Recent research shows that younger individuals are adopting and utilizing technology more than any other age group. The most online users are children between the age of ten and fifteen. The school going children between the age of ten and fifteen spend at least two hours online every weekday and more than three hours on the weekends. Younger people are using the internet more, they use various type of technology use, such as social media and communication, video games and television. Although technology benefits children, the negative impacts, especially since childhood is a development period, cannot be ignored. One of the most impacted areas by technology is the socialization of children. Technology negatively affects children’s developing social skills, health, overall ability to focus, addiction, and disconnection from parental relationships. The micro system is the most important interaction in child socialization because that is where the child spends the most time. Technology use can cause social and behavioral problems in children because it minimizes the amount of time kids spend interacting with others.
The Impact
Technology has become an essential part of our daily lives, affecting our communications, mail, relationships, the management of our bills and finances. As we become more engaged in the benefits and capabilities of these constantly developing technologies, children as well as adults have become avid users. Software and game companies have been targeting children in their game development. Video games have become common entertainment for children as young as four. Children today can pick up a smart phone and easily learn how to use all of its features. On the opposite side, some believe that technology is stunning children’s development and making them more prone to violence. Children were more engaged with the use of technological gadgets. A majority of children has knowledge regarding technological gadgets and use for more than four hours on a daily basis. Usage of technology has limited children’s activities in community engagements and sometimes showing aggressive behavior on keeping them away from the technological gadgets. Since the over usage of internet, there have been adult anxieties about what children might see and know through this new medium. The same focus of attention and the same anxieties have united around children’s relationships with new electronic technologies.
The Impact of technologies on young children depends on their age and characteristics. Nowadays people tend to give phones to children so they would be calm and won’t cry or won’t behave aggressively but back in days we would receive punishment or reward to behave in a certain way. And now the new bones have their own accounts on social media platforms. Parents becoming irresponsible as technology develops. Instead of bringing their children to playgrounds or buying toys they entertain them using YouTube videos. As social media become all in one platform for everything, we have been solely relaying on it. Preschoolers become familiar with digital devices before they are exposed to books. We are more connected than even before. Many children have access to tablets and smartphones before they learn to walk and talk. People tend to be scared, or at least wary, of new developments in technology. Yet we live in an age where digital tools have fundamentally transformed the world, and the reality of children’s lives. Technology has made it convenient to keep our everyday tasks. While children seem entertained using devices such as tablets, television, cellphones, and computers, many studies show that these devices may have negative effects. Overuse of electronic devices may cause impairment in the development of a child’s social skills. This includes the ability to make friends in persons, take responsibility for actions, display good manners, use polite language, control emotions and temper, fellow verbal directions, and develop empathy for others. A child who excessively uses electronic may become isolated and fail develop normal communication skills such as conversational skills, listening, and making eye contact. A child may also be less able to identify social cues and be less attentive. Not only can the chronic use of technological devices have a negative impact on the development of social skills, it can also affect a child’s mental health. According to one study, it was found that teenagers who persistently logged on to Facebook were more likely to present with psychological issues such as mania, paranoia, aggressiveness, antisocial behavior, narcissism and increased substance use.
Studies have shown that children who regularly use the internet and play video games exhibit more anxiety and depression. They can also be more impulsive, moody, and have difficulty maintaining focus. They may experience social anxiety due to a lack of social skills and more likely to express feeling bored or unhappy at school. Studies have also found that technological devices can also have harmful implications on the brain. Excessive use of electronic devices has also been found to have physical effects on child. Parents have taken back their role as agents of socialization and minimize the use of technology gadgets among children
