Effects of the Increased Use of Internet Services Among Children and the Youth - Report Example

RЕSЕАRСH-BАSЕD АSSIGNMЕNT-RЕSЕАRСH РRОJЕСT- СОNTЕMРОRАRY Student’s Name: Course Code: Tutor’s Name: Date of Submission Effects of the increased use of internet services among children and the youth Introduction In the today’s world, there has been increased use of the internet services among children and the youth (Guan and Subrahmanyam, 2017). This has been due to the increased technological advancements and globalisation. According to Mazalin and Klein (2008), there are several reasons that make the youth or children to use the internet and this has been associated with both positive and negative impacts on the users. Negative effects include addiction to the internet, internet risks such as online harassment and access to pornographic materials among the children (Subrahmanyam & Lin, 2007). Additionally, continued access to the internet causes health disorders such as myopia and mental disorders. On the other hand, children and young people will benefit from easier communication as well as better research with the help of the internet. Information found on the internet is also important for making their lives better (Maypole, 2012). This essay will analyse the effects of using the internet among children and the youth. Negative effects Nick (2009) says that the internet has become very addictive among school going children and the youth. This addition comes in a variety of ways depending on the user. Some children or the youth may be addicted to social networking sites, gaming sites as well as gambling sites. This will have harmful repercussions to the life of the child as addition brings about the loss of touch with the family as well as social life and negative results will be seen in the academic performance of the user (Kennedy, Judd, Churchward, Gray & Krause, 2008). It is usually characterised by the continuous use of the internet even if the user desires to stop. Socialisation has been greatly affected in the lives of children who are addicted to the internet. This has been a serious issue since the victims do not have time to socialise due to their attachment with the internet (Mazalin and Klein, 2008). This affects the children's social life and emotional balance is not realised. Internet usage among children has caused health issues and disorders among the users (Nick, 2009). Cases of insomnia have been reported by children who have been addicted to the internet. This is a condition where the children develop sleep disorders which are unhealthy to their mental growth because sleep is very important for good health to be realised by young people (Mazalin and Klein, 2008). After continuous usage of the internet, the users may be prone to a condition where they don't sleep at all. Use of computers, as well as other electronic devices to access the internet, has made some the children to develop problems in their eyes (Kennedy, Judd, Churchward, Gray & Krause, 2008). A very common condition among these users is myopia or short sightedness that has been reported to affect many children who use these devices to access the internet (Guan and Subrahmanyam, 2017). According to Mazalin and Klein (2008), many school going children have also reduced their thinking capacity due to the continued use of the internet. This is due to over-reliance on the internet in school work. A very good example is when the children are given an assignment by their teachers. Many tend to get information from the internet and copy the facts down (Mazalin and Klein, 2008). Due to the fact that this is not the right thing to do, the children become lazier and their capacity of thinking reduce significantly. Moral corruption is another negative effect of the internet. Children get exposed to pornographic sites as they use the internet. This affects the children moral values as well their innocence as some will tend to try what they see on the internet at an early age (Guan, and Subrahmanyam, 2017). Still, in the morals point of view, children have been reported to be sexually abused due to the continued use of the internet. Some sexual predators take advantage of the children they come across through the internet and exploit them sexually (Mazalin and Klein, 2008). Some of the social networking sites on the internet are also used by people whose intention is to exploit children sexually. Interactions with these people in the social media will make the children fall victim and end up being sexually molested (Kennedy, Judd, Churchward, Gray & Krause, 2008). Internet usage by young children is usually associated with cyber bullying. This is where a willful harm is repeatedly inflicted to the young internet users by other users using the internet (Nick, 2009). This affects the children negatively in that their lives are threatened. The bullies usually hide their identity and send anonymous messages to the children with the use of electronic gadgets. The messages may hurt the children as most of them take place using the social media platforms (Guan and Subrahmanyam, 2017). This makes the user children to feel guilty or have a sense of hopelessness as if they cannot get out of the situation. It may also be accompanied by feelings of the children not to belong to their peer group resulting to depression (Kennedy, Judd, Churchward, Gray & Krause, 2008). Additionally, cyber bullying victims are always afraid and unsafe. Internet usage among children is also associated with other social effects. Children are continually using their leisure time using the internet (Maypole, 2012). This results to the users wasting more of their time on the internet other than being constructive. This may bring about lifestyle diseases such as obesity due to lack of exercises (Guan and Subrahmanyam, 2017). Academic performance to the affected ones is negatively affected since they spend most of their time using the internet other than studying. Lack of supervision on how children use the internet may also cause negative effects on the lives of their children (Subrahmanyam & Lin, 2007). They can be tricked by online scammers to disclose confidential details relating to their parents such as credit card numbers. This will eventually lead to cyber fraud and financial losses to the affected. Positive effects On the other hand, internet has been a powerful invention if used by children in the right way. School going children usually benefit from online research for their school projects (Maypole, 2012). Other than using textbooks and other academic materials, these young learners may use the internet to access the same information, therefore, benefit the learners. There have been positive developments of online libraries where learners can access learning materials at their homes with the help of the internet. This helps the children in conducting scholarly research as well as learning new ideas without having to travel (Guan and Subrahmanyam, 2017). Some of the computer games available on the internet are beneficial to kids as they are educational. Maypole (2012) says that teachers are nowadays prescribing some online games for children who need some specific skills such as spelling and multiplication among others. These specific games help the children in practising skills which are new to them and the same time they have fun (Maypole, 2012). This helps the children in that they do it whether at home or in school. Online learning and gaming may make the learners develop some unique skills with regard to technology. This may help in laying the foundation for the learner as they enhance their skills or even earn income from the skills (Subrahmanyam & Lin, 2007). Children who get exposed to the internet early in their lives develop skills that can be used by the children in their youthful age to earn income. They are those children who are talented in graphics design or blogging. They can receive inspirational messages from the internet and start developing their careers as web designers in the future (Nick, 2009). Some may even develop their own gaming sites. In 2012 for example, 80,000 individuals were employed by video game companies and computers in the United States (Guan and Subrahmanyam, 2017). The Internet is closely associated with faster communication among the users. The social networking sites communication among the children who use the internet to share ideas in a faster way (Guan and Subrahmanyam, 2017). This benefits them in that communication may make them interact with other children from different cultural backgrounds. This communication enables the children to understand one another resulting to a more peaceful world. Their communication skills are also enhanced through the use of the internet, therefore, developing a better world to live in (Maypole, 2012). Conclusion In conclusion, the internet has been the most powerful invention in the world today. It has affected its users in different ways mostly children and the youth making it a contemporary issue. Children can either be affected negatively or positively by continued use of the internet. Addiction, moral corruption as well as cyber bullying are some of the negative impacts of the internet to its young users. This affects their social life as well as their academic performance in schools. Health disorders such as myopia and insomnia can also be experienced by children due to continuous use of the internet. On the other hand, internet has been associated with some benefits to the user. Some of the gaming sites are important in that they help the children to get important skills in life. Learning and academic research have also been made easier by the internet. Children can access learning materials in online libraries at their homes. It has also made communication easier among the users. Due to these effects, it is clear that children usage of the internet should be monitored by their parents to prevent the negative impacts. References Guan, S. A. and Subrahmanyam, K. (2017, May 17). Youth internet use: Risks and opportunities Medscape, retrieved from http://www.medscape.com/viewarticle/704888_2 Kennedy, G.E., Judd, T. S., Churchward, A., Gray, K. & Krause, K. (2008). First-year Students’ Experiences with Technology: Are They Really Digital Natives?, Australasian Journal of Educational Technology, 24(1): 108-122. Maypole, M. (2012, July 12). Positive effects of the internet on kids learning. Qustodio, Retrieved from, https://www.qustodio.com/en/blog/2012/12/positive-effects-of-the-internet-on-kids-learning/ Mazalin, D. and Klein, B. (2008). Social Anxiety and the Internet: Positive and Negative Effects, E-Journal of Applied Psychology, 4(2), pp. 43-50. Nick, F. (2009). Leading children's services: some contemporary issues and challenges, Journal of Children's Services, 4 (3), pp.49-57, doi: 10.1108/17466660200900017 Subrahmanyam, K. & Lin, G. (2007). Adolescents on the net: Internet use and well-being, Adolescence, 42, pp.659-677 Read More

