “free time” turned into screen time except during after-school hours, evenings, and weekends for both boys and girls as young as four. Phones became the only source for entertainment, social connection, and trends. The convenience that screens created when compared to outdoor play made them a preferred choice for the majority of children. This shift in how kids spend their time evidently exemplifies how phones are erasing traditional childhood moments, shaping a generation whose free time is increasingly digital.
Phones and social media not only change how kids spend their time, but they also actively create pressure to grow up faster. Primarily, when social comparisons are created, they affect mental health at a young age. When kids begin to constantly compare themselves to influencers and peers, it generates early anxiety and self-consciousness. This causes a set of pressures to develop that make children believe they need to “fix” their physical appearance and lifestyle. Makeup, skincare, gym routines, and dieting are adult habits that children prematurely pick up due to what they believe is necessary to fit in. This not only lowers the necessary self-esteem for children to feel confident in themselves, but also causes the loss of creativity and can weaken real-life friendships due to obsessions with trends and the necessity of communicating online.
When childhood is measured in screen time and Snapchat streaks, long-term impact on who kids become and what future generations will act like intensifies. A tiny screen not only controls a kid’s days, but also creates consequences for them that they are not even aware of. Among teens and children, anxiety, depression, and low self-esteem have been on the rise. Furthermore, due to the constant need to meet adult-like standards, digital devices create burnout for kids as they try to fit the perfect appearance, fitness routine, and achieve productivity on that day. Additionally, instead of riding bikes or jumping on trampolines, kids are making TikToks or planning aesthetic Instagram photos. This causes kids to miss their opportunities to explore, create, and socialize in person, all helping to contribute to building a child to be social and imaginative.
Childhood is disappearing with the scroll of a video as screens continue to create societal pressure and the sense of perfectionism to be superior over imagination and innocence. As phones become more common among adolescents, kids spend more time on phones than outdoors, focusing on adult habits and constant comparison. These changes have caused long-term consequences for future generations. Childhood should not be a race to be scrolled through; it should instead be a laugh to be experienced, a book to be read, and a new hiding spot to be discovered.
