Children, the Internet, and How It Affects Social Skills
Since the internet became a mainstream thing everyone has been hooked onto it. Adults, teenagers and even young children are spending most of their time on the internet. Have you ever wondered if children, ages 4-15, who are on the internet all day long start to lack social skills? Is playing online more beneficial than playing outdoors? I noticed that all the kids on my block, including my younger sister, are always playing on their iPads, tablets and phones. All they ever talk about is their animal jam accounts or how much followers they have on musically. Are these games and apps making kids more social or is affecting the way they socialize with other people? If kids are being affected is it too late to veer them off that path.
Children nowadays are always on the internet, for entertainment purpose and even educational ones. The internet has become a necessity in today way of life. In today’s modern world even schools use the internet to educate students and keep them connected. Elementary schools use the advantage of the internet to help kids read more via specific websites and they even use Apps to have teachers and parents communicate about how the child is doing. Surely the internet isn’t all that bad, but is it helping kids become more educated and helping them develop their social skills through their interactions on the internet. Some say that kids who play games on the internet are learning how to
After reading the online article “10 Great Things Teens Learn While “Playing” Online” by Christy Matte and the magazine article “ Teens and the Internet: How Much is Too Much? “ by Stephanie Newman , it is clear that teens should be limited to the amount of time used online daily. The use of the internet may be beneficial; it all depends on how the student uses it. Teens should not be able to use a significant about of time online because it affects their social isolation, physical and also mental health.
I personally believe that the internet does not socialize adolescents. The internet does not socialize adolescents, if anything it causes adolescents to become antisocial. Adolescents become antisocial, because the internet has many social sites which gives others the chance to hide behind a computer or cellphone screen. In person adolescents tend to be more into their electronic devices than getting to know others and socialize. Everything has become available through a cell phone or an other device, for instance if someone wanted to talk to their friends they can easily text or call a friend instead of having a face to face conversation. Nowadays adolescents are very antisocial because of their internet.
Lewis, Renee. (2014 August 22). Digital Media erodes Social skills in Children. AljazeeraAmerica. Retrieved from http://america.aljazeera.com/articles/2014/8/22/digital-social-skills.html
The older kids who were born in 1998 through roughly 2002, so between the ages of 18 and 14, seem to have much less of a dependence on technology for interaction, because they can remember a time when technology was not always right there in their pockets. This is something that you can see just in walking down the street, and interestingly enough, the iphone came out in 2007, and that is when technology really took off. But for that younger age group, they have never known a life without all this technology. They all have phones, most of them have smartphones, or ipods which today are almost the equivalent of a smartphone. They are all constantly connected to their friends, always posting, snapping, sharing, liking, revining, commenting, they never have to be alone. It also seems that every other time you turn a corner, a parent is telling their kid to get off of their phone, or take out the headphones. And when they finally put them away, they are still distracted, wondering who might be texting them, or who just posted a picture. Parents are suggested to let kids do their thing on their phone, but it is a good idea teaching them how to be safe (Social Networking), because there are all kinds of stuff out there that children probably shouldn't be exposed to. But what does this say about the future? When the kids finally look up from their phones, are they going
This could negatively affect the children, because this would make it harder for parents to teach their kids manners and/or talk to them about the process of growing up. In "What Adolescents Miss Growing Up in Cyberspace," Brent Staples argues that children that have easy access to internet connection have a difficult time maturing. He points out that people who often use electronic devices have a hard time socializing in person: "teenagers nowadays are both more connected to the world at large than ever, and more cut off from the social encounters that have historically prepared young people for-the move-into adulthood." Having internet connection allows children to gain information they do not need to know (such as sex, drugs, prison, family problems, and etc.) So when their parents try to educate their children about the process of growing up, the child feels like they know everything their parent is going to say because they have already gained some information about the subject on social
In today’s society we are overwhelmed with technology. Technology is changing everyday, and will forever be a staple in our lives. The effect that technology has on our children has brought on some concerns and some praises. Children these days have no choice but to some how be influenced by the ever growing technology in our societies. Our common concern has been that although digital technology has boosted children’s talent for multitasking, their ability to process information deeply may be deteriorating (Carpenter, 2010). Many people have a wide range of opinions on if technology is having a positive influence on our children or a negative, there is a vast amount of evidence to support both of these arguments. Technology can refer to
First off I'd like to start off by saying how important social interaction is. When we interact with others it teaches us people skills, and how to participate in the world in person. Kids who spend all of their time in front of screens don't have to interact with people right in front of them. Therefore they aren't having to use their imaginations or learn real world problem solving skills.
