Impacts of technology to US children - Research Paper Example

Insert Lecturer’s Impacts of technology to US children Introduction Children in the current era in the United s have a higher exposure to technology as compared to any other generation in the past. Therefore, experts and doctors are worried about the side effects of technology to children as they grow. Some strongly believe that technology has offered a wide range of advantages to children and have helped with their development. For example, technology allows education to be modernized as well as a classroom to be updated to cope with the high pace as well as the ever-changing world. On the other hand, technology is preventing the development of the younger generation and exposes them to various harmful material and violence. To determine the way technology should be integrated into the lives of children, the paper will discus negative impacts like addiction and laziness that come as a result of technology. On the other hand, it will also discuss positive impacts of technology like improving the skills on the youth population of this generation in the United States. Technology has emerged to be an essential part of Americans’ daily lives, affecting people’s communications, mail, relationships as well as the management of bills and finances (Akmanoglu and Nurgul). However, as people are more into the benefits as well as the capabilities of these ever-developing technologies, children, as well as adults, have become passionate users (Cockett). In the analysis, the paper will tackle both positive and negative impacts of information technology to the current generation and more so the children within the United States. Also, the study will base on base on previous research to find more details about the impacts of technology to American children (Hsin and Ching-Ting). For the study to be more effective, it will also consider environmental factors that contribute to technology enhancement within the United States. Benefits of technology to children Computer games that came as a result of technology have helped improve children’s skills of abstract thinking, reflective thinking as well as evaluating information. Also, it has helped increase communication between the young ones and the health practitioners. The use of technology enables an individual to perceive images at a higher speed. Besides, an individual can watch videos that makes one feel the actual reality of the picture. Basing on various studies, kids who have been using technology for some time are viewed to have an increase in visual reasoning skills. The technology helps children to understand the operations of various apps that are employed in operating the technology. With these skills, the child will be able to coordinate various activities at the same time. Furthermore, it has given the children the ability to identify facial emotions expressions by the use of computers. As a result, technology has helped improve the literacy rate among the children. Technology can only be of good help to children if they are guided on what and what not to operate with their smartphones as well as the computers. Therefore, enabling young ones to poses cell phones fulfills this functionality for connectivity. The development of technology has made children ease the concerns that come along with childhood connectivity. Therefore, technology is considered an important factor in the current US generation because it is helping parents keep track of their children. Also, the aid of the technology enables parents to bring up their children in line with their likes and avoid the dislikes as well as peer influence. Changing Social Norms is another major positive impact of technology to America’s children. In this section, technology has helped improve the communication level of children within the United States. In this section, how children interact with other children across the world helps improves their social experience that having one on one conversation. Therefore, technology helps children to develop their social behaviors (Lentz). That is, through interaction with the entire world, the children will be able to develop their communication skills as well as their ability to communicate effectively. Children boosted their social norms by interacting with people of different cultures as well as traditions. Using technology to get physical is another positive impact of technology to US children in the current era. In this case, children view various sports and try to emulate Internet sports as well as procedures that eventually help them to improve their physical health. Also, it helps to expand the class boundaries. In this case, it has enabled various educational fields through simulations as well as three-dimensional models that would not have been available beforehand (Manches). Also, technology has contributed in preparing children for the workforce at a tender age. Therefore, technology is positively influencing the lives of American children for it help them to improve their social lifestyle, boost their communication styles as well as help to improve connectivity between the children and their parents. Drawbacks of technology to children Computer games are addictive. With the addiction from computers, the children might find themselves spending their entire day on computers. As a result, this might negatively affect their school performance (Slutsky). Internet safety issues are another major disadvantage of technology to the children. That is, technology can temper with privacy and safety of various confidential matters. The secrets as well as confidential matters of the children as well as of their family will be at risk for they can easily be accessed by other children in other parts of the world. Using technology with less physical activities leads to obesity. That is, more use of technology can make one lazy and hence his or her body will be demand. As a result, the child is at higher risk of developing diseases like obesity. Also, technology can affect the way children feel. That is, children will learn more different things different from what is available in their local surroundings. As a result, the children will copy various behaviors from the internet that might affect how they react as well as how they feel about various aspects (Singer and Singer). Various studies also indicate that continuous use of technology has a negative impact on the way a child thinks. The study indicates that ones a child spends most of his or her time on the internet; he or she is likely to develop certain behaviors that will have long-term impacts to the brain of the child. For instance, if the child concentrates in an article for long, and the video games might condition the brain to concentrate to multiple stimuli that will lead to distraction as well as decreased memory. Furthermore, the study indicates that the children who frequently employ search engines may turn to be excellent in finding information. However, these children who are experts in finding information by use of search engines are not good at remembering that particular information. Conclusion Technology is an element that both advantages and disadvantages. Therefore, it is the responsibility of parents and teachers to control negative impacts of technology from destroying the younger generation. To do so, they are supposed to teach on responsible usage of technology as well as monitor how their children use technology. That is, they are supposed to they are to supervise their kids to prevent them from visiting websites that can promote violence. Also, offering alternatives to technology can also help reduce negative impacts of technology to children. For instance, teachers are supposed to give children assignments that are to be submitted through hard copy. It will enable them to brainstorm and reduce relying on the internet so much. Therefore, Technology is an important tool that needs to be controlled so as to increase the benefit it has to the US children and at the same time reduce its negative impacts. References Akmanoglu, Nurgul. Effectiveness of Teaching Naming Facial Expression to Children with Autism Via Video Modeling. ESTP 15.2 (2015): 519-537. Web. Cockett, Andrea. Technology Dependence And Children: A Review Of The Evidence. Nursing Children and Young People 24.1 (2012): 32-35. Web. Hsin, Ching-Ting, Ming-Chaun Li, and Chin-Chung Tsai. The Influence Of Young Childrens Use Of Technology On Their Learning: A Review. Journal of Educational Technology & Society 17.4 (2014): 85-99. Print. Lentz, Lorelle, Kay Kyeong-JuSeo, and Bridget Gruner. Revisiting The Early Use Of Technology: A Critical Shift From "How Young Is Too Young?" To "How Much Is Just Right?". Dimensions of Early Childhood 42.1 (2014): 15-23. Print. Manches, Andrew et al. Three Questions About The Internet Of Things And Children. TechTrends 59.1 (2014): 76-83. Web. Slutsky, Ruslan, Mindy Slutsky, and Lori M. DeShelter. Playing With Technology: Is It All Bad?. Dimensions of Early Childhood 42.3 (2014): 18-23. Print. Read More