TECHNOLOGY HURTING TODAY'S YOUTH
Technology Harming Today’s Youth
Technology Harming Today’s Youth
The 21st century is a remarkable time where everything is changing from tradition to technology. This has a profound effect on our youth and will have a greater effect on future generations. These times will shape the future generations for either a technology-reliant generation or shape and mold the future of tradition. The effect of young people having technology is overly apparent to teachers and their parents. Their kids get bored with things they loved to do as kids. The difference is they have television and many other technologies growing up that have shaped their minds into being entertained. If they are not they will ignore, throw fits or simply not learn from the experience. Neil Postman warns in his book Amusing Ourselves to Death that education presented as entertainment undermines tradition. Traditions like learning from your teacher instead of an online application. Traditions like learning from the outside world around you by exploring it instead of digitally exploring the internet. Today teachers are attempting to turn technology into learning devices but much like Postman’s “rear-view mirror thinking”, the iPad and related devices are used for entertainment. The impact technologies like the iPad and iPod and introducing video games for “educational benefit” are not helping them socially, emotionally or educationally as much as harming them.
Social and Emotional Development
Technology has presented a new path to children and adults. This path allows them “escape into a virtual world” (Berkco, 2011, p. 1). Allowing kids to have devices at a young age permits them a lot of freedom to explore and get distracted by more entertaining things than the educators or parents intended to. They can find many things in this virtual world that will consume their lives including distracting them from education.
Technology Harming Today’s Youth
The 21st century is a remarkable time where everything is changing from tradition to technology. This has a profound effect on our youth and will have a greater effect on future generations. These times will shape the future generations for either a technology-reliant generation or shape and mold the future of tradition. The effect of young people having technology is overly apparent to teachers and their parents. Their kids get bored with things they loved to do as kids. The difference is they have television and many other technologies growing up that have shaped their minds into being entertained. If they are not they will ignore, throw fits or simply not learn from the experience. Neil Postman warns in his book Amusing Ourselves to Death that education presented as entertainment undermines tradition. Traditions like learning from your teacher instead of an online application. Traditions like learning from the outside world around you by exploring it instead of digitally exploring the internet. Today teachers are attempting to turn technology into learning devices but much like Postman’s “rear-view mirror thinking”, the iPad and related devices are used for entertainment. The impact technologies like the iPad and iPod and introducing video games for “educational benefit” are not helping them socially, emotionally or educationally as much as harming them.
Social and Emotional Development
Technology has presented a new path to children and adults. This path allows them “escape into a virtual world” (Berkco, 2011, p. 1). Allowing kids to have devices at a young age permits them a lot of freedom to explore and get distracted by more entertaining things than the educators or parents intended to. They can find many things in this virtual world that will consume their lives including distracting them from education.
References: Bercko, S., & Blatnik, S. (2011). NEW GENERATION LEARNING -- OPEN QUESTIONS Technologica Acta, 4(1), 1-4. — Bangor Daily News — BDN Maine. Maine news, sports, politics and obituaries — Bangor Daily News — BDN Maine. Retrieved June 5, 2013, from http://bangordailynews.com/2012/05/13/opinion/an-apology-to-the-4g-generation/ Postman, Neil (1985, 2005). Amusing Ourselves to Death: Public Discourse in the Age of Show Business. Penguin Books. Hollingworth, S. S., Mansaray, A. A., Allen, K. K., & Rose, A. A. (2011). Parents ' perspectives on technology and children 's learning in the home: Social class and the role of the habitus. Journal Of Computer Assisted Learning, 27(4), 347-360. doi:10.1111/j.1365-2729.2011.00431.x Wack, E., & Tantleff-Dunn, S. (2009). Relationships between Electronic Game Play, Obesity, and Psychosocial Functioning in Young Men. Cyberpsychology & Behavior, 12(2), 241-244. doi:10.1089/cpb.2008.0151 Padilla-Walker, L. M., Nelson, L. J., Carroll, J. S., & Jensen, A. C. (2010). More Than a Just a Game: Video Game and Internet Use During Emerging Adulthood. Journal Of Youth & Adolescence, 39(2), 103-113.