Screen Time And Child Development Essay

Most children today have access to devices such as television, smartphones, computers, and tablets. These devices can be used in a variety of ways, with both positive and negative outcomes. For example, preschool aged children may use a device to learn letters, numbers, or colors. School aged children may use a computer to conduct research, or watch an educational show. A child may also sit in front of the television for many hours, reducing physical activity, and become obese. I believe it is important for the parent or caregiver of the child to monitor the amount of screen time, as well as the content to optimize the benefits these devices can offer.

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.

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

This paper explores the research findings on how screen time can effect children and their personalities and cognitive development. I have found four credible articles on these subjects from online sources and scholarly publications. These articles discuss the results of different studies about children’s exposure to television and online content and how they have negative effects on the developing child’s brain in terms of cognitive development and personality traits.

Technology is becoming more of a dependent in people’s lives. Everywhere someone goes, there will likely be more than fifty percent of people there on a digital device. People are usually always seen with digital devices such as; smart phones, tablets, and laptops. This is slowly making its way to younger generations, including infants and toddlers. Now, with growing times, children are getting into this habit of always using a digital device as well. Digital devices are being used for entertainment, tools, and communication. Children are given a digital device for either entertainment, learning, or just to keep them quiet. It is really up to the parent for what the device is being used for. Children who use digital devices at a young age with parental or teacher supervision may contribute to an increase their own ability to learn.

Screen Time is unique in that it was first created, and continues to be run by parents who use it every day. We also don’t want our children on screens all day and have lots of innovative ideas planned for future releases.

According to a New York Times article this January, the average kid, ages 8-18, spends over 7 ½ hours a day using technology gadgets equaling 2 ½ hours of music, almost 5 hours of tv and movies, three hours of internet and video games, and just 38 minutes of old fashioned reading according to the Kaiser Family Foundation, which adds up to 75 hours a week! These statistics are not just mere numbers; they are a reflection of the way our society is heading. There is a direct correlation of amount of hours spent with gadgets and obesity, poor grades, impatience, violence, and a loss of family interest.

The first opinion: “for children who spend too much time alone and interacting through a screen, Daniels claims that the neutral pathways of their brains change, affecting concentration, self-esteem, and their ability to have as deeply personal relationships”. I think this is true. Early interact to technology will make brain’s children develop slowly and badly way. For example, if you look the child who use technology soon or spend too much on it looks like stupid, slow, obesity and so on. That are phenomenon. Besides

Children are become less intelligent because of one thing parents are giving them. By 2010, two-thirds of children ages 4 to 7 had used an iPhone (Joan Ganz Cooney Center). In this growth of their life children’s brain develops fine motor skills, gross motor skills, speech and language, cognitive, and social and emotional development. (Brain Development in Children) Technology, as in screens, can make these developments suffer. Young children are negatively affected by technology, resulting in poor academic skills, poor life skills, and delayed developmental stages.

Technology (TV, computers,cell phones, videos games) has evolved so dramatically over the years that families, lifestyles and human development has become significantly affected. Today, adults are depending on technology for communication, social interaction, entertainment and information. We cannot deny that technology has made people more organized and life efficient however, How does the use of technology affect a child's development? The technological advances that continue to progress have affected brain development and increased psychological, physical and behavioral disorders in children such as: Autism, sleep disorders and ADHD which are becoming more common due to the overuse of technology. Child obesity is also becoming more common

As children begin their journey into a school setting, they will need good background on subjects to ensure they are not behind; this will come from their home life. As toddlers grow up, their exposure to new knowledge also grows. With the help of educational TV, we are able to begin that exposure early. However, we do not want to overexpose them to TV, but some is acceptable and helpful. Pediatricians recommend parents to “limit the amount of total entertainment screen time to <1 to 2 hours per day” (American Academy of Pediatrics 959). By limiting the amount of screen time and only allowing for educational means of screen time, we are encouraging education and learning at a young age. As children grow older, they interact with new technologies, but with a strong positive educational influence in their younger years, we are encouraging it to continue. The use of educational technology at a young age is dependent on the compliance of parents and with that compliance; we are giving our children a better educational experience and equipping them with better educational technologies to use in their futures.

Screen time can create a positive influence on children all ages, but needs a time limit. Time limits will provide a time to learn and be social at the same time. The AAP states that teenagers should have up to two hours of screen time. Teens should have and do have more hours of screen time throughout the day.

In today’s technology driven world, people’s lives are greatly influenced by technological devices such as laptops, iPads, cell phones, televisions, etc. Technology has become a big part of our culture and it is not going anywhere. It is not only an obsession for adults, but an obsession for young children as well. Programs such as Baby Einstein videos might grab the attention of a child, but children under the age of 2 years will not remember information from such a video (Hoecker, 2016). Using technology in early childhood is not beneficial for overall child development. Parents today are actually setting their children up for failure in the future. This failure is supported by evidence that overall development does not happen while sitting in front of a screen. Also, children develop issues later in life and an increase in screen time is related to an increase in child obesity. However, there is also counterinformation that describes technology as a positive in which it allows for better and faster advancement in children development.

There have been many changes in the technological scene in the last few years. This has prompted the argument on what people stand to benefit from these advancements. This is why there have been many studies and researches that are all intended to show how the electronic media assists in learning amongst children. However, there has been little attention as to what the electronic media does to the same children. The electronic media has become a favorite amongst the learners and in particular children. It is imperative to note that the learning process is not passive. This is because the children do not just heed to the instructions and assume that anything is learnt. The process of learning is active and cognitive. Therefore, the environment under which a child is in has a significant influence on the learning process. It is vivid from this argument that the media has a significant role in the shaping of the children. Electronic media is very beneficial in the learning process but it is imperative that there are regulations because it has a dominant role in cognitive development of children.

Throughout history, intellectual thinkers have guided the development of society through innovative inventions that changed the world drastically. One such invention that changed the way others communicated was the first telephone, created and revolutionized by Alexander Graham Bell. This invention harbored in a new period of time with increased numbers of technology. Since then, technology has expanded into television, computers, and other electronics that many rely on in order to function on a daily basis. People of all ages and backgrounds use technology consistently, including children and those from Generation Y of the 80’s and 90’s when electronic use became more frequent (Zhitomirsky-Geffett & Blau, 2016). Many have debated the effects of allowing children to use technology, but it is believed that there are both positive and negative effects. Childhood development is influenced by technology because it affects health, learning, social relationships, and sleep patterns.