‘Dengvexation’ – toddlers and tablets

I’d like to think that I coined the word “Dengvexation,” where I put together the term Dengvaxia and vexation, as in “unjust vexation.”

What else can we call the fact that the legally unresolved Dengvaxia controversy that started in 2017 has dragged on for seven years, cost litigants millions of pesos in legal fees and personal time and has effectively caused “unjust vexation” for all parties concerned, even the judges who were tasked to hear the cases.

Time and again, the impartiality of judges has been challenged or doubted, causing one judge to state that individuals who work for the same institution as part of government and the justice system should refrain from mechanically or automatically resorting to placing doubts, if not suspicion, on judges who are not deemed friendly to a group.

Out of exasperation and delicadeza, two judges have inhibited themselves from further hearing the cases in order to maintain their integrity and neutrality in the matter. Unfortunately, the longer the cases take, the more money and resources of the judiciary is wasted. Because the legal, medical and scientific questions have not been addressed, even public health policies are suspended in limbo.

In my humble opinion, it is time for the Supreme Court to take the matter into their hands, treat it as matter of urgency and settle the controversy once and for all. Get scientists and friends of the court to address medical and scientific questions and then leave the legal questions and decisions to the Supreme Court.

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Your smart phone or tablet is not a babysitter. Giving a smart phone or tablet to a baby or toddler is equivalent to giving that child the digital form of a mind-bending drug that in the long term will cause a child to develop various forms of addiction in their future such as online gambling, compulsive online shopping and binge watching.

Even worse, some doctors suggest that early pediatric exposure to and dependency on smart phones and tablets seriously stunt the development of certain parts of the human brain that lead to aberrant behavior and violent tendencies. So how come our legislators, educators and doctors are not highlighting this threat to babies and toddlers?

The last time legislators and educators talked about students and mobile phones, they were all in agreement that mobile phones should not be allowed in classrooms, the more liberal mentors suggested that the phones simply be turned off, left in lockers or designated tables or boxes.

Given how addicted we adults are to our smart phones, it goes without saying that we should set the example at home, particularly during mealtimes, family time or even during worship or church services. In one form or another each of us has our own feet of clay or sink hole where we unconsciously get hypnotized by what’s on our screen.

While there is a continuing debate on whether to allow or not allow mobile phones in classrooms, no one seems to have noticed, considered or wished to point out how toddlers as young as six months to the Terrible Twos or Terrifying Threes are not just allowed to use mobile phones to watch cartoons, but are now being babysat by smart phones and tablets.

We see this everywhere that a baby or toddler may be – at the mall, a restaurant, a family gathering or outdoors in a stroller. Toddlers are glued to their smart phones or their parent’s smart phones. We think nothing of it but the minute they drop the phone, or someone takes it away, you can see the transformation from “cutie pie” to “Chucky” the murderous character from the horror movie “Child’s Play.”

From being entertained and transfixed by the screen, their faces transform into a face of shock, anger and pure displeasure. Like addicts being thrown into a padded cell, they start screaming, crying, tearing and kicking anything within reach. Yes, the term is correct – like addicts. Several doctors and psychologists have referred to it as digital screen addiction and it has been an observed condition for several years, made more evident during the COVID pandemic.

While legislators and educators worry about the disruptive effect of mobile phones in classrooms, has the DOH undertaken any research or study regarding the long-term effects of digital screen addiction from six months onwards? Based on a scattering of talks and interviews, the impression I get is that early and long-term use of smart phones and tablets inhibit or slow down the development of certain parts of the brain.

The worst case suggestion is that because of such under development and pediatric age addiction or dependency, the child could develop a pattern or susceptibility to addictive behaviors and violent tendencies. I’m not a doctor so I don’t know, but given that children’s minds and mental development are at great risk towards “criminal behavior and violence,” shouldn’t legislators, pediatricians and educators start getting together and seriously looking into the matter?

Why wait for “Chuckies” to evolve, why risk the future of Filipino children by playing safe and waiting for someone else to raise the red flag? Politicians make a big deal when our literacy scores place our school children on the bottom rung but none of them takes a pro-active stance on regulating or prohibiting parents and guardians from giving electronic gadgets to babies and toddlers.

If society and legislators see it fit to pass a law on the use of a child seat and seat belts as well as safety helmets while using bicycles, etc., then we should pass a law banning and prohibiting a child’s access to and use of smart phones and tablets – at least before official school age or as recommended by the Philippine Pediatric Society.

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