I always wondered why my baby sister was not as active as I was when I was younger. All day I used to be outside riding my bike, going on imaginary treasure hunts, climbing trees, and all the other things you would find a little kid doing. But for my sister on the other hand, doing these things would be rare to her. Her enjoyment was watching television, playing with her various electronics and surfing the net. Another difference that I noticed was how much I would love going to the library as a child and bringing home tons of story books to read, but that doesn’t seem to be the case anymore for the kids of this generation. I’m sure rather than sitting around reading a book they would prefer to be engaged in their favourite game on the Wii, or binge on movies and shows on Netflix. With the sort of things that this generation grows up with, technology is their lifestyle. Here I am at the age of 21 writing one of my first few blogs while my sister by the age of 12 has already created about 6 blogs in total. It is evident that technology is changing the childhood of the kids of this generation,but it is hard to say if it is for better or for worse.
The effects of technology on children all depend on what and how they are using the technology available to them. Statistics show that households with children are more likely to use the computer or internet than households without children.
Scientists are researching into the influence technology has on the children’s minds; the way they think, their attention span, creativity, decision making, learning new things, and their memory. Again, how kids use this technology is entirely up to them, depending on what and how frequently they use it determines the positive and negative effect it can have. Looking into the negative impacts there are numerous reports on how younger children have become addicted to their electronic gadgets, such as this four year old girl who is receiving psychiatric treatment to aid her with her iPad addiction. Later on into this article it states how several other parents are also admitting to their kids being addicted to their digital gadgets and going through withdrawal and throwing tantrums when away from their electronics. But I wonder, how are scientists who conduct studies on these children able to distinguish the difference between an addiction or a simple attachment that all kids possess towards their toys. Another article reflects upon the positive effects technology has in moderation. According to Tapscott, “when kids are online, they’re reading, thinking, analyzing, criticizing, and authenticating-composing their thoughts. They use the technology to play, learn, communicate, and form relationships as children always have.”
It’s not only what is used at home, teachers have also begun to use media as a tool to accompany their teachings.
As shown by the chart, attention span, communication, writing, homework, and critical thinking are all areas hurt by the media usage. But again I feel like it all depends on how the technology is being used in the classroom. My sister’s 6th grade class has been using iPads throughout this school year, recently though they were introduced to a new software, Einstruction Insight 360. Here is a video that her classroom and teacher have made to demonstrate their opinions on Insight 360.
As shown in the video and the first-hand experience my sister has on this software, Einstruction Insight 360 does develop a more engaged interaction between the teacher and students. As the teacher mentioned in the video he is able to monitor and check all the students’ work even while they are doing the work at the same time. This makes his time more efficient and allows him to have additional time to assist those students that need extra help.
Technology could be really harmful or helpful to a child, just depending on how it is used and how frequent. After reading through many articles and watching videos to make up my mind whether I think it to be a positive or negative impact, I still have the same mindset as before. Technology does cause a change in kids, but as it does children also cause the change in technology, making it a recurring, endless cycle.
chiaradii 