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Dockterman's Opinion On The Effect Of Digital Use On Children

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As the digital age expands across the population, parents are starting to get concerned about the effect of digital use on children. In Eliana Dockterman’s “the digital parent trap,” Dockterman expressed her opinion on the use of digital electronics in children. Dockterman employed statistics, reference to other research, and industry outlook to emphasize that parents should encourage the use of digital electronics with a limit. Dockterman began her argument with a statement of statistics, showing that the current generation of children is the tech-savviest in history. She presents that 27% of the children use tablets, 43% use smartphones, and 52% use smartphones, which showed that the current trend of prevalence is here to stay. She also gave the statistics of technology use in schools, demonstrating schools’ growing awareness of technology. However, she then presented that “barely half of U.S parents agree that mobile technology should play a more prominent role …show more content…

She first presented Waldorf, a school with traditional opinions on digital electronics, to show the readers a typical example of opposition against digital technology. She then sharply transitions to a discussion about the benefits of the Internet and computer games. She referenced to prestigious institutions such as the University of California, MIT, and the American Academy of Pediatrics, these studies not only agreed that technology offer “cognitive benefits”, but they also suggested that older studies against technology were outdated and is not suitable towards today’s youth. Dockterman’s reference to these studies solidified her argument supporting technology use. It channeled a message towards parents across the nation that technology use is beneficial towards the well-being of children and that the older studies are becoming obsolete in today’s

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