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Technology and Parenting Future Generations


CkyBlue

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Hi guys! It's been a while since I've made a good ramble. Here goes:

 

It's the year 2015. With technology and innovation rapidly moving forward, there is literally a plethora of new products at our disposal. However, some things that technology has achieved can be said to make society counterproductive- things that we use or binge on that prevent us from being efficient, or getting work done. For example, when too much time has been spent on social media, gaming, or just scrolling your new phone,work is not getting done(I am guilty of all three). Some particular advances in technology will continue to hinder our efficiency, distract us from working, or simply make us become lazy, because its job is to do something for us in the push of a button. 

 

Now I understand if you think it could work the other way,- how technology has helped us make great strides in science, leading to breakthroughs etc...but I would like to focus the discussion on its negative implications.

 

Just the other day I had some relatives come over with their two kids, sort of like a half botched family reunion kind of deal. Both were under the age of 10, and they both had iPads. While we were about to take a family photo, one of them had to be told several times to put it away. It was clear that my little friend's interest was more on his iPad, and not on a potentially memorable family experience. An iPad was able to undermine the idea of our family spending quality time together.

 

With all this, I'd like to focus your attention towards how technology can affect the lives of young children, those who haven't matured enough to understand what time management and priorities are, or how hard it really is to get a university degree and making a living for some of us out there. Living a life where you are able to get a quality education, technology will always be part of the environment you are raised and grew up, even more so today. If some young adults such as ourselves find it hard to control how much time we spend on something such as social media, think what could happen to future generations if parents didn't regulate the amount of "stuff" their kids are exposed. Children might be obsessed with that new app, phone or game. My dad has gotten me to think the world is coming to **** because of "all the new junk people make".

 

Even now I find distaste in seeing six-year old kids on their iPhone 6's. It's gotten to the point where I generally don't like interacting with kids and even younger students because of how technology has spoiled them. Even hearing babies cry irks me -anyway- the way I was raised, and the way my parents and probably your parents were raised, the idea was that when you're young, you should be exposed to more valuable experiences to learn, develop yourself and find out what you really love doing, not whiling your days away on this, that or the other. Technology comes in the way of that idea.

 

"But mom," I said. "All the other kids in school have a cell phone."

 

Completely taking away the source of entertainment might elicit a more than negative response from the child.

 

Some quote I heard a while back really made me think it relates at to this thread(the second part anyway). It goes something along the lines of: "Objects are made to be used, and people are meant to be loved. What's fundamentally wrong with our world today is people are being used, and objects are being loved."

 

How is technology and innovation really affecting younger generations? Is it becoming a problem? What can we do to effectively get younger children to stay focused, and how much regulation is necessary? Does it just boil down to effective time management? I'd love to hear your thoughts on the matter, whatever you have to say.

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Very interesting topic, I have to say! I feel like it's one of those "grey" topics where no one can be real right or wrong, but I'll just write what I think of technology, and how it afftects younger generations.

Firstly: technology in general. You already mentioned how it affects us negatively, and how it could also be argued that it's good and that it helps us in everyday life. Both statements are true, so I'll spare the keys on arguing each side more thoroughly.

Now, the kids/younger generations. This is somewhat trickier. But let me tell you something from my experience, and then argue both sides. I'm 16 year old, a typical teenager you would say, who loves to read and is surrounded by technology everyday. I got my first console at the age of 6, first phone at the age of 8, my first laptop at the age of 9, and my first iPad at the age of 11. "Spoiled brat" is what I often heard, but how wrong were they. I never, ever had the problem (or my parents for that matter) that you described in your situation. I was never so attracted to technology that it affected negatively my relationship with my family and the outside world. I just simply used these things to fill in my time when I was alone, or when I was studying and needed some information to help me with my homework etc. Without trying to offend anyone here, I think that how strongly technology affects a child is determined by their parents and the way they raised (or did not) them.

In some ways it could be argued that technology for even small kids is great. I mean, let's look at the development of our society in the last 20 years or so. Firstly, they have much more resources, more than even us when we were in primary school. It's much easier for them to gain information and share it, as many schools nowadays use iPads in classes to teach. Secondly, as the kid is a bit older (10+) it can learn individually at home - and it can learn anything. I mean, there are so many apps and websites out there that can feed the need for learning of children in so many different, innovative ways. Thirdly, technology does make children think more, and apply their knowledge much more than regular books. When you read from the book, all you can do is either memorise what's written there or highlight important parts and come back to it later. With an iPad or a laptop the kid can easily make a PowerPoint presentation, and maybe even make a presentation in front of their class - this improves their social skills, and helps them to learn how to talk in front of a crowd. Furthermore, I actually think that technology helps children with time management. Maybe I speak for myself here, but let me tell you this - nothing has ever taught me how to manage my time than the 11-year-old self. I came back from school at 2p.m., had two hours to do my homework because at 4p.m. I promised my friend to study with him via Skype, and about 1 hour later I had to leave for my piano classes. And during that time I actually went over my last lesson on my phone, which not only saved me some time at home for other activities, but I also had a much greater undwrstanding of what was going on in the class, and I remembered much more than the kids that did not have a phone.

