The Impact of Computer Use on Young Children Social, Cognitive and Language Development - Term Paper Example

The Impact of Computer Use on Young Children Social, Cognitive and Language Development Student’s Name Professor Course Date Background Children below the age of six years are increasingly being exposed to computer use at home in spite of the divergent views concerning the potential impact and the appropriateness of this usage on their development. There are researchers who support the use of computer by these children while others have differing opinion and point at the harmful impact of the usage on these young children. On a typical day, 27% of children under the age of six years spend an average of fifty minutes using the computer. Seventy two percent of the parents believe that the computers assist children to learn. However, what parents fail to know is that computer use has an impact on the children’s social, cognitive, and language development. The appropriateness of computers in early childhood environment has generated many arguments and major concerns focus on the impact of computers on children social and emotional development. Because of such concerns, numerous researches have been conducted about the impact of computers on social, cognitive and language development. This study will seek to unearth the influence of computer use on little children cognitive, social, and language improvement and will use various studies to argue for and against the computer usage by young children below six years. Critics of Early Computer Usage The critics of early computer usage argue that young children should not use computers as this has negative impacts on their social, cognitive as well as language development. These researchers use different research approaches-qualitative and quantitative to arrive at this conclusion after conducting research. Rowan (2010) research focussed on the influence of technology on children behaviour. He discovered that there is an escalating evidence of children psychosomatic, behaviour and physical disorders, which mostly go with the prescriptions of psychotropic medication. Rowan (2010) took an interpretive research approach to reach the conclusion on the detrimental effects of computer use by children. He used case review to demonstrate this. The case was that of a 7-year-old boy who had been taken to his family doctor by his mother after the school insistence; the boy younger sister also accompanied them. After examination by the physician, the boy portrayed confrontational and combative behaviour with the mother and physician whereas the mother reported that daughter habitually became disconcert and displayed high apprehension when experiencing everyday occurrences. All this resulted from long hour’s usage of media by both children, which made the children to avoid socialization. In determining technology usage statistics, Rowan (2010) reviewed numerous quantitative studies to show there was a rapid increase in the use of new technologies and to demonstrate the effect of technology on children health as well as educational performance. Rowan (2010) used the case review and the review studied to reach the conclusion that parents are progressively more taking their children to the doctors for measurement of compound behavioural conditions, which may be associated with lack of physical activity as well sensory hypo stimulation in the over usage of technology. He recommends that families disconnects from the technology and reconnect with one another and this would largely reverse the worrying children trends. Rowan (2010) study entirely took an interpretivist approach using case reviews and literature review to form the basis of his conclusion. The results generated were not statistical in nature. A detailed survey instrument would have allowed for generation of more reliable and generalizable data. The use of quantitative surveys would also have reinforced the positivist method where emphasis is one factual and reliable data. A validated, statistical analysis could have been carried out to ascertain the impact of computer use on children. Like Rowan, Cordes & Miller (2000) put forward that technology is socially, physically, and mentally harmful for a child; they lay emphasis on the fact that parents should no hurry the children’s childhood because what is suitable for grown-ups is not necessarily suitable for a child. They stated various health risks of computer usage on children such as eyestrain, repetitive stress injuries, as well as obesity. They also suggested that the children social and emotional development and language development is impacted on by computer usage as it leads to less reduced human interaction. Cordes & Miller (2000) used reference notes to substantiate their arguments. Literature review formed the basis of this study conclusion. The results generated were not derived from a field experiment. There was no reliable and factual data commonly equated with quantification. The authors used an interpretivist approach in reaching their conclusion Olson et al. (2001) argue that although technology has various benefits and great potential to engage and motivate children concerning learning, it also has the unintended effect of damaging habits, which are incongruent with serious learning and thus potentially to their personal detriment. Case reviews were used to demonstrate this. Olson et al also argued that teachers should be the key when it comes to serious learning while using technology and they should engage the children in making sense of their experiments. They further argued that technology has a black box nature and it often evade the important learning needs and can even inhibit thinking. Olson et al. (2001) adopted an interpretivist approach in their research and used published literature and case reviews to support their arguments. Zekeriya & Zuhal (2009) argue that various technologies used in teaching