Despite being so rich, world-famous striker Cristiano Ronaldo did not allow his son to use a mobile phone.

According to Thu Sun, world famous striker Cristiano Ronaldo did not allow his son to use a mobile phone. He is worried that the boy will be ‘obsessed with technology’ like other children of the same age, so he always refuses his son’s requests to buy his own phone for easy communication.

At Al Wasl Plaza in Dubai, Ronaldo was asked whether technology contributed to his success and popularity today. The Portuguese football star replied:

“Technology has definitely helped a lot. It can be very useful to me in particular and everyone around the world in general. But I think we should only take advantage of those advantages and not be obsessed with them.’

For Ronaldo, concerns about obsession are greater than the conveniences that technology brings. Photo: The Sun

“For example, I can tell a story like this. My oldest son is 11 years old and about to turn 12 years old. Many times my son asked me, ‘Dad, can I have a phone’, ‘Let me have a phone’… I just told him, ‘Cristiano, You cannot own, you can only borrow’.”

Cristiano Ronaldo added: ‘I know clearly that today’s young generation is growing up earlier than their actual age. Therefore, I believe that we must take good advantage of technology but not be obsessed with it. Let children borrow it for a certain period of time, but absolutely do not let them own it full time. Personally, I think this is the core issue.”

Cristiano Jr. will turn 12 years old in June and is the eldest of Ronaldo’s four children. The five-time Golden Ball winner said he refused his son’s request to buy a phone four years ago.

At that time, the Portuguese icon said: ‘One day, Junior suddenly wanted me to buy an iPhone so he could easily contact and call me. But my answer is no. If the boy wants to call me, he can completely ask for advice and borrow her phone.’

‘I want to pass on to my son the idea that it is not easy to achieve whatever you want. Education is the best thing I can give him,’ the male striker shared.

A recent UK study found that most children own a mobile phone by the age of 7 and found that nine out of 10 children had their own phone device before the age of 11.

The report, based on a survey of 2,167 five- to 16-year-olds in the UK, also found that 53% of teenagers had started owning a mobile phone as early as age seven.

Ofcom has called this the ‘age of digital independence’ with 24% of three and four year olds having a tablet and 15% of them being allowed to take the device to bed.

According to Yih-Choung Teh, director of research and strategy at Ofcom, “Most children have never known the big outside world. They are only exposed to the world through the internet. That’s why mobile phones have become so popular as the device of choice for children today. However, in many aspects, children cannot distinguish between the online and offline worlds through the small screen.’

Ofcom also conducted a survey around parents about their concerns about these numbers. The results showed that about 45% of parents think that the benefits of letting children use the internet will outweigh the possible risks.

According to many researchers, access to and use of technological devices has contributed to helping children today develop their brains very quickly and learn to adapt to technology more easily. However, they still bring many harmful effects to children.

On the other hand, concerns about young people harming themselves by following what they see on the internet are gradually increasing.

87% of parents with children aged 5 to 15 are having a ‘headache’ seeking advice from experts to keep their children safe from the harmful effects of the internet.

This situation also happens in Vietnam. According to the report analyzing the situation of Vietnamese children (2016) by the Ministry of Labor, War Invalids and Social Affairs and UNICEF, information and communication technology is also rapidly spreading in Vietnam, including among children.

Some typical harmful effects that parents need to be careful of include:

Children’s psychology is easily influenced by violent and unhealthy content.

Phones emit radiation regularly, while the level of radiation absorption in young children can be much greater than in adults. This leads to negative effects on the child’s brain.

Children are easily ‘addicted’ to their phones and only like to spend time using them, so they gradually limit social contact, making themselves quiet, dislike or afraid to talk to people.

While children learn very quickly, it is very difficult for adults to control all content, misleading information or wrong actions online. This makes it possible for children to imitate bad actions and words…