Growing up in the beginning of a new era, I witnessed a time before cell phones and advanced technology took over the lives of Americans. Going to Block Busters and picking out a VHS tape was the closest thing that I had to binge watching Netflix. Honestly, I feel bad for the children who have never experienced waiting in line to rent out a movie and browsing the candy section with immense consideration. By the time I was in the sixth grade the world in terms of technology changed drastically. Video stores began to close while streaming services began to invade the televisions at home. Every child and adult began to carry around cell phones and began to post their lives on social media outlets such as Facebook and Twitter. Soon the era of playing outside until dark and watching re-runs on the television died out. Being a substitute teacher and a nanny for multiple families has opened my eyes to how much technology affects the children of today. Kids are no longer interested unless it has to do with Youtube, Netflix, or their game systems.
The battle between the benefits and consequences of children being exposed to technology has become a heated topic. So where does cognition and their development come into play? Children's brains are more vulnerable than adults due to them still being in the development stage. Basically this just means that children's cognitive development is very impressionable. "Developing brains are particularly vulnerable to this, and where previous generations may have spent much more time reading, imagining or participating in activities that require focus attention, brains, in children exposed to high volumes of technology may adapt frequent visual stimulation, rapid change and little need for imagination" ("How Technology Affects", 2019, para. 4). When technology is practically able to think for children, they become unable to cultivate their own imaginations and need for visual stimulation. Thus, reading and solving problems can become much more of a difficulty due to the lack of visual stimulation and focus. There have been many times in which children don't know what to draw or create and want me to tell them exactly what to do.
There have also been times in which I have been guilty in using the television as a distraction for rowdy kids that I am babysitting. This can be a very dangerous rabbit hole, in which can be an easy way out for parents when their child is needy or upset. Every time a parent hands over a device in order to distract their children, they are taking away the child's ability to self sooth and regulate ("How Technology Affects", 2019). So what does this mean in terms of parenting? Believe it or not, too much screen time can actually set up the child to fail in the booming world of technology. Other activities are vital and time away from technology can play a major role in how your child views and succeeds in the world around them. Activities away from technology can range from reading and creating to board games and time outside in the fresh air. By sending your kids outside, they are forced to activate their imagination and rely on their own abilities to entertain themselves (Taylor, 2012).
This does not mean that technology has all bad side effects and negativity on a child's cognitive development. with the use of technology, instead of needing to remember certain information, children are beginning to adapt the skills of "high-order" processing. According to Jim Taylor (2012), "For example, the ubiquitous use of the internet search engines is causing children to become less adept at remembering things and more skilled at remembering where to find things. Given the ease with which information can found these days, it only stands to reason that knowing where to look is becoming more important for children than actually knowing something" (Para. 11).Furthermore, the use of video games and other screen media can help increase the ability to attend and improves the capability to identify certain things amongst clutter. With the boom of technology, the importance of finding information is more valuable then retaining certain information.
References;
How Technology Affects Child Development. (2019). Retrieved from; https://www.floridatechonline.com/blog/psychology/how-technology-affects-child-development/
Taylor, J. (2012). How Technology is Changing the Way Children Think and Focus. Psychology Today. Retrieved from; https://www.psychologytoday.com/us/blog/the-power-prime/201212/how-technology-is-changing-the-way-children-think-and-focus
The battle between the benefits and consequences of children being exposed to technology has become a heated topic. So where does cognition and their development come into play? Children's brains are more vulnerable than adults due to them still being in the development stage. Basically this just means that children's cognitive development is very impressionable. "Developing brains are particularly vulnerable to this, and where previous generations may have spent much more time reading, imagining or participating in activities that require focus attention, brains, in children exposed to high volumes of technology may adapt frequent visual stimulation, rapid change and little need for imagination" ("How Technology Affects", 2019, para. 4). When technology is practically able to think for children, they become unable to cultivate their own imaginations and need for visual stimulation. Thus, reading and solving problems can become much more of a difficulty due to the lack of visual stimulation and focus. There have been many times in which children don't know what to draw or create and want me to tell them exactly what to do.
There have also been times in which I have been guilty in using the television as a distraction for rowdy kids that I am babysitting. This can be a very dangerous rabbit hole, in which can be an easy way out for parents when their child is needy or upset. Every time a parent hands over a device in order to distract their children, they are taking away the child's ability to self sooth and regulate ("How Technology Affects", 2019). So what does this mean in terms of parenting? Believe it or not, too much screen time can actually set up the child to fail in the booming world of technology. Other activities are vital and time away from technology can play a major role in how your child views and succeeds in the world around them. Activities away from technology can range from reading and creating to board games and time outside in the fresh air. By sending your kids outside, they are forced to activate their imagination and rely on their own abilities to entertain themselves (Taylor, 2012).
This does not mean that technology has all bad side effects and negativity on a child's cognitive development. with the use of technology, instead of needing to remember certain information, children are beginning to adapt the skills of "high-order" processing. According to Jim Taylor (2012), "For example, the ubiquitous use of the internet search engines is causing children to become less adept at remembering things and more skilled at remembering where to find things. Given the ease with which information can found these days, it only stands to reason that knowing where to look is becoming more important for children than actually knowing something" (Para. 11).Furthermore, the use of video games and other screen media can help increase the ability to attend and improves the capability to identify certain things amongst clutter. With the boom of technology, the importance of finding information is more valuable then retaining certain information.
References;
How Technology Affects Child Development. (2019). Retrieved from; https://www.floridatechonline.com/blog/psychology/how-technology-affects-child-development/
Taylor, J. (2012). How Technology is Changing the Way Children Think and Focus. Psychology Today. Retrieved from; https://www.psychologytoday.com/us/blog/the-power-prime/201212/how-technology-is-changing-the-way-children-think-and-focus
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