young children are short of nearly all parameters needed to be regarded as valuable software containing amusement as well as pedagogical features. The two researchers found pointless, flashy, and excessive use of entertainment elements in the software whereas the cognitive tools, which engage students in the learning process, were missing entirely. To reach this conclusion, they focussed on five English language kids teaching software, which were chosen at random chosen from the market. They used a chart to seen the extent to which the use of the software had matched their promises and discovered that the software’s fail in shaping classroom teaching and learning languages. Zekeriya & Zuhal (2009) conducted an experiment to determine the effectiveness of the software’s in English learning. The emphasis was on reliable and factual account of the failure of the software’s and thus they took a positivist approach in research. The results were independent of the researchers. They called for teachers to use appropriate software as it offers children a wide array of choices, which can be manipulated and explored. Supporters of Early Computer Use Plowman et al (2008) used a positivist and interpretivist approach in investigating the socioeconomic disadvantage and development of young children competencies with technologies in their homes. The researchers conducted a one and a half years research on three and 4 - year old technology uses in their homes, using 24 case studies and a survey of 346 families. They discovered that there is parents’ uneasiness regarding the function that technology play in the lives of the children. Nevertheless, there are complexities in familial mind-sets to, and technological use. Plowman et al (2008) concluded that parents do not take technology as a risk to current upbringing. The study case studies suggested children as well as their parents as active users rather than passive technology users, implying that an escalation in technology tools in their residence do not essentially cause an escalation in their usage by children and various factor determine the manner in which it is properly used in a family setting. The other supporters of early computer use argue that computers are usually adapted to the needs of very young children. Hinchliff (2008) argue that developmentally appropriate software exist, which have positive impact on children as young as 3 years. Technology comes in handy in children school readiness and for children with special needs. It is an effective learning tool for preschoolers. There is a positive relationship between preschoolers’ computer use and their school readiness performance and cognitive tests. They also come in handy in increasing the level of independent interaction and the start of self-directed learning by the preschoolers. Hinchliff (2008) used numerous past studies to support the fact that technology in modern era can have a positive impact on young children social and cognitive development. Schacter (1999) argue that students with access to collaborative networked technologies, computer assisted instruction, design and programming technologies and other similar technologies demonstrated positive gains in achievement of standardized tests, constructed tests as well as national tests. Schacter (1999) reviewed more than 700 empirical research studies to derive this conclusion. However, he argued that learning technology is usually less effective or ineffective in case there are unclear learning goals and technological focus is diffuse. In his research, Johnson (2010) discovered that goal-oriented and focused internet usage contributes to cognitive development in childhood. Home internet usage was the best predictor of children cognitive development in the study compared with family socio-economic characteristics. Particular types of online behaviours such as communicating, playing and learning as well as home internet access contributed to child cognitive development outcomes. Internet access also increased language usage, visual perception scores, auditory memory, as well as metacognitive planning. In this research, parents of 128 kids in the first to six grades agreed to the evaluation of their kids’ cognitive development and filled questionnaires on their kids’ internet usage. Johnson adopted a positivist approach to determine the impact of the internet on cognitive development. Mccarrick & Li (2007) argue that computers offer an environment wherein children make use of a large amount of language with both the teachers and peers and highly motivate children. They have helpful know-how’s on the computer and thus are inclined to linger on a particular undertaking for an extended duration. The two researchers reviewed numerous previous researches to come to their conclusion. Pillay (2002) discovered that cause and effect games tend to hearten children means-end scrutiny approach while adventurous games encourage proactive and inferential opinion. Computers as well as video games offer an imagination and fantasy full background whereby the children survey innovative worlds and undertake novel challenges (McVey 1997). Additionally, results from Gee (2003) also show an important connection between children problem solving skilfulness as well as cognitive skills and game playing. Gee (2003) further argue that video and computer games could be very valuable in improving children literacy skills. “Influence of Early Computer Use on Socio-Emotional Development” Various studies have demonstrated the negative impact of computers on children social and emotional development. Past studies have shown that the influx of computers into the school setting led to isolation fears. Seo et al (2011) research demonstrates that children who do not use the computer habitually have higher levels of socio-emotional development than those who use computer habitually. Kim et al (2005) prove that lesser levels of habits are associated