However it may also be argued that technology is something that makes younger generations less self-aware and they're less and less critical-thinking, as they have all the answer they need right there in front of them. Firstly, it has been scientifically proven that it is better to take written notes, rather than type them on a PC, as this way you literally remember more. I heard that in one country (was it Sweden...?) kids in primary school don't even learn to write, as they start already with a laptop and don't have to "go through the struggle". That's slightly terrifying, and I would never allow my child to be so reliable on technology. Secondly, kids are getting lazier and lazier. I mean, yeah, we are all lazy to some extent - we're only humans and we also need some time to relax. But what I sometimes see it mind-blowing. Kids are texting their friends on the opposite side OF THE TABLE instead of talking to each other, because apparently that would just require too much effort. Linked with this is also the fact that technology is ruining their social lives, and their ability to interact with other human being in a civilised way. They don't talk, they use snapchat, WhatsApp, Twitter, etc. to communicate with each other. There is a boy who takes the bus with me, he's probably in lower school, grade 4 or so, and he never talked to his friends who also take the bus with him. And it's not like they're not really friends, oh no - I actually asked them, and they just responded that texting is so much easier and better, and "why waste our time to actually talk?". They actually said that. Lastly, the time management. This, as I said before, is kind of tricky, but it is true that technology can "mess a child up" when parents are not really being parents and let their kids do whatever they want during their free time. "It does make you the world's greatest dad if you can't entertain your child without using your iPad" - Look Up. Children who simply are lost in the virtual world WILL have time management problems, as they simply don't know anything else. And that's mostly the parent's fault.

Overall, I think that the technology in younger generation can really improve their lives and the way that they get educated, however parents and teachers should carefully observe children in order to make sure that they don't get lost in this world of virtual reality and texting. Everything, also the things that are healthy, in a too large dosis will cause you some harm.

I guess I could also quote Look Up again - "We're the generation of idiots - smart phones, and dumb people.". I could also elaborate on that statement, but I feel like I would go a bit off topic.

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Interesting topic indeed! It won't make for much of a debate though since everyone will be focusing on the negative impacts on the younger generation, but it will allow for decent discussion. Also, IMO, this topic will one day become the most talked about topic as society moves deeper into an age of reliance upon gadgets and other electronics. 

 

Anyways, I think what you (the OP) have experienced is exactly similar to what I experience on a daily basis. I have siblings with a pretty large year gap in between and many of the everyday scenes involve my youngest siblings (aged 3 and 12) on their iPads watching nursery rhymes or game-plays and whatnot. Eating dinner always involves an iPad to distract the 3-year old so she can be fed without too much of a fuss.  :P

 

And many of my younger cousins, all of whom are receiving their phones for the first time, are getting involved in all the negative activities associated with apps like Whatsapp, Facebook, Twitter, etc. The constant updating of statuses, the selfies, the sharing of app data, game invites, and so on and so forth. 

The most realistic representation of what the future holds for the generation that is so deeply engrossed in gadgets and the internet, is a very explicit, X-rated animated clip titled, "PM me for the name, cause it's really inappropriate." 

:sweat: Although, the clip isn't focused on the younger generation, it's more to do with the otaku culture that is ever so prevalent in today's society. BTW, I'm not talking about anime addicts, I'm talking about internet addicts. Which is a little off-topic, so I won't get into any details. It still is a pretty accurate representation of what might become of this younger generation, if things go unchecked.

 

To answer some of the questions you have posed, I do think technology is becoming a problem for the younger generation. However, we're also seeing a handful of children become "tech smart," which is turning out to be another problem in extremely less (but still present) percentages. Because 14 year-olds with the knowledge to access highly classified information are in fact a major security issue.

Obviously the majority of children are taking away a lot of positives from all the exposure to tech at an an early age. Kids are now tech literate, can type at a younger age, the link to education is pretty strong in a large number of schools (and the numbers are growing), even toddlers are benefiting from watching semi-educational videos on numbers, shapes, colors and alphabets. But since we're focusing on the negatives, I believe this will suffice for now.


Another con of technology is that it has made it ever so easy to access age-restricted material like p0rn. There aren't any direct studies on the impact of p0rn on the younger generation but there are indirect ones. And many of them point to a degradation in the moral fiber of the community, as well as the normalization of things related to p0rn like prostitution. 

 

Now, the solution to the problem is just as complex as identifying how much of a problem this advancement in tech really is. I don't think regulation of the medium works, because it has been proven time and time again that partial censorship of the internet will always fail. That means that time management is, at the moment, an effective solution and its efficacy lies in the hands of the parents.

 

That's just my 'two cents' on the matter, feel free to ask for clarification if need be.

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