Technology Impact on Children in USA - Research Paper Example

Technology Impact on Children in USA The development of technology in modern America has had a massive impact on the entire society because most of the daily activities have come to be conducted using it. The fact that technology has become a basic part of life has made it indispensable for the entire society and this has created a situation where it has come to affect the younger generations. Today’s children have become the greatest fans and users of diverse forms of technology and their enthusiasm for it has led to the development of more technologies to suit their needs. Economy has become so tied up with technology that parents have come to rely heavily on it to ensure that their children are occupied while they work. Therefore, technology has found a permanent place in the lives of American children and because of this situation; it has come to have both a positive and negative impact on them. Development of technology has led to a situation where the lives of American children have become commoditised for the purpose of ensuring that they are hooked to them. Because of the need to ensure that the economy to remains profitable different technologies have been devised to ensure that almost everything, especially human activity, has been turned into a commodity (November 641). This commoditization through the development of technology has increased the rift between parents and children because some activities which used to be done exclusively within families, such as eating and doing chores together, have now been replaced by such technology as television, and people are now doing them individually. The adoption of technology among children has happened at the expense of the functions which a regular family would provide such as social support for its members, the personal relationships in which people could count on one another, and some biological functions, such as mothers breast feeding their babies. In relation to the adoption of technology such as mobile phones, computers, video games and iPads, the use of technology among children has led to the development of autonomy and irresponsible individualism which is not only detrimental to the family, but also to the society as well. This has led to a type of senseless competition, especially among siblings, towards the acquisition of better forms of technology and also towards the seeking of stimulation and excitement through doing things which are very dangerous to one’s health or life. The use of technology has had a negative impact on the mental development of children because it has led to the reduction of the time which parents would normally spend with their children; essentially depriving them of a normal upbringing. Because of technology usage, when one compares the children in contemporary America with their counterparts only a few decades ago, one will find that there are significant differences between them. These differences have been largely brought about by the intensified adoption and use of technology that has been going on in recent times, as well as the swift technological development within the United States. The fact that a large number of children use technology in their lives has led to the development of an antisocial attitude among them. This antisocial attitude has developed because of the belief among these children that they no longer need to interact physically with others in order to build friendships and other relationships. Moreover, because of the antisocial attitude, a fair number of children have become alienated from the society because they lack the social skills necessary to interact constructively with others. In circumstances where children have to communicate with other people, they end up texting instead even though the people they are communicating with are only a short distance away from them. Moreover, technology has come to influence the way children behave and it has been found that many children have become influenced, through such technologies as the internet, in the manner in which they dress and conduct themselves (Bateman et al 86). While this new way of conducting themselves might not seem to be a significant influence on the way in which children were expected to behave themselves, it is but the outward sign of the cultural changes that are taking place in the lives of these children due to technology. The fact that a large number of children are becoming influenced on how to live their lives through such technology as video games and television might create a situation where it is difficult for them to develop their own personalities and the latter will most likely be a reflection of what they see on television. One of the greatest technological influences on children in the United States has been the internet which provides a powerful tool for online resources and is an information dissemination tool for many children across the nation. Recent researches have shown an increase in the number of children who access the internet everyday in the United States and it is a fact that these children are exposed to many databases, which may sometimes contain violent, prohibited and at times illegal content (Sagan and Leighton 119). Among the latter are websites which give those who access them instructions about how they can commit suicide. These circumstances have led to the need for serious involvement by parents to ensure that whatever content that their children access on the internet is safe. It is a fact that there are sexual predators that use the internet to lure children to give them information about themselves or make them send pictures of themselves, whether in the nude or otherwise, with sinister intent (Roddel 6). In addition, there have also been cases where children have been found accessing inappropriate material while browsing and these vary from pornographic sites, violent content including videos, pictures and writings. These are very harmful to a child because they may not only lead to a child getting molested by predators but may also lead to his displaying inappropriate behavior due to the watching of pornography. Moreover, it has been found that there are certain websites