What Good is Technology?

In a fast growing generation of time we have seen the science of technology evolving right before us. It has been made to make our lives easier and more efficient with our day to day routines. Everything is at a push of a button, literally, starting our cars, answering our phones, watching the news, all of which can be done at our fingertips. However we see that kids follow what their parents do and as so they are being raised in a generation that gives them that easy access to be entertained. Technology today is effecting the development of upcoming generations in a world of new and up to date devices. The effects show that kids are spending more time inside on electronics than outside playing with their friends or their own imaginations. Technology hinders developing social skills in kids therefore it is not efficient or beneficial to them.

A 2010 Kaiser Foundation study showed that elementary aged children use on average 7.5 hours per day of entertainment technology, 75 percent of these children have TV's in their bedrooms, and 50 percent of North American homes have the TV on all day. Gone is dining room table conversation, replaced by the "big screen" and take out. Although technology has been helpful with adults and their busy schedules it shows that it is not helping the children and their development. It is also much easier to entertain them with an electronic screen than to stop everything and give them what they need. From that children are learning to now rely on technology for their entertainment which limits them from the growth and challenge they need as a kid. Studies also are showing that it is difficult to achieve the necessary sensory and motor development while the child is still young and malleable. Their brains are being hard wired differently than adults were at their age which is effecting with their attention and learning skills.

The environment in which children are raised makes them receptive to what is around them, cultivating the skills and responses. Psychology Today gives an analogy of this, wolves, lions, tigers, and other predators have highly tuned visual attention that enables them to spot and track their prey. In contract, their prey, including deer and antelope, have well-developed auditory attention that allows them to hear approaching predators. In both cases, animals’ attentional abilities have developed based on the environment in which they live. Kids are being exposed to a different generation of technology than their parents which will hinder them from experiencing natural sensory and motor development. Children today are entering school struggling with self-regulation and attention skills necessary for learning, eventually becoming significant behavior management problems for teachers in the classroom.

The National Wildlife Federation has also seen the change from kids playing outside to inside over the last two decades. Outdoor play helps kids build strong and active bodies. We also know that being outside in the sun helps with vitamin D increase. Even vision has proven to help kids who are outside than those glued to an electronic screen which can cause nearsightedness. The outdoors has so many benefits and advantages to kids. Being outside helps them be active and less likely to be overweight, their imagination is more likely to expand and they even have more friends. Kids like to be with others that have a great imagination and are more likely to play with them outside. Researchers have found a disorder called “Nature Deficit Disorder”. Basically, this means that not playing outdoors and with nature (e.g. hiking or camping) is really detrimental for kids. Nature helps us leave our busy lives and be stress free and even can lower our blood pressure. Kids that experience the great outdoors will grow to love being outside and make them more active later on in life. Indoor play puts a limit on the imagination of kids and doesn't let them come up with ideas or games of their own. Researchers have found the reason why kids enjoy playing video games, children play video games for many reasons, including that video games are a fun challenge, stress relievers, offer companionship with other players and/or friends. Those kids miss out completely on what nature and being outside can benefit them and most of all its right outside the door.

Technology has helped the world in many ways and can even make life easier. However it seems that it helps adults with their lives but is affecting their children. The studies have shown what it is doing to them and the disadvantages are greater than imagined. What good is technology if it hinders the children from reaching their potential and becoming well educated leaders of the future?