Proposal 1

Along with the advancement of smartphone industry, smart phone with considerably improved advanced mobile operating system quality are being used wider and wider. Smartphone combines features of a computer operating system is useful for handheld, which is also able to be installed third-party software and provides people much more convenience than mobile and personal laptop. However, negative effects are attracting more attention while people are enjoying the convenient that has brought by smartphone. Studies in past few years show over fifty-eight percent of smartphone users cannot go one hour without checking their phones (B. Fitzgerald, 2012), and the percentage of smartphone addict within total users continue to be higher and higher. Recently, due to the price of smartphones is much cheaper than than origin, more and more people start to use smartphones and even for children can also be able to approach. This situation highlights a more serious problem that has many of child play smartphone as a toy and the smartphone addiction symptoms appear in a low-aged trend (C. Park & Y. R. Park, 2014).

The reasons of smartphone low-aged trend can be attributed to family effect. The first reason is some parents get busy works and have less time to focus on their children or overlook the importance of the home education. They provide smartphones to their children very easily but do not teach them to use it responsibly while their children having no abilities and experiences to judge and discern. This addiction symptom is might also caused by children gain a wrong teaching by precept and example from their parents. Some parents spend a large amount of time on their smartphone immoderately in front of kids. Children in lower age term who adept at mimicking behavior they see from their adults all the time and learn parents’ undesirable phone using habits. “The lower child’s age is, mental development is incomplete and easily immersed, having higher possibility of smart phone addiction” (Y. Cho & H. Lee, 2004). Cheol Park and Ye Rang Park point out “children not attending any education institutions have more time alone at home and because of lack of parents’ resources, they have higher possibility of smart phone addiction” (2014). Smartphone addiction not only influence people’s normally life (eg. distance themselves from family members, lost concentrate with conversation) and health (eg. frozen shoulder, cervical vertebra disease), but also lead into several additional withdraw symptoms when they lost smartphones (eg. shakes, emotional instability, nervous and lost attention) (M. Griffith, 2002).

For prevent or curb low-aged trend in smartphone addiction, parents need to pay more attention on their children and be care of their own behaviors. Provide smartphone to their children is available with basic principle and rules, such as time limiting. Parents are supposed to bring their children into outdoor activities for distract children’s attention from smartphones, even if kids want to play smartphone urgently, parents still can place smartphone using into a reward system and encourage children to find more hobbies and interests during their asking reward process. For the creative product designed for this problem, I plan to work on a special phone case, which will be able to remind people not to use smartphones over time or check their phone frequently, with disturbed widgets or pictures.

Smartphone is surely a good high technology tool which gives people’s life numerous brilliant changes and convenience. However, people need to realize this tool can be a threat to their children while they overusing smartphones and set a wrong model to kids who have no skills to distinguish right from wrong. Parents should teach them to use smartphone responsibly for prevent their child gets negative effects of this without cease (C. Park & Y. R. Park, 2014).

[Cheol Park and Ye Rang Park, “The Conceptual Model on Smart Phone Addiction among Early Childhood”, International Journal of Social Science and Humanity, Volume: 4, 2014, Page 147-150]

[Mark Griffith, “Gambling and gaming addictions in adolescence”, BPS Blackwell, Volume: 13, 2002, Page 2-4]

[Y. Cho and H. Lee, “A study on a model for Internet addiction of adolescents”, Journal of Korean Acad Nurs, Volume: 34, 2004, Page 102-110]

[Britney Fitzgerald, “Americans Addicted To Checking Smartphones, Would ‘Panic’ If They Lost Device (STUDY)”, The Huffington Post, last modified June 23, 2012,http://www.huffingtonpost.com.au/entry/americans-are-addicted-to-smartphones_n_1615293.html?section=australia%5D]

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