which preach radical forms of religions which might become a negative influence on children because they often preach religious hatred as well as discrimination; undesirable aspects of life in modern America. Another danger from the internet comes about when the child becomes a victim of cyber bullying from their friends and other internet users (Williams and Lebrun 91). Cyber bullying might occur in such circumstances where individuals might circulate embarrassing images or videos of their friends or peers to others in school or online and this creates a situation where the child becomes victimized by others. Among the technology that are prominent among American children today is those that enable them to access social networks because they allow them to share their activities with their friends online. Social networking sites have come to have an immense influence on the lives of children, many of who have signed up on these websites. These networks have become so influential that many children in the United States use them on a daily basis and it is not uncommon to find children being available on their respective social networks throughout the day and night. Children, who only a few years ago would have been considered too young, have become active participants in social networks; a trend that has become extremely worrying for a number of parents (Soeters and van Schaik 31). This worry has developed because of their participation on social networking sites, children barely get enough rest to ensure that they are refreshed enough to tackle activities such as school the next day. Moreover, these networks have made children to be detached from the real world where interactions are carried out physically. As a result, many children have come to live a life where there is no active participation of their parents in their lives because. Since the latter are either always away working or the children themselves do not have the time needed to spend with their parents because of their engrossment with social networks. Access to technology such as the internet is currently considered a basic right for all children in the United States; therefore, it has become the norm for this technology to be made universal for them. Consequently, many children have access to the internet even in their homes, allowing them almost unrestricted access and this has helped a great deal in their mental development. However, the amount of time that children spend on the internet is detrimental to their mental development because it makes them too lazy to be creative. Lack of creativity has resulted because the internet has almost all types of information that children require, and this has reduced their ability to think independently, often relying on online sources of information (Fortson et al 137). Studies have revealed that those children who spend too much time online tend to have low scores in the tests they are given in school. Furthermore, a majority of the children who spend most of their time online are not able to concentrate on one matter at a time, hence a lack of the ability to think clearly. Children who spend most of their time online tend to swiftly shift from one subject to another even when they are socialising under normal circumstances and this is a sign of their lack of creative ability. Because many children lack focus, the more likely than not risk not being able to develop the social skills necessary to thrive in the world. Lack of social ability because of the overuse of technology has become a tragic trend among contemporary American children because have come to rely more on the information developed by others. There has developed the fear that technology might freeze the thinking capacity of children as time goes by and that they might not be able to develop the skills they need to create more information. Access to diverse forms of technology might be considered to be a basic right for American children, but this access needs to be restricted because otherwise, children might end up unknowingly stifling their mental and physical development. The use of technology among American children has led to a situation whereby they lack enough physical activity to prevent themselves from developing such medical conditions as obesity, which is fast becoming a problem among them (Park, Soo Kyung et al 896; Jain 425). Therefore, while the internet may be useful for American children, it should not be made a main priority, and in fact, its use should be discouraged, except in the most urgent circumstances, in favour of taking part in physical exercise to maintain their health. In conclusion, the ever-increasing use of technology has augmented the rift between parents and children because some activities, which used to be done exclusively within families have now been replaced by such technology as television, and children tend to live their lives individually. Moreover, it has been found that when the children in contemporary America are compared to their counterparts only a few decades ago, one will find that there are significant differences between them. Furthermore, there has been an increase in the number of children accessing the internet every day in the United States; as a result, these children are exposed to many databases, which may sometimes contain violent, prohibited and at times illegal content. Endangerment from the internet comes about when children become victims of cyber bullying from their friends and other internet users to such an extent that some of them have gone as far as committing suicide. The discussion has shown that access to the internet is currently considered to be a basic right for all children in the United States, and because of this, it has become the norm for this technology to be made universal for them. Finally, there has developed the fear that technology might freeze the thinking capacity of children as time goes by and that they might not be able to develop the skills they need to create more information. Works Cited Bateman, Patrick J., et al. 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Soeters, Karen E., and van Schaik, Katinka. "Children's Experiences on the Internet." New Library World 107.1 (2006): 31-6. Read More