Tech and Teenagers

Undoubtedly, the media can have a strong effect on the social development of children. When children are busy playing on the computer or watching television, it decreases the amount of time they have to play with friends, learn to speak properly, go out with peers and family, and develop other essential social skills (Children and the media). In general, children spend more time ingesting media than they do interacting with teachers and classmates at school (Dunnewind, A1). With new and advanced technology, children are finding no reason to go outside and play with friends when they have video games and other friendly machines (computers) right in their own homes (Healy, 193). The media deteriorates a child's attention span by "tuning out" their brains and making them only focus on the game they are playing or the show they are watching (Healy, 183). This can lead children to be unaware and careless about any other situations. A study that was performed in three different Canadian towns showed that in the town with no television, children participated in an average of sixteen sports activities, in the town with one television channel children participated in an average of eleven sports activities, and in the town with four television channels children participated in an average of six sports activities (Liebert and Sprafklin, 7). As stated, children's interactions with others is somewhat determined by their amount of exposure to the media
In order to lure children away from the overflow of media they are consuming, there are certain rules parents must apply to children and their use of media. To begin with, parents need to keep television sets, computers, and video games out of children's bedrooms (Dunnewind, A1). On average, one out of four preschoolers has a television in their bedroom, and that number increases to three out of five for teenagers (Dunnewind, A1). Parents need to keep televisions and computers in central locations so they can be easily visible... [continues]

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