The sudden outbreak of Covid-19 in the world left everyone with speculation as to how to react to this situation. The outbreak of pandemic affected almost every individual in some way or another. Some giant economies, like the USA, Germany, France got affected in a very dreadful manner even after having a robust medical infrastructure, these countries seemed to be helpless at the time of the pandemic.

But, on the positive side, we got to learn about many new things, especially about the digital world. Now, the question comes into the mind that whether the positive effects can overpower the negative ones. The answer is absolute 'No' because, in some way or other, we all had to learn all these phenomena about the digital world in the coming future. In my opinion, the sudden learning of the digital world results in a lot of mismanagement and chaos among the society and, the section of society affected most by all this is, Children.

As a result of the Covid-19, many countries imposed lockdown when the pandemic was at its peak, to have the minimal effect of the virus on its people. Because of the lockdown, the physical activities got disrupted and everything went online, whether it is shopping, interaction with others, education, etc. The result of all these happenings is an abrupt increase in the screen time of society, especially children.

What is screen time and how it is affecting Children?

Screen time means that the amount of time that a person spent on a digital device such as television, laptop, smartphone, gaming console, etc. It is very counterproductive for Children to have too much screen time at a very small age. Using too many digital devices can make it hard for children to sleep at night, raising attention problems, anxiety, irritation to the eyes. It also increases the problem of obesity, because sitting in a place for a long time affects the physical activeness of a child.

When the learning of the Children went online, it also caused some impact on the mental wellbeing of the Children. The other problem is that when Children get access to the internet and other online stuff in the absence of proper guidance, it made the children access unnecessary stuff present on the internet easily and made them more prone to prejudice.

What should be done to decrease the impacts on children?

The frequent use of digital media in society becomes new normal but there is something that should also be kept in mind that, while making digital media necessary stuff, the regulation of the same is also important. Various education institutions switched to the online platform as soon as lockdown came into effect but, there are no guidelines as to how these online platforms should perform so that, this sudden change affects the Children in the least way possible.

There are some ways by which there will be a reduction in the on-screen activities:

• In the online learning activities, emphasizing on children, less time duration of the classes and frequent short breaks would help them to get enough rest for their eyes as well as for their mind.
• Parents/guardians should restrict children from accessing screens while having food will help in reducing the overall screen time of Children.
• Parents/guardians should also try to reduce their screen time to aware Children to not use any digital device unnecessarily.
• There should be a proper schedule for Children to use digital devices and try to follow the same.
  

Conclusion
Covid-19 proved to be a huge disaster for us and apart from the pandemic, there are many other problems that we ignored like they do not even exist, and they keep affecting us in some way or other. The increment in the screen time of the Children is a matter of concern for the whole society. Too much usage of digital devices would cause a barrier to the development of the coming generation and would cause a long-term effect on the mental state of the Children.

There is an alarming need to instruct children to use digital devices wisely and cautiously. It is our responsibility to spread awareness about the usage of digital devices properly. First, we have to restrict ourselves from using digital devices unnecessarily, then only, we will be able to teach our coming generations about the pros and cons of the digital world.