Modern Technology : The Excessive Use Of Technology

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.

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.

Every day, the Generation Z/Boomlets, those born after 2001, are starting to interact more and more with technological devices. This can cause very serious consequences and it can affect their development, such as irregular sleeping pattern, lack empathy, social and language skills and health issues. The Common Sense organization did some research and discovered that 10 percent of one year olds have used a technology device. They also found out that 38 percent of children between two and four years old have used mobile devices like iPhone, tablets or Kindles and more than fifty percent between ages five to eight years old also use mobile devices. How can kids have this much access to technological devices at such a young age? I remember I didn’t have my first phone until the ninth grade and it was a flip phone; I received my first iPhone in my senior year of high school. Kids these days are growing up too fast and interacting more and more early with technology and besides affecting their development, this will come back to affect our future.

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

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

Improper use of technology at home and school are raising questions on how this could change a child’s life (Subrahmanyam). Children are allowed to have unlimited access to their devices because parents believe these have educational benefits. This unlimited access has detrimental effects on children. Unfortunately, these long-term effects can start to show later in adulthood. Granted, a majority of schools use technology in the classroom, but parents are still responsible for monitoring their children’s use of technology. Parents can set an example for their children of how to properly use these devices. Children who are introduced to technology at an early age, without proper supervision, will likely suffer from childhood obesity, lack of social skills and behavioral disorder.

When was the last time one stopped to think how much time he/she spends on the media, or the last time that one had a face to face conversation? According to the Pew Research Center, the use of smartphones in particular has increased an astounding 33% from 2011 to 2015 (Anderson). The media is affecting the general population, but most of all the development of children in more ways than adults, of which some may cause lifelong problems for the children. The use of the media and other electronics has drastically increased over the past 4 years, but it is said to increase even more in the coming years. This is leading harmful effects, specifically on children and adolescents, causing bad behaviors and attitudes, decreased intelligence, and worst of all health problems/concerns.

Let’s say about seven years ago a child would always look forward to going home just so he/she could play outside. Most kids would get off the bus, and try to get home as soon as possible. The majority of these kids wouldn’t even spend more than five minutes inside the house when they were already outside jumping rope, playing hop scotch, or playing cops and robbers. Kids didn’t even need for their mothers to call them in, as soon as the street lights came on they knew it was time to head home. However, now in days kids come home slip their shoes off, lay in bed, and spend the rest of the day on their phones. IPhones have come to change the way we now socialize, have “fun”, and learn. Who would’ve thought that technology would be the biggest part of our lives.

Do people ever wonder how a mobile device may benefit a young child’s life rather than immediately assuming that they are too young to be exposed to such technology? According to a report from Growing Wireless, 46% of families today owns at least one tablet. That is a huge number. To put it into perspective, nearly half of the people that someone would encounter on a daily basis has at least one tablet in their homes. A mobile device introduces children to new ways in which they can overcome the problems that they are faced with in their daily lives. A mobile device can help stimulate their brain and provide interaction with others, while also providing apps that can help them engage in physical activities. Mobile devices can positively affect a child’s growth, mentally and physically.

Phones, iPads, tablets, iPods, laptops, computers all facilitate everyday life. Computers become a necessity in a couple of jobs; keeping files, research, reminders, etc. Multiple, effective applications of such technology can be set in place, however, that is not what is being done. Parents are giving children such elaborate devices for absolutely the most unreasonable intentions. Kids merely entertain themselves for far too long, which transforms into isolation. Unknowingly growing separated from educational value, friends, and family. For future generations only disaster emerges, but there is still a way that this can be retained from happening and involvement of parental help is required.

Improper use of technology at home and school are raising questions about how this could change a child’s life (Subrahmanyam). Children are allowed to have unlimited access to their devices because parents believe these have educational benefits. This unlimited access has detrimental effects on children. Unfortunately, these long-term effects can start to show later in adulthood. Granted, a majority of schools use technology in the classroom, but parents are still responsible for monitoring their children’s use of technology. Monitoring their technology use is important because these devices can cause damage to the brain and the body. Children who are introduced to technology at an early age, without proper supervision, will likely suffer from childhood obesity, lack of social skills and behavioral disorder.

Electronics is one of the most advanced tools of our modern time. Humans have been able to develop electronics that can enhance their lives on a significant scale. Over time, the human race has been able to cultivate new ideas and thinking that can help develop new ways our lives can grow with technology. In the short span of twenty years, we have seen the growth of technology age like a child to an adult. We have seen in a short amount of time the remarkable progress of intellectual creativity in the sense that many inventors and ideologist are always discovering new ways technology can be of use. However, with the coming and complexity of these technological advances, we are seeing adverse effects beginning to arise among the population; especially the youth. We are seeing consistent and relative patterns of drawbacks trending among society that is starting to cause a problem amongst our growing children. The next generation of leaders and progressors are no longer thinking on their own. As technology continues to evolve among the crop of growing kids and young adults, self-developmental issues continue to arise such as lack of intellectual independence, a decrease in stimulation of social growth, and even contributes to a rise of health issues. These insightful youths are beginning to lose their touch of self-sufficiency with every new version of the iPhone introduced. While technology can be beneficial and assist us in growing in a much broader intellectual capacity, the rate at which we use technology is as hurtful as it is helpful.

In the past 10 years technology has changed a drastic amount. Its now more common to have a smart phone then to have a flip phone. It’s also more common to text some rather then call them. Now there is a lot of benefits that can come from technology and I am a strong supported of using it, but its also important to use it the correct way. We all have to limit how much time we spend on technology and if you’re a parent its your reasonability to limit how much time your kids spend on technology. After spending sometime watching other people I found the following outcomes.