Technology and its Impact on Children
Technology is seen as a scientific application of knowledge into practical conditions vastly in industries, engineering and applied sciences in general. Technology has served a significant role in the transformation on how youngsters learn, interact with friends and get entertained in different approaches as it has impacted their speed of creativeness and how they conduct themselves in the society. In the society today, most children have embraced the use of technology in every aspect of their daily existence as compared to children back in the 1990s. Technology has made their work simpler as numerous technological companies have come up that designs tools for kids using recent techniques. However, technology has impacted negatively on children because it has interfered with their social learning processes.
Negative Effects of Technology on Children
It’s unfortunate that children rarely real experience with their friends because they possess technical tools such as iPad, video games, computers among others of which they tend to use without limits. Internet technology has become addictive to many children while some results to be internet predators while others grow to be video game addicts. According to Liu et al. (2011), children, especially adolescents, record poor performance at school because most of them are addicted to online browsing and video games. They do not have time to focus on their studies or even relate socially with their peers at home.
On the same note, children are also exposed to cyber bullying because most parents to do not have mechanisms to control internet use for the children. Berg (2011) explains many adolescents have access to uncensored internet space either using their smartphones, or other internet enabled gadgets. They are likely to visit social media sites where they interact with strangers using anonymous accounts. Such cases leave room for abuse or cyber bullying even by adults who pretend to be children online. Berg (2011) states there have been several cases of suicide and abductions that have direct links to cyber bullying. Dangerous people are preying on unsuspecting children online.
Physical Health Impact of Technology on Children
To start with, an example of the impact of technology is children are greatly attracted in watching television for long hours. However much it educates them, those who spend more watching and playing games of which they tend even to eat where they sit. This gives room for fat accumulation which is the main initiator of health problems such as depression, diabetes heart failure, and obesity that costs a fortune to cure (Liu, et al., 2011). Parents are advised to create schedules for their children but not banning them from it as they may use their technological tools in privacy which becomes more dangerous to their health.
The other effect is that technology alters the relationship of parents with their kids more parents especially in urban centers tend to be occupied with their jobs. The parents’ absenteeism at home gives their children room to maximize their use technological equipment thus even ending up visiting inappropriate sites on the internet. Ajayi (2010) argues that even though technology has assisted to some extent in the learning process, lack of proper guidance at home on the efficient use of technical gadgets is derailing the positive effects. Parents should, therefore, have time for their kids so as to build strong bonds and educate then on the dos and the don’ts. More so, there should be clear guidelines on how to use technology constructively instead of allowing children to venture haphazardly.
Positive Impacts of Technology on Children
Nonetheless, despite the negative threats posed by technology, it is worth noting some positive impacts. Today, children have access to numerous technologies that assist them in learning. Warschauer, Arada, and Zheng (2010) point that many schools encourage teachers to use technical gadgets such as laptops, tablets, and projectors in the teaching process. Lapadat et al. (2011) argue that technology use increased the concentration of children in class. Young children as fascinated with gadgets as opposed to listening to the teacher the whole day. Even designers have found ways to design innovative toys and games that can interact with children through voice input. If parents and teachers find ways to ensure children use safe and beneficial technology, then all would be well. Unfortunately, that is not the case because many young children continue to misuse technology.
Conclusion
To conclude, watching advertisements online also exposes kids to harm apart from those that educate them such as advertisements on school offers, for instance, university applications. Advertisements such as on drugs such as alcohol and cigarettes in addition to advertisements on the use of condoms expose them to risk of shifting their behaviors as they may take them as good things to use. Parents should keep track on what their kids' access online by blocking websites which may harm their way of thinking. Other impacts are that technology makes kids get engrossed much to technology hence denies them chance to socialize with their peers thus they develop poor social skills.
References
Ajayi, L. (2010). How asynchronous discussion boards mediate learning literacy methods courses to enrich alternative-licensed teachers’ learning experiences, Journal of Research on Technology in Education, 43(1), 1-28.
Berg, M.A. (2011). On the cusp of cyberspace: Adolescents’ online text use in conversation. Journal of Adolescent and Adult Literacy, 54(7), 485-493.
Lapadat, J. C., Brown, W. I., Thielmann, G., and McGregor, C. E. (2011). Teaching with Blogs: A case study of technologically mediated literacy. International Journal of Learning and Media, 2(2-3), 63-79.
Liu, T. C., Desai, R. A., Krishnan-Sarin, S., Cavallo, D. A., and Potenza, M. N. (2011) Problematic Internet use and health in adolescents: Data from a high school survey in Connecticut. Journal of Clinical Psychiatry, 72(6), 836-845.
Warschauer, M., Arada, K., and Zheng, (2010). Laptops and inspired writing. Journal of Adolescent and Adult Literacy, 54(3), 221-223.
