smartphone

Screen time is affecting children's sleeping behavior, public health institute RIVM concluded in its first ever study into the effect of smartphones, tablets and televisions on the sleep of kids between the ages of 8 and 18. Because of screen use, children postpone their sleep and go to sleep later. Teenagers sleep an average of 40 minutes less. Teenagers also wake up more often at night and have more difficulty staying awake during the day, RTL Nieuws reports.

Tablet and smartphone use can lead to nearsightedness among children, according to a study by Erasmus MC. The researchers monitored 1,000 Rotterdam children for years. At age 13 a quarter of them were near sighted, compared to 2.5 percent at age 6, RTL Nieuws reports.

Eyesight problems therefore increased over the years. Smartphones and tablets may be behind it, the researchers believe. The researchers assume that similar figures apply to children in the rest of the Netherlands. Looking at nearby objects for prolonged periods is bad for the eyes. 

An investigation into money laundering and stolen goods possession against a 44-year-old Bulgarian man and his 43-year-old wife, both living in The Hague, led the police to solving of over 260 smartphone thefts in the Netherlands. The phones were sold in a store in Bulgaria with the striking name "Occasion Den Haag", the police said in a statement on Friday.

Last year seven people from different Dutch cities reported their smartphones being stolen by pickpockets. The 'find my iPhone' app showed that all phones were at the same address in Schilderswijk, The Hague.

Dutch politicians want to intensify the fight against texting while driving. The VVD wants the police to always check a smartphone's history after a traffic accident, to see if it was being used during the accident, parliamentarian Remco Dijkstra said to the Telegraaf.

According to the VVD parliamentarian, the police can already check smartphones to see whether a driver had both hands on the wheel, but they rarely do so. The VVD also wants stricter punishments for smartphone use while driving. The party calls for the punishment for this to be the same as for drunk driving. 

A prisoner in the Alphen aan den Rijn prison was caught recording videos and posting them online with a smartphone that was smuggled into the prison. The prison directors discovered the videos on Instagram this week, a spokesperson for the Ministry of Security and Justice confirmed to NU.nl.

Immediately after the videos were discovered, multiple cells were searched. The prison guards found four cellphones with chargers and a small amount of soft drugs. Only one of the prisoners used a smartphone for vlogging, according to the news site. 

Telecom provider KPN and the foundation for safe traffic in the Netherlands VVN teamed up to invent a smart bicycle lock. The lock is not only an anti-theft measure - it can only be unlocked with a smartphone app - but also prevents cyclists from using their smartphones while cycling. If the bike is unlocked, the phone's network connection is disconnected, NU.nl reports. 

Vodafone and KPN customers can now use their Android phones to pay for public transport in the Netherlands. This new way of payment was launched across the Netherlands on Monday, after years of cooperation between public transit companies, KPN, Vodafone and the public transport card maker Translink, NU.nl reports.

Dutch public transit companies are teaming up with telecom companies KPN and Vodafone to test using smartphones to pay public transport fares. The test already started, with the new HTM trams in The Hague premiering the service, NU.nl reports.

Vodafone Nederland struggled with a nationwide fault on their 4G network on Wednesday, resulting in customers struggling or being unable to access the internet on their smartphones. The service disruption lasted several hours and was resolved halfway through Wednesday evening

Nearly half of the 1.2 million over 75 year olds in the Netherlands do not have an internet connection.

Tele2 customers with smartphones that can handle 4G connections, will be transferred onto the faster network within 3 months, spokesperson Jan-Willem Gussinklo confirmed to NU.