Is Technology Really Having On Our Children?

Technology’s impact in the 21’st century is very evident as it continues to advance rapidly and we have become accustomed to it; causing considerable changes to the overall family structure. It is believed that the use of technology can alter the wiring of the brain (Taylor 2012). When children are exposed to technology, it may condition the brain to pay attention to multiple stimuli; as a result become more distracted and cause decreased memory. Technology also hinders a child’s ability to empathise. They are less likely to pick up on non verbal cues, emotions, and awareness of expressions. Therefore, children with less physical contact tend to have trouble developing social skills. Needless to say, there are also various benefits of the use of technology if integrated appropriately into the early childhood curriculum design. However, the benefits usually tend to get easily overlooked by the negatives. This paper will examine the effects of technology on young children and how it supports their development in all domains including physical, cognitive, and social. I will discuss the results of my research from different articles and explore how the findings could be applied to the work of an early childhood educator respectively.

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.

Increasingly, there is a large dependence on technology today as opposed to ten or twenty years ago. Technology has changed a lot of how life is lived today. It affects shopping, job seeking employment opportunities, entertainment and academics. There is no doubt that technology has set its foundation and is here to stay. One area in which the effects of technology can be clearly noted is in the lifestyle of children. The addiction to technology by children today has increased over the years. This is clearly seen in the developmental progress of children today. This dependence has greatly influenced how children

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

My research project was inspired by my love of children and the many times I have observed children using technology. From this experience I noticed many young children are extremely familiar with technology and the use of technology can have both positive and negative effects on them. As I have researched into this topic, I have learnt there are many beneficial and harmful implications of technological use for children. A finding I have come across on multiple occasions is children should not be using or be in contact with any technology whilst they are under the age of 2. A positive implication includes using technology for educational reasons as opposed to entertainment purposes. Using technology for entertainment or for long periods of time can negatively affect the child psychologically. A key point from my research has lead me to understand technology can have a huge impact on a child’s mental, physical and emotional health. (154 words)

Included below is a summary about the article titled “How Young is Too Young for Technology,” by Josie Gurney-Read, and published by Telegraph. This article talks about the positive and negative impacts when exposing young children to technology. First, Read opens up the article explaining that by the time children start school, 70% are already confident in using a laptop, tablet or smart phone. Read also notes, that 17% of children under the age of three have their own device. The article then discusses that the American Academy of Pediatrics says that children under the age of two should be discouraged from using technology and that preschool kids shouldn’t be using devices for more than two hours per day (Read). Professor Manfred Spitzer

Our oldest son Elliott is the least like his family, where my husband and myself have a strong work ethic it is a struggle to get him to do anything. I firmly believe this is more from the nurture aspect, when it came to things that interested him football, friends, technology he was interested but things that needed to be done day to day it was like pulling teeth. He use to be a go getter, never being told to do anything. Things really changed when he got his first cell phone, you wouldn't think something as small as a phone can change someone but it has and I've seen it in all of my children so far. He was our experiment child, sadly most first born children are, So I strongly feel technology has ruined my children's minds, and made them

Technology has brought us nothing more than negativity toward people. The first effect is health. technology affects individuals' exercises; so children become lazier and are most likely not motivated to work out. Along these lines, numerous health issues like obesity are brought about by the effects of technology. The second impact is communication. Ironically children don't have the chance to socialize with each other in person. They’re wasting their time using electronics instead of exploring the world and developing human nature. In addition, individuals lean toward using communication devices than collaborating in person.

I would have to say that technology is ruining children's lives. The more new things come up the more lazy we get. I would have to say that having a phone is very distracting, but I am able to stay off of it. Not many kids have grown up to be on electronics, but now every kid in the US has some type of device that distracts them from going outside. Not many people tell their kids that they need to go outside and to be active. More and more kids now a days are lazy and don’t do anything. So many kids think that they can function while on the internet, but in reality they can’t. For example, my brother thinks that he will die if he doesn’t get to play his video games. My mother only allows him to play for an hour and only if he has his homework

With a flip of a switch or press of a button, Parents can have their child entertained for hours on end. Televisions and Tablets are the twenty-first century babysitters. The average child spends an astounding 7.5 hours per day on some form of technology (Rowan 2), when the recommend allotted amount of time should be no more than two hours (Kaneshiro 1). Technology is rapidly evolving, making limitless possibilities available for entertainment. This virtual “babysitter” enables the parents to devote all their time and effort into their work or engross in technology with limited amounts of distraction from the children. Although, the parents are able to have free time, excessive amounts of screen time is proven to be detrimental to their child’s health and overall well-being. The technology that is drastically making life easier is a big blessing, but at the same time is a big curse.

At the rate our society’s utilization of technology is advancing, it’s no surprise that children growing up with it will quickly become adept to it. Children can easily navigate their way through technologies such as smartphones, tablets, iPads, etc, because that’s what they are growing up with now. Sure, around the year I was born, computers were a thing. In fact, they actually started to become more widespread in homes and schools back in the 1970s. On one of our home videos, you can hear my mom asking my grandpa where my older sister (2 years old at the time) is at, to which he responds “Oh, Jayci is on the internet again.” Probably referring to a computer game such as Pajama Sam, Spy Fox, or Freddi Fish that was won in a cereal box. Fast forward 17 years, and you see toddlers swiping, unlocking, and locating different features on touch screen devices with ease. When I babysit for my backdoor neighbors, the kids fight over who’s going to use the tablet; for me at their age, it was always the Gamecube controller my sister and I fought over.The point is that with each generation, technology is becoming more and more advanced. Just as toddlers today are exposed to more technology than kids growing up in the 90s, children 10 years from now will grow up in an even further technologically advanced society. But how much technology is too much? Technology is a very versatile tool, but as a society we are headed in

The current generation of children is completely different than the preceding ones. They are living in the digital age. “Technology has blended in with daily activity to become a way of life and children today take for granted all of which is automated. It is hard for kids nowadays to imagine a world that existed without all of the gadgets, electronics and seamless operations that computer technology provides.” (3) “Children in the United States devote some 40 hours a week to television, video games and the Internet.” (12) Many psychologists and researchers are concerned about the impact that technology has on children. Children, tomorrow’s future parents and leaders, are being consumed by the negative effects that technology had on their

Technology is not the reason for childhood being ruined. Modern technology is said to be ruining children’s lives by many professionals. Many professionals have done studies to figure out the truth, only to find out that it is not the technology. Although modern technology may be harmful to children, modern technology is also helping children develop faster, because it enhances social interaction skills, cognitive development and improves concentration.

Imagine being a kid in the 1980’s. Kids back in those days would run around outside all day, using their imagination to create imaginary worlds to travel to imaginary places that made way for creative ideas and inventions as they grew older. One of those inventions turned out to be the tablet, the iPhone, or the netbook. Basically anything that made everything easier. Everything is now easier. One can simply look up an article and read it on their computer or phone, or research the latest fashion trends without having to keep updated on the latest magazine. Easier is okay. Let’s make things easier, but it’s when the easier starts finding its way into school systems. Easy technology usage becomes a problem when it creeps into our school, when the unreliable, and brainwashing abilities of technology creep into the minds of the young to hurt their ability to actually truly learn and experience life for what it should be.

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