If they are a constant user of social media, it takes away necessary interactions with people to learn emotions on a deeper level, compared to just a screen. Luckily, this can be avoided as long as people, especially kids, have time away from their devices. Even better if they were able to take breathers from devices on their own without being pried from them. My second brother (4 years old) and first sister (2 years old) are always on devices when they're eating, lounging, playing, outside and right before bed. They do watch quite a few educational videos and were able to learn their alphabet and whatnot before the required age for their school. However, they don't have any friends besides each other and the occasional visit from their cousin of the same age. My brother especially is horrible when he sees other kids. He claws and pushes and hurts his sister to the point where she has to learn how to just deal with it. There's more factors along with it, but I suspect that he has trouble playing with other kids by the fact that he never interacted with them before. On the other hand, my first brother (5 years old) and third brother (3 years old) are great playing with other kids. They do watch tv too often, but they get to interact with kids and learned how to play responsibly and not hurt
In the past, kids were required to look through books and magazines for the information they needed for assignments, or just for information in general without a lot of distractions. Now technology has brought in a whole new way of gaining new information. It has made the world just a click away, but with some added consequences. While it might seem that the internet has made things a lot easier on today’s generation, it has stunted brain development and made it very difficult for someone to concentrate for long periods of time. Is the internet really helping us or is it causing more problems than it is solving issues?
Access to technology allows kids to communicate with friends and family. As long as it doesn't replace face-to-face interaction, this is very useful for kids. This is a benefit because it allows kids and teens to speak with people far away. In addition, playing online games can help a kid's self-esteem. For example, the article "Media Benefits for Children and Teenagers" explained "For example, joining online clubs can help children practise using social media safely, or playing computer games with friends and family can help them practise turn-taking and cooperation." This emphasizes that screen time can help children bond with their family and friends. Although screen time can be bad if it is used too much, it is the responsibility of the parent or guardian to set limits on screen time based on their child's needs. That is another reason why screen time is benefical for
Today, the Internet is the center of attention for businesses, governments, schools and individuals around the world. It has produced new industries, transformed existing ones, and has become a global cultural experience not only for adults but for children as well. It is a learning tool used to educate in schools and within our homes. The surfacing of the Internet as another means of electronic communication has had a transformative influence on social interaction.
“Internet, mobility, and multimedia are important technology tools that are used in education industry” (Hameed 372).Although the internet is an important tool in the classroom and out, it does have downsides. Websites have become more commercialized, and this has made searching through websites difficult since not all websites are reliable. In the Journal done by Shihab Hameed he says that statistics show that teenagers use the internet more than adults, they use the internet to play games, listen to music and meet new people. Hameed also mentions that it reduces student activity. Students are able to get solutions to homework and as result
On the negative side, children are spending more time indoors playing computer games or the equivalent, but they are not developing interpersonal relationships. As the internet is becoming less of a modern convenience and more of a necessity for humans, young and old, it should be noted that the internet can cause impaired academic achievement, bad time management, and problems with health and interpersonal relationships (Lai & Gwung, 2013). In another study, Laverick (2009) states the children of the 21st century have lives that are interwoven with technology. These children do not know of a world without technology; in the study, this is called “an Eculture” (Laverick, 2009).
With the development of internet, people are able to meet new friends who have the same interest or hobby through the internet. Although, it is easy to make friends on internet, people do not know whether the person they are talking to is good or bad. Some people will also spend most of their time on internet which leads them to less interaction with friends and family. Parents should concern more about their children while they are meeting new friends on internet. Although the internet allows people to stay in touch with distant family and friends, I think the negative effects
The amount of time a child spends on the computer can affect how well they socialize with people in the real world. Children and teens sometimes interact with one another in person by reiterating what they would say to someone on the Internet. One can become very lazy and unwilling to do anything physical but sit on the computer because they do not have to leave their house to talk to or see people anymore.