This Blog Was Written By
Justyna Kubicka
Justyna Kubicka
Children and teens, especially in this generation, have
become very technology orientated. They grow up using, playing, and watching
games/videos on phones and I-pads. But they are often on these devices for most
of their day, and it becomes what they enjoy doing most. They forget about
their board games and figures, and instead prefer and want to spend time on a
phone or any other device. The American Academy of Pediatrics discussed a study
done by the Kaiser Family Foundation which revealed that 8-10 year olds on
average spend about 8 hours a day using some form of the media and technology.
They also showed that children over 10, including teenagers, spend about 11
hours a day with some form of technology.
There are many debates as to whether toddlers should even
have access to technology, what age is appropriate for children to have these
devices, how much time should they be allowed to spend on them (with reference
to their age), and what affects it can have on them.
Nowadays the use of technology by children has become very
extensive and could actually impact their social and speech skills. Here’s why:
The more a child spends their time on these devices, the
less they interact with others, or read, or even play outside. Technology is
decreasing kid’s interactions with one another, and their communication between
each other. And even if they are communicating, it is more common for them to
text one another than to call or speak in person. The Pew Research Center
revealed that on average over half of teenagers in America, send more than 50
text messages a day, and over 1/3 send 100 or more a day. Over 66% of these
teenagers showed that they were more likely to text their friends, rather than
call.
Dr. Catherine Steiner-Adair, a clinical psychologist said: “There’s
no question kids are missing out on very critical social skills. In a way,
texting and online communicating—it’s not like it creates a nonverbal learning
disability, but it puts everybody in a nonverbal disabled context, where body
language, facial expression, and even the smallest kinds of vocal reactions are
rendered invisible.”
With technology, you’re missing a very important aspect of
life– interaction with others. Texting is not the same as face-to-face
communication; you’re missing all the important social cues and skills you
would learn by interacting with one another in person. For instance, if I have
very important news to share with someone, I would video call or even wait
until I see them in person to tell them– if I was to text them I would miss out
of their reaction. I would not be able to see any facial expressions or any
non-verbal cues. Let’s use pregnancy as an example; would you text your partner
this information, or wait until you can see them in person? I would assume most
would go with the latter option, its more meaningful and you get the full
reaction and facial and body expressions of the other person.
Of course, online communication is faster and easier, and is
very helpful in some situations. But as children and teenagers grow up, it is very
important for social interaction to be a big aspect of their life. You learn
simple basic skills just by speaking to another person, that one would miss by
sitting on their phone. Missing out on learning these communication skills can
lead to children not wanting to speak to others, or having difficulty starting
small talk, or finding communication with others unnecessary and awkward. Or
they simply just find it hard to maintain and keep a conversation going.
There have been many parents discussing their children’s
behavior changing because of new technological devices such as Alexa, an
intelligent personal assistant. For instance, they claim that Alexa is making
their children rude. Because Alexa does not need any “please” or “thank you” or
any other good manners that parents teach their kids to say, it is not
reinforcing this behavior and therefore making children believe that they don’t
need to have good manners to get what they want or need. Because Alexa listens
and does basically whatever one asks of her, the tone and other manners, are
not needed for the job to be completed, which is why parents are scared of how
their children might learn from this and use this behavior in other situations,
like at school.
Teenagers and young adults now rely on technology heavily,
which is nothing bad. However, children need to learn these important social
skills when they’re still young. By allowing children to use technology,
especially substantially, at a young age could inhibit their ability to learn
these skills.
A study by Dr. Tamyra Pierce (“Social anxiety and technology:
Face-to-face communication versus technological communication among teens”) done
on high school students, asked them how much of their time they spent on their
phones and how comfortable they are in face-to-face interactions. The results
showed that there was a correlation between the two and that those who spent
more time with technology, felt less comfortable in face-to-face scenarios.
Extensive technology use (overusing technology, relying on
it very heavily during your day, and/or spending most if not all your day on it)
does impact children’s and teenager’s social skills. They miss out on learning
the codes and rules of language, understanding facial and hand cues, using eye
contact, learning tone and meaning, being able to keep a conversation going,
and overall feeling comfortable communicating and interacting with others.
It is interesting to see how technology can have such a huge
impact on your life, in both good and bad ways.
What are your thoughts on this argument?
Do you agree? Disagree?
Any arguments for or against this that I have not mentioned?
What do you believe to be the right age for children to start using technology?
Do you agree? Disagree?
Any arguments for or against this that I have not mentioned?
What do you believe to be the right age for children to start using technology?
References from:
- https://www.huffingtonpost.com/2011/12/09/children-texting-technology-social-skills_n_1137570.html
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