Moral corruption is another negative effect of the internet. Children get exposed to pornographic sites as they use the internet. This affects the children moral values as well their innocence as some will tend to try what they see on the internet at an early age (Guan, and Subrahmanyam, 2017). Still, in the morals point of view, children have been reported to be sexually abused due to the continued use of the internet. Some sexual predators take advantage of the children they come across through the internet and exploit them sexually (Mazalin and Klein, 2008).

Some of the social networking sites on the internet are also used by people whose intention is to exploit children sexually. Interactions with these people in the social media will make the children fall victim and end up being sexually molested (Kennedy, Judd, Churchward, Gray & Krause, 2008). Internet usage by young children is usually associated with cyber bullying. This is where a willful harm is repeatedly inflicted to the young internet users by other users using the internet (Nick, 2009).

This affects the children negatively in that their lives are threatened. The bullies usually hide their identity and send anonymous messages to the children with the use of electronic gadgets. The messages may hurt the children as most of them take place using the social media platforms (Guan and Subrahmanyam, 2017). This makes the user children to feel guilty or have a sense of hopelessness as if they cannot get out of the situation. It may also be accompanied by feelings of the children not to belong to their peer group resulting to depression (Kennedy, Judd, Churchward, Gray & Krause, 2008).

Additionally, cyber bullying victims are always afraid and unsafe. Internet usage among children is also associated with other social effects. Children are continually using their leisure time using the internet (Maypole, 2012). This results to the users wasting more of their time on the internet other than being constructive. This may bring about lifestyle diseases such as obesity due to lack of exercises (Guan and Subrahmanyam, 2017). Academic performance to the affected ones is negatively affected since they spend most of their time using the internet other than studying.

Lack of supervision on how children use the internet may also cause negative effects on the lives of their children (Subrahmanyam & Lin, 2007). They can be tricked by online scammers to disclose confidential details relating to their parents such as credit card numbers. This will eventually lead to cyber fraud and financial losses to the affected. Positive effects On the other hand, internet has been a powerful invention if used by children in the right way. School going children usually benefit from online research for their school projects (Maypole, 2012).

Other than using textbooks and other academic materials, these young learners may use the internet to access the same information, therefore, benefit the learners. There have been positive developments of online libraries where learners can access learning materials at their homes with the help of the internet. This helps the children in conducting scholarly research as well as learning new ideas without having to travel (Guan and Subrahmanyam, 2017). Some of the computer games available on the internet are beneficial to kids as they are educational.

Maypole (2012) says that teachers are nowadays prescribing some online games for children who need some specific skills such as spelling and multiplication among others. These specific games help the children in practising skills which are new to them and the same time they have fun (Maypole, 2012). This helps the children in that they do it whether at home or in school. Online learning and gaming may make the learners develop some unique skills with regard to technology. This may help in laying the foundation for the learner as they enhance their skills or even earn income from the skills (Subrahmanyam & Lin, 2007).

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