The 2020 confinement changed the patterns of digital consumption in families, with the smallest having the greatest impact. The Miguel Hernández University of Spain reaffirmed this in its study “Immediate psychological effects of the COVID-19 quarantine on young people in Italy and Spain”, on the impact of technology on children, which has increased by 73%.
The result of this practice has triggered several direct and indirect consequences, including health problems, mainly the increase in myopia in children given virtual classes, games or entertainment videos; likewise, family disconnection has increased, leaving out the space for coexistence.
Given this, Camila Pozo, a psychologist, highlights that technology is a powerful tool with extensive benefits; However, its excessive use could interfere with a healthy family relationship “eating with the cell phone at the table, watching TV or prioritizing virtual games vs. the traditional ones generate consequences in the medium and long term”.
When the expert talks about the consequences in children, she reveals that this disconnection affects the well-being of the child at home and if there is no supervision over what he watches or plays, he could acquire new behaviors.
Pozo highlights the need to include board games, crafts, traditional games, family cooking, reading together, or dynamic activities such as sports on a daily basis to arouse interest in sharing with family or friends. Stickies, jumping rope, tops, hopscotch, hoops, marbles, hidden, burned, sports are a good option if it comes to strengthening family ties.
“The importance of putting these activities into practice not only contributes to the connection or family dynamics, it also generates affective ties, allows family members to get to know each other, generates security in children and adolescents, and develops their social skills” maintains the specialist.
This situation has become a challenge for families and even the food industry, which innovates every day and aims to generate attractive proposals for parents and children. The brands Ruffles, Kellogg’s, Cheetos, among others, have been including toys or games for children in their presentations for several years.
Today, more and more companies join this vision of family strengthening and social development. Yogurt Kiosko Surprise, which has spent several years in Ecuador developing attractive toys for children, which are found inside the product packaging, thus promoting well-being and technological disconnection, an example of which is its recent campaign “Lo Clásico Pega” which includes a collection of stickies (sticky figures in the shape of animals).