As children become more immersed in media in recent years. A lot of adults has started to think whether or not this open exposure to such a great deal of electronic media is a good thing or not. On the good side, there is an argument that technology is getting children ready for the "real world" they will have to enter into at some point in time. Sixty percent of jobs in United States market are technology related. Children need the technological headstart to be successful in such an environment (US Department of Education). On the other hand, however, others argue that children using technology are becoming socially stunted, ungrateful, and unable to multitask efficiently.
Technology lessens children ability to multitask
Although many avid technology users believe children have become more able to handle multitasking, scientific studies have shown that the effects of using technology may be opposite of these conceptions. When It comes to If children should be exposed to technology screens for multitasking purposes, Maryland University Family Science Professor Zainab Okolo says,
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zwbwT6aFhO0
According to an article in Time magazine, eight to eighteen year old children spend seven hours and thirty eight minutes a day using entertainment media. As they have become so absorbed into it, that social and entertainment media become a constant distraction. These distractions affect the way children’s developing brains absorb new information, and can lead to continuous partial attention. Continuous Partial Attention is the state we enter into when we are using technology and are forced to split our attention between several different tasks. We shift our priority to what is most important, and are constantly paying some attention to several things, and yet never giving our full attention to any one task.
Kids Keeping up With the Joneses Is for their benefit
The presence of this technology will force children to have the skills to navigate it and keep up with it as they get older. Electronic media is becoming greatly integrated into our workforce and our classrooms as technology moves forward and becomes more easily accessible. Integrating technology into children education is going to help children prepare for the technology dominated work force, by doing this it may not be as drastic as we may think. The thought of putting computers in each classroom, and using 10 softwares to teach children lessons through multimedia may seem absurd. In this generation it is acceptable for a person to have a smart phone, a laptop, and a tablet, where years ago that would cost thousands and the capabilities would be significantly lessened. Giving children these up to date technologies only allow them to become more skilled at keeping up with the digital world early, and also keep them ahead within skills they need to advance in the work place.
Within the workforce, technology is becoming more of a mandatory thing for many higher paying jobs. According to Global Knowledge, the top ten skills needed in 2010 included network administration, cloud computing, database management and web development. For children to be successful with these skills, children can be introduced to them as young as elementary school.
Technology changing social norms such as children hiding behind a "Digital Wall"
While this generation may be the most connectedto technology ever, this ability to
instantly contact anyone may pose a great risk to young children. When children interact
with one another through the Internet or cell phones, it is a far different social experience
than speaking with someone one-on-one. When we communicate in these ways, we are
hidden behind the "digital wall", which can allow us to have conversations we might not
have in person. Professor Okolo, when asked do she believe technology is changing the social norms of children she says,
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Users of social websites will be more likely to ask someone to chat on the site than they would be if it were a face-to-face interaction. Hiding behind the digital wall for media based conversations has caused children to develop a disconnect from others, and even from themselves. According to a recent study released by Pew, electronic media does not cause social isolation, however, it has completely changed the way Americans define their social circles and friends. Those who use social networking are 30% less likely to know their neighbors, and 26% less likely to provide them with companionship. As children have more of their communication through electronic media, and less of it face-to-face they begin to feel more lonely and depressed.
Children especially have been using technology to cope with situations that may be more emotionally stressful. Hiding behind the digital wall, such as texting or Internet communications, allows children to deal with situations that they wouldn't want to face to face, such as ending relationships or dealing with bullies. Children who are more meek and shy will be able to have a conversation with someone without worrying about awkward silences and lack of conversational topics. However, it seems that using electronic media to hide from stressful situations may actually begin to “impact their capacity to interact with each other.” Further Also, California State University found a connection between social anxiety and talking online or through text messaging.
Technology helps with Disabled kids
Technology used to help students with disabilities has also become really popular in the classroom. Assistive technology’s purpose is to “augment abilities and bypass or compensate for a disability”. Computers have been specifically useful, they allow us to change items such as text to meet the needs of individual students. For example, some text can be made larger so it can be seen easier, and also read aloud for deaf students in the classroom. Specific devices have been engineered to cater to students with specific disabilities. DynaMyte is a portable communication device that facilitates students with communicative disabilities to speak and converse with others through a keyboard composed of symbols. When you include these sorts of innovations, its estimated that approximately 95% of students with disabilities between the ages of six and eleven are able to receive their education in regular classrooms .
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So basically too much screen time and not enough other activities, such as reading, playing games, and good old unstructured and imaginative play, will result in your children having their brains wired in ways that may make them less prepared to thrive in this crazy new world of technology. If Used effectively it can be a compliment to learning for kids.
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