Technology and Children In today’s fast paced, technology driven world it is often assumed that technology only brings great things. However, today’s youth are growing up in a society that is inundated with technology and long-term effects are still unavailable. Three main concerns relating to children and technology include lack of patience, limited physical activity and declining writing skills.
Although lack of patience may not always be at the forefront when discussing children and the effects of technology, according to Alice Martin in the article “The 4 Negative Side Effects of Technology”, studies show that tolerance in children is disappearing at a high rate. The use of technology that doesn’t provide instant gratification causes intense frustration in children. However, it does not require any overcomplicated studies to arrive at this conclusion.
Instead, one can watch from afar as children, who are so used to instantaneous results, become overwhelmed and infuriated when made to wait for a page to load that is not responding or a game to download that has a slow internet connection. Whereas the first point may not be a top consideration, almost everyone agrees on the second point, which is, limited physical activity among children because of technology. The article “Technology Blamed for Children’s Lack of Exercise” by Jeana Lee Tahnk says that parents blame technology for their children’s lack of activity.
The Essay on Promote young children physical activity and mivement skills
1.1 Explain why physical activity is important to the short and long term health and well being of children. Physical activity is an integral part of health and well being in children.Our bodies also require physical activity in order to be healthy.Understanding and supporting physical activity, will help children have the right foundation for a healthy and happy life.Positive experiences with ...
The article also says that parents are as much to blame as technology, considering they are active participants in being couch potatoes. It also states that as high as 74% of parents spend family time watching TV with their children and another 53% play video games with their children. Parents are often overworked and exist inside of their own hectic walls. It is an easy fix to come home after a long day and do nothing, letting their children be entertained by the current techno fad. Experts warn that it is the parent’s responsibility to promote an active lifestyle by setting the example and engaging their children in physical activities.
Although, considering the obesity rate has more than tripled over the last three decades in children, it appears that parents haven’t taken that advice to heart. The third and final point, declining writing skills, is another of the less thought of side effects of technology. The OC Register, a newspaper in California, printed an article titled “Report: U. S. students lack writing skills” that reported almost three quarters of American students could not effectively communicate when testing for the “Nations Report Card” even when they were allowed to use computer programs that helped.
In 2007, on the old fashioned handwritten essays, 33% of students nationally scored in the proficient category, whereas in 2012, roughly 20% of students tested scored in the same category. The lack of basic writing skills will permanently affect future job seekers and employers; this is a side effect of technology and children that may not yet have reached its maximum exposure. Technology is both a blessing and a curse. The more time that passes, the more information will become available to evaluate how our current and future generations will be affected by the ever changing, techno world we live in.
The Research paper on The Impact of Classroom Technology on Student Behavior
The impact of classroom technology on student behavior Angeline M. Lavin University of South Dakota Leon Korte University of South Dakota Thomas L. Davies University of South Dakota ABSTRACT The trend toward technology enhanced classrooms has escalated quickly during the past five years as students have become increasingly tech-savvy. Classrooms across the nation have become “wired” and textbook ...
Only then will we be able to tell if the good outweighs the bad or what technology has cost our society. References Leal, F. (2012, September 14).
Report: U. S. students lack writing skills. Retrieved from http://www. ocregister. com/articles/students-371409-writing-graders. html Martin, A. (n. d. ).
The 4 Negative Side Effects Of Technology. Retrieved from http://www. edudemic. com/the-4-negative-side-effects-of-technology/ Tahnk, J. L. (2011, April 15).
Technology Blamed for Children’s Lack of Exercise. Retrieved from http://www. parenting. com/blogs/screen-play/jeana-lee-tahnk/technology-blamed-children-s-lack-exercise
