Children_and_Technology

Marjorie Johnson Essay # 2 December 12, 2010 Children and Technology Finding a child who does not know how to use a computer in this day and age is rare; this would be considered a bad thing to many people. Computers have become a social norm; our society has forgotten what life was like without Google, Facebook and Twitter. How did people ever function' How did people ever communicate' The library, writing letters to people who are far away or picking up a telephone and actually calling a person instead of texting them have all become things of the past. Reality is now being mixed with technology and it is also being confused as one in the same. Children who are surrounded by computer technology will loose their creativity, will be less social, develop a high chance of obesity and will develop a dependency on technology to do their work. If people immerse their children in computers, the children will have an impoverished childhood. Since its invention, the computer has made unimaginable advancements. What once was an option has now become a necessity, a requirement, but does that make it help or a hindrance' Some would argue the latter when it comes to children. From birth to the teen age the mind of a child is like a sponge, it soaks and stores all of the information it is given. Computers are no longer being used as a tool to help retrieve information it is now being used as a replacement for reality. Children in the earlier years used toys, crayons, plato and a number of items to stimulate their imagination. Imagination is a key tool in inventions that continue to help society. If a child believes that everything is accessible to them through their computer, they will become less creative. Spending more time on the computer and less time doing activities that stimulate the brain will ultimately take the creative process away from future generations. If children are not creative, they will become more adult like too early. People grow in stages for a reason and taking a child’s imagination away too early could cause developmental issues and takes away a pertinent part of childhood. Children who spend hours on computers are becoming anti social. Social skills are important to develop when growing up because it teaches children how to interact with people. Interacting with people is something that humans have to do, whether it is going to the grocery store, going to school or working a job. Children learn how to socialize with kids by making friends on the playground or playing with kids outside. If children now socialize with their “friends” through the computer it has a dehumanizing affect. Children who live online can develop social disorders that can cause them to not function properly in society. Having childhood memories of being on the computer is not the same as having childhood memories of playing with a best friend, or going out with their parent’s to the beach. According to the CDC childhood obesity has “more than tripled in the past 30 years”. Is it a coincidence that the more technology is developed the more children gain weight' It is not. Children who spend hours on the computer spend less time doing physical activities. Physical activities and having an active life style is essential when it comes to maintaining a healthy body weight. Having a healthy body weight as a child is important because it helps children to be alert in the classroom. Being obese can deprive a child of a happy childhood because they can become victims of bullying. Becoming a victim can cause a child to become depressed, which can cause feelings of inadequacy and will eventually affect their entire life. Children who use the computer to do all of their work can develop a false dependency. Instead of learning how to write, do math or do research children are allowing computers to do the work for them. Children who depend on their computer to do their work will not learn the most basic of information needed to survive in the working world. If the computers replace a child’s knowledge or understanding, that child will loose the ability to solve problems, to write and to learn. Although technology has helped society advance it is also replacing tools that are important to developing children. Childhood is an important time for people to develop. A child that grows in a childhood rich with learning, creating and socializing will develop a great quality of life. Children who are surrounded by computers have a childhood that is lacking in quality. Reference Childhood obesity. (2008, October 28). Retrieved from http://www.cdc.gov/HealthyYouth/obesity/