Technology and Growing Generation

Table of Contents

Introduction................................................................................................. 2

How are Children Exposed to Technology?..............................................3

How do Children Misuse Technology?......................................................4

What are the Effects on the Physical Well-being?................................... 5

What are the Effects on behavior?.............................................................7

Why are children hooked to technology?..................................................9

How will the world look like if we do not stop the bad impacts?........ 10

How can people raise awareness about this aspect?............................11

Technology these days has been helping us in many ways, which includes helping children. Technology has great impact on children by introducing educational programs. Though technology has good effects, it can leave children stained for life. Many applications that are just for fun, like streaming applications, can change the thinking of children. With the help of many people, including you, I want to raise awareness of the dangers of technology on children before it is too late.

How are children exposed to technology?

Technology is used as a "babysitter" by many parents. Many parents hand their kid(s) a digital device or turn on the Television while the parents are in the store, doing chores, or when parents do not want their kid(s) to annoy them. After this kind of exposure, parents introduce educational applications and websites (for example, abcmouse.com, Khan Academy Kids, and more.) Even though these resources are educational, they build a habit for children to use technology for other purposes. By the time these children become teens, they start using social media platforms due to the habit of using other technological things.

How do Children Misuse Technology?

To use technology safely means to use technology for education only. Also, technology should be used for a certain amount of time to prevent the negative effects of it. Technology was invented to assist humans on various tasks, but the use of technology went in another direction. This affected the growing human generation. Instead of playing fun games on technology, children should be playing fun games with family and friends (such as board games or soccer). In addition to this, children should have limitations on technology usage. The AHA recommends that children ages 2-5 years old should use technology for a limit of 1 hour. Even though this limit is set, the average 2-5 years old spends 2-3 hours on a screen, according to Dr. Sheri Madigan, who is a professor and research chair in determinants of child development at the University of Calgary. The CBS News website says that the AHA recommends 2 hours of maximum screen time for children six and up, but the average 8-18-year-old spends more than 7 hours a day on technology.

What are the Effects on the Physical Well-being?

As I mentioned before, children should only use technology for learning purposes, but this is not happening. The Child Mind Institute website says that the average American child spends only 4-7 minutes on unstructured playtime (which is playtime with no objective or directions). This small quantity of unstructured playtime has tremendous effects on the physical well being of children.
Firstly, if children do not go outside, they will develop pediatric obesity. Pediatric obesity is when a child becomes overweight for their age or height. Pediatric obesity can cause diabetes, high blood pressure, and high cholesterol, which can cause serious health complications, potentially leading to death. Pediatric obesity can develop due to the overuse of technology because technology can divert children from exercise. When children get diverted from exercise, they mostly stay indoors and spend most of their time sitting. This leads to pediatric obesity due to lack of burning calories. Since children are rarely outside, other children who want to play do not have any companion, so they start using technology to demolish their boredom. As they use technology, they become hooked, causing pediatric obesity.

Another drawback of the overuse of technology is that more children are developing myopia due to this. Myopia (known as nearsightedness) is when someone cannot see objects clear in far distant, but able to see close objects clear. Myopia can cause many fatal incidents such as crashing into objects, falling off of objects, not being aware when someone that can cause danger is near, and many more incidents. When humans look at objects in far distant, the eye muscles that hold the retina in place to focus, become strengthened. But due to overuse of technology, the eye muscles to keep retina in place, become lazy. The lazy muscles cause the retina not to focus, so the eyes of a person can only see near. This effects of technology on our eyes is due to spending too much time looking at a screen. Even though eye surgery, glasses, and lenses, helps in fixing this issue but not possible for every single person, due to lack of financial resources. So, people with low income live their entire life with myopia

What are the Effects on Behavior?

The about 7 hours that the average American child spends on technology can change the lives of children for eternity. Technology shapes the minds of children while they are still toddlers, so children become what they see. Eventually, the overuse of technology, diverts the children from studies and success.
One of these effects are that the sleep patterns of many children gets effected. Technology causes this because many children look at a screen during nighttime. The light from the screen causes the human body to think it is daytime, so the body does not produce sleep hormones, thus making us stay awake. When people become deprived of sleep, some side effects are less concentration, less immunity, a 48% higher risk of developing heart disease, a higher risk for depression, and other life-threatening conditions.
Also, technology leads to depression. About 20% of adolescents will experience depression before they become adults. For many teens who suffer from depression, technology is the culprit. Technology is taking them away from their support groups. Technology can also expose children to cyber-bullying. Cyber-bullying is when someone online bullies someone else by saying or doing something that will be hurtful to the person who reads or experiences the hurtful thing. This can also cause kids to be depressed. Eventually depression can lead to suicide