The Impact of Technology on Children

In 2018, adolescents are surrounded by all forms of technology. Kids of all ages carry a cellphone at all times and have different types of video game consoles as forms of entertainment at home. They use it in their classrooms to help with education and they use it at home as a source of entertainment. Technology has both positive and negative aspects to it. It is an amazing luxury that helps give children opportunities to learn and explore in ways that they would not be able to otherwise without the gift of technology. In addition, Technology has negative sides to it. It causes children to become lazy and they can possible find access to inappropriate and harmful things online. Children can sometimes be at risk to predators and unwanted thing when they are not supervised when using different types of technology and media. The overall effects of technology in the lives of children are both positive and negative.

On average, adolescents spend almost six hours using technology (Quartz). Most parents allow them to use technology and the media with little to no restrictions at any time. They use it all the time and rely on technology very heavily in their day to day life. They use technology more than anything else and using it too heavily can really have an impact on children’s health and well-being. In 2013, high school students in the United States didn’t get the recommended full hour of physical activity because of their media usage (Neubauer). Not getting that hour of activity causes children to become inactive and overweight and can increase their chances of diseases like type two diabetes. Going outside helps children build up their immune system and they learn how to interact with other kids.

Real human interaction with people your age helps kids learn problem solving, build people skills, and helps them develop their individual creativity (Thrive Global). in 2015, a study done by the Center for Disease Control and Prevention found that one in five children that are old enough to go to school are obese (CDC). Kids are becoming addicted to technology and social media, frequently make them feel like they are more isolated. Being able to face in person communication with other people helps lower their mental health issues in children and helps them feel included and less stressed (Ruan). Technology takes so much of a child’s time it causes them to be less social than before and even become addicted to the different forms of technology. They begin to talk to people in person less and do not spend enough quality time with friends and family. Children today use technology more than ever, almost every part of their lives has a technological aspect to it, whether it be the smart television in a living room or a refrigerator that had the capability to access the internet.

Social media does not just cause an increase in sluggishness in adolescents, it also can put them at threat to child predators. This is one of the most prevalent impacts that social media and technology has made on adolescents. Many that do use the different types of social media might meet a person that says they are the same age as the child but could actually be a sexual predator looking to exploit or harm the child. With 800,000 registered sex offenders in the United States and one in five teen receiving unwanted sexual attention all over the internet today, many of those people could be sex offenders and more often than not, it is difficult for children to tell the difference (Puresight). When children begin talking to a harmful predator, the person makes them feel like they are their friend and a person they can talk to about private thigs going on in their lives. Then an adolescent, even though they do not know then and have never even seen this person before, could schedule to meet this stranger and that is when these situations could get really dangerous. Children need to have regulations when using technology whether it be for educational or entertainment purposes to ensure that they are safe from unwanted attention from possible predators. Kids need to be informed about these types of people and how to look out for them so that they know when to tell an adult to help keep them safe from dangerous situations.

Technology is an amazing, positive recourse for Children, it is often giving them more opportunities than they would have had without it. When you think about technology helping kids learn you might think of just computers or learning based video games, but many do not think of how big of an impact a children’s television show can help a child learn. Television programs like Sesame Street and Barney for example have been on for over 30 years, some people even watched them when they were young and in return their kids are doing the same.

These shows help teach social skills, reading writing, and even compassion. These shows help further a child’s education on a particular topic they might have learned briefly about it their classroom at school. Technology gives adolescents freedom to explore topics they might be interested in and in return help them find what they are passionate about. It gives them access to anything they might want to learn about, and information needed for assignments they have in school. In Addition, the media help children interact with family that might not live near them and get to see each other as often as they would like. Technology helps friend and families still be able to interact with each other on a regular basis. Social media platforms like Facebook or Instagram help people see what going on in each other’s lives without having to be there with them. Technology helps give teens different ways to express themselves online. They can make videos about topics they are interested in or have a website about something they are passionate about, giving them a sense of purpose when they might feel overwhelmed.

Today, you can do almost anything on the internet, you can even do online classes for college. This give teens graduating high school a great and easy way to have an opportunity to get an education they might not be able to commute back in forth to their college every day. It also lets teenagers build their own opinions of today’s issues with input from other sides. It allows them to learn about current event and be able to be aware with everything going on around them. They get to be well rounded on information that they are learning about politics, social event, and people in the media. It helps them build their values and morals in their own way and aren’t just a spit image of their parents, they get to have their own individual outlook on different social issues that are important to them. Often, kids don’t feel comfortable talking to their parents about a particular issue they are going through at that specific time. The internet helps kids look up things and even join support groups and talk to people about their issues if they have a problem talking to the people around them in the real world.

Technology has both positive and negative aspects about it. It helps give children access to explore their minds and education but can also put them at risk to many harmful situations. It helps entertain children and lets them explore their creative side and can help them learn about topics they are interested in. To ensure that children are using technology and media the best way they can. Parents getting involved with their children and their media usage will help them get insight on how they might be using technology and if they need to put any restriction on what they are doing with it. It helps give adolescents structure and stability and does not just let them do or find anything they want with different forms of technology. The overall effect of type of technology in the lives of a child is positive and negative.

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