With most people plugged in all the time, I often wonder what technology is having on our kids. Some say effect technology is another helpful learning tool that is making our kids smarter and some say it is having no significant at all. Still, others propose that technology use is encouraging social isolation, increasing attentional problems, encouraging unhealthy habits, and ultimately changing our culture and the way humans interact. While there isn’t a causal relationship between technology use and human development, I do think some of the correlations are strong enough to encourage you to limit your children’s screen time.
Is television really that harmful to kids? Depending on the show and duration of watching, yes. Researchers have found that exposure to programs with fast edits and scene cuts that flash unrealistically across the screen are associate with the development of attentional problems in kids. As the brain becomes overwhelmed with changing stimuli, it stops attending to any one thing and starts zoning out. Too much exposure to these frenetic programs gives the brain more practice passively accepting information without deeply processing it. However, not all programs are bad. Kids who watch slow paced television programs.
When you do shut off the tube, don’t be surprise if you have a melt down on your hands. Technology has an addictive quality because it consistently activates the release of neurotransmitters that are Effect Technology associat with pleasure and reward. There have been cases of addictions to technology in children as young as four-years-old. Recently in Britain, a four-year-old girl was put into intensive rehabilitation therapy for an iPad addiction! I’m sure you know how rewarding it is to sign onto Facebook and see that red notification at the top of the screen, or even more directly how rewarding playing games on your computer can be as you accumulate more “accomplishments.” I am guilty of obsessive compulsively checking my Facebook, email, and blog throughout the day.
The common answer to this problems is, “All things in moderation.” While I agree, moderation may be difficult for children to achieve as they do not possess the skills for self discipline and will often take the easy route if not directed by an adult. According to a new study by the Kaiser Family Foundation, children spend about 5 Effect Technology hours watching television and movies, 3 hours on the internet, 1 1/2 hours texting on the phone, and a 1/2 hour talking on the phone each day. That’s almost 75 hours of technology use each week, and I am sure these results are media by parental controls and interventions. Imagine how much technology children use when left to their own defenses! In a recent Huffington Post article, Dr. Larry Rosen summed it up well.
With such frequent technology use, it is important to understand if technology use encourages or discourages healthy habits. It’s report that among heavy technology users, half get C’s or lower in school. Light technology users fair Effect Technology much better, only a quarter of them receiving low marks. There are many factors that could mediate the relationship between technology use and poor grades. One could be decreas hours of sleep. Researchers from the Department of Family and Community Health. At the University of Maryland found that children who had three or more technological devices in their rooms. Got at least 45 minutes less sleep than the average child the same age. Another could be the attention problems that are correlat with frequent technology use.
Age comes into play when discussing the harmful effects of technology. For children younger than two-years-old. Frequent exposure to technology can be dangerously detrimental as it limits the opportunities for interaction with the physical world. Children two-years-old and younger are in the sensorimotor stage. During this stage it is crucial that they manipulate objects in the world with their bodies. So that they can learn cause-effect relationships and object permanence. Object permanence is the understanding that when an object disappears from sight, it still exists. This reasoning requires the ability to hold visual representations of objects in the mind. A precursor to understanding visual subjects such as math later in life. To develop these skills, children need several opportunities every day to mold. Create and build using materials that do not have a predetermined structure or purpose.
What a technological device provides are programs with a predetermined. Purpose that can manipulated in limit ways with consequences that often don’t fit the rules of the physical world. If the child is not being given a drawing app or the like. They are likely given programs that are in essence a lot like workbooks with structur activities. https://techsolutionstips.com/ Researchers have found that such activities hinder the cognitive development of children this age. While researchers advise parents to limit their baby’s screen time. To 2 hours or less each day, I would say it’s better to wait to introduce. Technology to your children until after they have at least turned 3-years-old and are demonstrating healthy cognitive development. Even then, technology use should be limit enormously to provide toddlers with time to engage in imaginative play.