with higher adaptability at school. Cordes & Miller (2000) argue that computer use reduces human interaction, which negatively affect their social and emotional development. Classroom Interactions When appropriately put into practice, the use of computers in education has a considerable positive impact on student achievement. Outcomes from investigational researches point toward unquestionable substantiation that computers are extremely useful in classroom interactions. The use of current computer applications such as the internet and other application with image, sound, text, animation and video offer new ways of instruction and interaction and this enhances classroom interaction. Kumpulainen & Mutanen (1998) point out that multimedia which is computer based, with its unique features, can effortlessly form a flexible as well as motivating learning background, which guides students to thorough commitment. “Impact of Early Computer Use on Language Development” One of the concerns of computer usage when it comes to language development is that it inhibits language development among young children. Cordes & Miller (2000) suggest that the reduced human interaction due to increased computer negatively affects language development. On the other hand, other researchers have shown that the utilization of computers in pre-school does not considerably encourage or inhibit use of language and as a result computers offer an equally language enriching environment for young children. When authors are placed appropriately, they can encourage the use of language as well as social interaction (McCarrick & Xiaoming 2007). Conclusion It is evident that most of the researchers who undertake studies to assess the effects of use of computers on young children, cognitive, social and language improvement take the interpretivist research approach. Most critics of early computer use used case reviews and review of past studies to establish their conclusion. There is limited research, which has been carried using quantitative methodologies. Quantitative research methods or positivist research would have enabled the researchers to use surveys, questionnaires, controlled studies, and experiments to generate statistical results and enable the rating of various attributes. A detailed survey instrument would allow a wide array of questions to be asked to children, teachers, and parents on the effect of computer usage. A statistical, validated analysis could have been undertaken to determining the effects of computer usage. The use of quantitative methods could have offered reliable and generalizable data. As previously stated, the use of quantitative survey reinforces the positivist approach where is emphasis is on factual and reliable data. The quantitative study would have given a depth and breadth in research because of its wide ranging and statistically valid approach offering a solid basis on which to develop recommendations and strategies for further improving or adapting computer use. The inadequacy of quantitative method for research on impact of computer use on children would arise from its limited capacity to offer insight and depth of reasoning into the question; the quantitative studies fail to look into the ‘why’ questions which may necessitate probing and deeper understanding. The interpretive research and positivist research complement each other and hence to improve the reliability and validity of the study, the two approaches are important. Reference List Cordes, C & Miller E 2000, ‘Fools Gold: A Critical Look at Computers in Childhood,’ Alliance for Childhood. Gee, J 2003, What Video Games have to teach us about Learning and Literacy, Palgrave, New York. Kim, H., Jun, M & Ham, M 2005, ‘The effect of internet addiction on elementary school life,’ Youth Studies, vol. 12, no. 4, pp. 441–456. Kumpulainen, K & Mutanen, M 1998, ‘Collaborative practice of science construction in a computer-based multimedia environment, Computers Education, vol. 30, no. 1/2, pp. 75-85. Hinchliff, G 2008, ‘Toddling Toward Technology: Computer Use by Very Young Children,’ Children and Libraries, pp. 47-49 Johnson, G 2010, Internet Use and Child Development: Validation of the Ecological Techno-Subsystem, Educational Technology & Society, vol. 13, no. 1, pp. 176–185. McCarrick, K & Xiaoming 2007, Buried treasure: The impact of computer use on young children’s social, cognitive, language development and motivation, AACE Journal, vol. 15, no. 1, pp.73-95 McVey, C 1997, ‘Video games, aggression, and the new ERSB ratings system, Dissertation Abstracts International, 61, 12,6568A Olson, J 2001, ‘Technology’s Tendency to Undermine Serious Study: A Cautionary Note,’ Clearing House, vol. 75, no. 1, pp. 8-13 Pillay, H 2002, ‘An investigation of cognitive processes engaged in by recreational computer game players: Implications for skills for the future, Journal of Research on Technology in Education, vol. 34, no. 3, pp. 336–350. Plowman, L., McPake, J & Stephen, C 2010, ‘The Technologization of Childhood? Young Children and Technology in the Home,’ Children & Society, vol. 24, pp. 63-74 Rowan, C 2010, ‘Unplug—Don't Drug: A 'Critical Look at the Influence of Technology on Child Behavior With an Alternative Way of Responding Other Than Evaluation and Drugging,’ Ethical Human Psychology and Psychiatry, vol. 12, no. 1, pp. 60-68. Schacter, J1999, ‘The Impact of Education Technology on Student Achievement: What the Most Current Research Has to Say’, Milken Exchange on Education Technology, pp. 1-11 Seo, H., Young, C., Hwa, J & Hyun, C 2011, ‘Relationship between Young Children’s Habitual Computer Use and Influencing Variables on Socio-Emotional Development,’ Early Child Development and Care, vol. 181, no. 2, pp. 245-265. Zekeriya, K & Zuhal, O 2009, ‘Evaluating English Language Teaching Software for Kids: Education or Entertainment or Both?’ The Turkish Online Journal of Educational Technology, vol. 8, no. 3, pp. 30-38 Read More