The internet is creating lonely kids

The internet may have made the world a much smaller place, but for kids who are logged on to the net every second of their free time, its also making growing up a very lonely experience, a study reveals.

London, May 4 : The internet may have made the world a much smaller place, but for kids who are logged on to the net every second of their free time, it's also making growing up a very lonely experience, a study reveals.

The study, charity Save the Children, has found that the present generation of kids are so intent on spending time on solitary pursuits such as listening to music on their iPods, or surfing the net, that they are not developing necessary social skills.

This in turn means that it is becoming increasingly difficult for today's kids to make friends.

The charity surveyed 100 teachers as a part of their study, and found that 70 percent are in agreement that the net is making kids solitary creatures.

This is also a reason, the researchers feel, that bullying is becoming such a common trend, for kids without the social skills don't know how to relate properly to their peers.

A third of the teachers question also said that loneliness and difficulties in making friends was fast becoming common among kids.

Only 5 per cent believed children were getting better at relating to each other.

Lorna Redden, the charity's school development manager, said that the study was important as it showed how technology is making it harder for kids to interact with each other.

"This research is showing that use of Internet chatrooms, mobile phone games and that kind of technology is making it harder for children to interact with each other. What children do outside school does have an impact," the Daily Mail quoted her, as saying.

The researchers also found that another very common phenomenon taking place was "exclusion bullying", in which children are ignored or left out of friendship groups.

"If you're just sitting in front of a computer screen when you go home from school, it is not going to help you interact with friends when you go to school. Social skills potentially deteriorate as a result and schools are having to work that much harder," added Redden.

To beat such a trend, the researchers found that schools are increasingly turning to schemes such as "buddy bus stops" - designated places around the school or playground for lonely or miserable children-to sit. Other pupils are then encouraged to "pick them up".

"The research is disheartening because it shows schools are not as friendly as they could be," said Lorna Redden.

ANI