Sir, – That texting and over-use of the internet is being cited as the fastest-growing area of marriage difficulties, according to Accord (“Texting contributing to problems”, Home News, December 31st), comes as no surprise. In addition, younger adults choosing to spend more time communicating electronically rather than meeting up is perhaps one of the reasons the HSE is experiencing record levels of mental problems among young adults.
As a parent with an involvement in education, I have noticed a dramatic increase in the usage by parents of electronic gadgetry, leaving them very little time to talk with their children. Some parents are even giving their young children “baby i-Pads” and hand-held mini-computer games to keep them occupied while the parents squander away the day fiddling with smartphones or browsing the internet.
The result is that many children are growing up in silent households where verbal communication is drastically diminished – this is leading to delayed speech and social isolation among these children. – Yours, etc,