The good thing is...leastways something that I forget at times "consciously", is that the Lord is present and it's not like you can't turn away with his help. Some of these things leave scars, but eventually I think, scars are only a reminder...they don't actively interact except in memory.
Brain plasticity is another piece of good news...but there is some decent evidence that the longer you do something, the less likely your brain can "repurpose" itself completely. An example of this is smoking cigarettes...Depends on the person but it could take a year or it could take 10.
There were times when I took solid breaks from the internet, gaming, phones...I felt a lot better. Almost like eating meat/veggies again vs candy.
I presume that it's worse for children because their brains are still developing...but it can also rebound much more easily so there is that.
I think limiting the interaction is a reasonable move. It's pretty hard to cut it out completely (referring to tech in general). There's a lot of "organic tech" is what I call it. Basically the Lord's technology/programs (ex: plants/animals/nature
) and I don't ever feel guilty if I spend the day out hiking but I do when I play a video game all day.
I mean I'd feel slightly guilty if I had responsibilities that I was blowing off, but feel considerably worse if I blew them off for technology.
Tech also seems to seriously minimalize interpersonal interaction...which is a given, but it can be used interactively it just requires a bit more effort.
I can see how it would be difficult as a parent to curtail technology use in the same way it would be hard to curtail children wanting candy or treats.
A lot of it is just having too much spare time on your hands and being bored. Consequently, this instant gratification "syndrome" can make you bore easily. Tough situation.
I tried to be brief, but there really is tons to say on this topic. It is something that dominates a large block of a lot of people's lives, so it seems somewhat unreasonable that there is not much to be said. Just hard in a forum post to be succinct without cover pages with the pertinent info and then personal thoughts with interaction following. Also, the info is consistently become more available so I mostly just focus on my own personal convictions a lot of times and what scripture suggests or says directly.
Perhaps this is just not the most ideal platform for bulk information. I just know there are some people who the info is what makes the decision for them, and for others it's the conviction...impossible to know sometimes.