A Limit For Their Own Good

Although adults who didn’t have cell phones and computers when they were growing up think that all of this “screen time” is bad for children it really is not, “screen time” is actually good for kids, phones and computers help the human population communicate faster and more efficiently, the average social media user has more close ties, and the opportunities outweigh the so called “distractions”.

Technology has been part of our daily live more frequently than before. Screen time has been more popularly used on kids and adolescents. On a daily bases many kids seem to spend more time inside on their tablets, instead of having to spend time with other kids. This is a problem that is becoming more popular over the years,on whether kids need to spend that much time on technology or not. Parents either seem to have strict technology usage, or they either don’t. There has always been a huge controversy with experts, who either think that screen time is beneficial or could cause problems later on in life. There are many views towards this topic, from hurting kids brains, to helping them during school, and socially.

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)

It is also believed that screen time affects a child’s wellbeing and physical lifestyle negatively. She also has backings from Professor Ben Edwards about the fact that children are less active and their lifestyles are badly affected by screen time. Technology also reduces the enjoyment factor in the minimal physical activities that they do participate in. He states that “Children who spend more time on devices reported feeling less energetic and fit”. Once again the use of Professor Edwards increases the professionality and the sense of how genuine this article really

This previous research, such as that of Dr. Arc Sigman as well as Jerome and Dorothy Singer, is conclusive that parents and educators must be careful with children and their time spent in front of screens. Dr. Sigman studies the issue from a biological standpoint, discussing the mental and physical effects of technology on children (Sigman, 2012).

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

Today children are exposed to a different world than the one their parents grew up in. Consumerism plays a significant influence in children’s lives, including technology. This has led to over usage of technology as a reason for increased health issues in children, and basic building blocks of healthy development being ignored. Children are no longer interested in creative play, which is vital to problem-solving, learning, imagining and thinking. Instead, children can often be found sitting in front of a television, for up to seven hours a day, with their back hunched over and in an almost zombie like state of mind.

It is explained that past studies were conducted in a time when only video games and TV where the norm and that the advent of smartphones and tablets requires further research. The researchers thus conduct a self-reported survey on 2,620 children from ages 8 to 16 asking their use time regarding common devices including iPads and laptops. The finding was that children ages 8-16 are for the most part exceeding the limit time but the use of the devices and type of use differed depending on the sex, age and even grade of the child. The study also goes into great detail on the fact that schools are more and more embracing technology. This source may be somewhat useful for my paper. My research is supposed to be focused on very young children, 8 – 16 years old is not exactly a toddler. However, the article serves as a reminder that technology use is already very prevalent in older children and becoming a part of standard education. I can use this information to tie it with all my other findings about importance of adopting

Instead of completely keeping children from technology, parents should allow them to use it in the right way. Interactive games and applications can be a beneficial learning tool for children. Dan D. Young, the founder of VINCI and the creator of VINCI Blended Learning, explains how technology is beneficial for children in his article, “Technology can Stimulate the Infant Brain”, by pointing out that “when properly selected, these games get infants to slow down and think, thus making decisions and exercising the gears in their brains.” Technology will improve the way children think and process things if parents find the right applications instead of just letting the children play fun games that will not teach the child anything. Parents with

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

Technology has become something that people today cannot seem to survive without. Our society relies on technology to do everything for us. Technology has its advantages and can be very helpful to people in their everyday life, but it also has its fair share of disadvantages. Due to the advance in technology, people in our society today are being faced with potentially harmful problems such as developmental issues in children as they age, people are beginning to lack social skills, and children’s everyday behavior is worsening.

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

With new technology and advances in education it is no wonder the use of computers, iPads, and other devices are trickling into the daily life of our younger generations. Perhaps these advances could be doing more harm than providing the enriching education parents and schools think they are. There are now elementary schools where every child has their own iPad and middle schools with Chrome Books the students can take home. Even paper textbooks are being replaced with electronic versions. The use of technology moving forward with education needs to be balanced with critical factors involving a child’s development. Children must be separated from constant attachment to screens to properly learn and develop necessary social skills to become adults who are able to interact and communicate.

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.

The negative effects of the overuse of technology on children can seem overwhelming, considering how widespread it is used today and its future role in American society. What can be done to try to compress these possible effects on children? The answer may not be found too far from the surface, but it is a simple and effective solution; technology should be used in moderation with developing children. Parents and guardians play a huge part in this, like explained from before with the factor of parenting styles. They are the caretakers of the children, and they spend the most time with them allowing them to monitor their children’s activities. Parents and guardians can regulate how much time their children spend using technology at home. Parents do not have to be overly strict about these limits, but to just keep in mind how often their children use technology. William Bowden explains this as how parents should monitor the use of technology for their children when they are young, and when they are older, the children will be more responsible and can use it by themselves. The accessibility of electronics ties into this. Parents should also be aware of the appropriate age that their children