Communication Technology and the End of Childhood

As far back as I can remember I have had a happy childhood. I didn’t grow up depending on technology to teach me the alphabet or learning to draw pictures on an iPad. Instead I played outside for hours in my tree house inventing new ways to climb the tree in my backyard, and learning to color inside the lines of my coloring book that I bought with the quarters I earned with my lemonade stand at the end of my drive way. Families that make up our society and individuals are affected by different aspects of technology everyday. The digital age that we have rapidly approached since the 2000’s has effected minds of young children teaching them to play a digital game in a computer

Many people have a fear of children spending too much time in front of screens. Screen time isnt always a bad thing though. Technology has improved throughout the years, and it's no longer necessary to fear it. Screen use and technology have been proven to be essential parts of our everyday life. It only makes sense to encourage our children to take part in reaping the many benefits it has to offer.

According to a 2010 Kaiser Foundation study, which involved elementary children, concluded that on average 75 percent of parents allowed their children to have bedroom TV’s, North American households keep their TV’s on for 50 percent of the day, and use 7.5 hours of technology entertainment per day (Rowan). Technology is becoming a problem throughout the United States, especially in elementary aged kids. Parents are introducing technology as early as infants so that they understand certain information at an early age. When parents introduce technology at such an early age they are giving their children the advantage to be addicted to the wonders of it. Young children are at a high risk of brain damage with the advancement of technology. The more adults introduce technology to younger children the higher the chances of problems it causes. Technology has a negative effect on younger children and should have limitations on the age in which it is being introduced.

When it comes down to a child’s creativity, it is being drained by the pre-generated creative art studios on computers. Before if a child wanted to show how artistic they could be, they would pull out a box of crayons or makers and draw a picture straight from their imagination. Now, we have coloring templates with preset colors that make children color inside the lines. The pseudo creativity has parents fooled into believing

Children have been losing their childhoods and their innocence since the dawn of modern society and media. Before the dawn of the modern world, children actually had the time to play, daydream, use their imagination, and just be a kid. However, modern society has put this pressure on children to grow up faster and faster that their childhood all bu

In these modern times it is no secret that computer technology has become part of our everyday lives. Being an 18 year old kid now I still remember when I was in grade school I didnt have half of the technology these kids have now. It is almost getting out of hand what 10 year old kid needs a iphone and a smart watch. My own nephews are 3 and 4 and they wont put down there tablets ever. They go into screaming fits if you take it away from them.

The organization Alliance For childhood (2012) is concerned with the rise of and overuse of screen technology especially on very young children. According to the Alliance For childhood (2012), technology is interfering with “young children’s active and hands-on creative play, time with nature, and their face-to-face interactions with caring adults and other children” (p. 5). The Alliance For childhood (2012) believe that because technology is moving at a rapid rate educators do not have enough time to fully understand the ramification it has on education, developmental, ethical, and social aspect of their design and use. Additionally, the Alliance For childhood (2012) are concerned with the decline of creative play that technology has on

Many parents nowadays don’t even second guess handing their kid an tablet or phone to occupy them while they are running errands or eating. This is likely because the most convenient way to get a kid’s undivided attention for a prolonged period of time- no matter how young or old they are- is to put a screen in front of them. It has been said by the older generations that we are too consumed with technology, but in a world that is fast becoming technology dependent, the question ‘how early is too early to introduce technology to kids?’ arises. Some say that it is never too early- to start right off the bat and incorporate it in their everyday lives. Others disagree and say that technology should not be used until after the age of two due to

We do this by providing them with an education but when you really think about, we are pushing the children away from childhood. We shouldn’t be spending “great sums of money on electronic entertainment centers that don’t speak to the soul’s need for child-like direct pleasure”(53). I agree that, “child wisdom is different from adult wisdom, but it has its place” (53). Children need to be appreciated and given the time to be a child. They need to be able to play, explore, and wonder, as it is imperative, to the care of their soul. I also think there is some truth in that we tend to push children into adulthood because we ourselves long to be childish. We no longer can play, be silly or stay up and sleep all day because we are adults and it is frowned upon. We must be mature and go to bed at a reasonable time because we must work and provide for our family. I know that my soul longs for child inside of

Have you ever watched the movie “Stand by Me” and wished that could have been your childhood? The life of adventure with your childhood best friends? My childhood was similar to this movie and there are no other memories like the ones from my childhood. We all had a wild imagination and each of us were willing to put in an effort to make our ideas a reality. Whether the idea would take a few hours or even days. However, childhood adventures like mine and the movie’s are rare in today’s fast paced world.

The article discusses several strategies to balance technology with more traditional play experiences to assist parents and teachers. 1) Provide children a balanced play experience. For every 30 minutes a child plays with technology, provide them the same amount of time to play with traditional non-digitized toys. Also, mix in outdoor play experiences. If outdoor play isn’t always a daily option; make sure to plan some time for the children to play outside or go to the park. 2) Look for games and apps that are appropriate for your child. Play the games with them. Scaffold learning during this time the same as you would when your participating in non-technology play. 3) Don’t be afraid of technology. Technology offer a lot to children and, when used in moderation along with other forms of play, it can be very educational. That’s why it’s important for teachers and parents to understand how the children are using the technology so they can use it to help scaffold their

Today everyone is using technology no matter how old they are. Ever since technology came out, it has been stapled to our lives forever. Today, a toddler of 12 months of age is spending hours using technology. There are lots of controversies whether technology is good or bad for our children. Many say technology can affect our children social skills, while others state that technology benefits our children because technology can be a resourceful way of helping children learn a variety of skills. It is hard to decide whether is good or bad to exposed our children to technology. What many people should realize, is that our children can use technology but to a certain extent.

Today’s technology has greatly impacted the young children’s everyday lives. Phones, tablets, and computers are all a form of technology that impact the way kids are influenced. Some children get phones or computers at young ages and it can cause kids to depend on it to entertain them. Eventually they will allow the technology to take over and have it become the form of communication between friend and family instead of face to face. As parents continue to buy their children new technology they don’t monitor the amount of time their children spend on the Internet. Technology is becoming more advanced overtime which causes children to become more attached and unable to function without it near by.

It is widely believed by many that the ever-increasing proliferation of technology within entertainment has had detrimental effects on those children exposed to them, with many youngsters forgoing the more traditional pursuits in favour of digital interaction with online acquaintances or artificial intelligence. Entertainment now contains a wide variety of technologies including television (standard or interactive), music, computers, games consoles, toys and the internet, to name but a few. The aim of this study is to identify whether these technologies have an impact on the behaviour of children in either a negative or positive aspect.

Another source of the overdependence of technology in children is school. At school, they are introduced to technology at a very young age, sometimes even in preschool. Children are introduced to calculators at a very young age, helping them with math problems they should be able to do in their heads. The teachers are encouraging it so the students don’t take the time to learn how to do it out and then struggle when they have no calculator. Also, children today are proven to have much worse handwriting than in the past. They are now expected to type English essays and in elementary school; many aren’t taught cursive but rather how to use computers. For example, in 2009, 97 percent of teachers had at least one computer in their room, and out of that, 93 percent of the computers were connected to the Internet (Gray, Thomas, Lewis). Intelligence is continuously decreasing due to all of the shortcuts children now are able to take advantage of. In some aspects, the advancements are really aiding students. They have almost any information they can imagine wherever they go, just by going to Google. Typing is neat and