Negative Effects of Technology on Children

                     In this blog I am going to discuss with you about Negative Effects of Technology on children

What Qualifies as Technology?

                  According to the National Association for the Education of Young Children, technology refers to digital and analog materials, including software programs, applications (apps), broadcast and streaming media, children’s television programming, e-books, the Internet, and other forms of content designed to facilitate active and creative use by young children. This means phones, tablets, iPads, CDs, DVDs, television, streaming video, computers, car monitors, or anything else electronic, even including video calls to grandma. We as a society have become so attached to our technology that sometimes it’s difficult to discern what even qualifies as technology.

Why Is Screen Time Bad for Young Children?

                 The American Academy of Pediatrics (AAP) discourages screen time all together before children turn the age of two years old. Although, how realistic is this for most of us? Don’t we need to be able to put the kids down for a little bit and wash dishes, fold laundry, or just get a break every now and then? Since they first said this, the AAP has altered their statement to include small portions of interactive screen time with the parent asking questions and getting involved with their children while watching certain programming. Note that they specify that the programming needs to be beneficial for the child, or of some educational nature, not just Seinfeld. “While many apps and television shows are marketed as being educational for young children, countless studies have shown that even the best of them cannot compete with real-life activities and human interaction.”

  

                        There’s also the issue of gross motor development at this stage. Small children are learning how to crawl, walk, run, climb, skip, jump, leap, roll over, take things apart, put them back together, fill things up, empty them out, and so much more. Sitting at a computer or television, or playing on a phone or tablet, does not allow children the opportunity to explore and develop these valuable skills. In fact, it does just the opposite. The addictive nature of technology keeps them glued to the screen, and the sheer time spent with screens tends to delay their development. They’re not developing that whole-body understanding of where they are in space, how they’re interacting with materials. For parents who are looking for educational activities for toddlers, playing with blocks actually teaches a more valuable and developmentally appropriate lesson.                                                                                     Our world is overrun by technology. While technology has aided the human race with many advancements and conveniences, it also presents with some unfortunate consequences for our children. Children as young as two can be seen watching a cartoon on a tablet or playing with a cellphone. Technology has made it convenient to keep our children occupied while we tend to our everyday tasks. While children seem entertained using devices such as tablets, television, cellphones, and computers, many studies show that these devices may have negative effects. Overuse of electronic devices may cause impairment in the development of a child’s social skills. This includes the ability to make friends in person, take responsibility for actions, display good manners, use polite language, control emotions and temper, follow verbal directions, and develop empathy for others.

                     Kids ages eight to 18 are becoming more addicted to technology, and it is leading to negative consequences, such as the need for instant gratification, poor face-to-face interaction and risk of depression. Children between the ages of eight and 10 years old spend more than seven hours a day using technology, and teenagers average more than 11 hours, according to a 2010 study from the Kaiser Family Foundation. A report by Common Sense Media shows in 2011, 10 percent of kids under age 2 used a mobile device and now in 2017, 38 percent of children under 2 have used a mobile device. Screen time can lead to stress because chronic stress created from looking at a screen changes hormone levels, which increase irritability. This change in hormone levels can lead to depression, according to Psychology Today. Lone Peak High School student Nick Johnson said he sees how technology is changing the way people communicate face to face. “All of my friends having phones is annoying because sometimes me and my friends want to get together and play a basketball game, and one kid will go off and just want to play games on his phone,” Johnson said. “People get caught up in the games or new technology.” A study done by FCD Educational Services found those who use too much technology are more likely to develop the same brain chemistry as substance abusers. The next four sections will cover technology and instant gratification, face-to-face interaction, risk of depression and a different use of dopamine in the body.

10 Negative Effects of Technology:

                            The overuse of technology and unsupervised access to the Internet may cause many negative effects on children's social skills, as well as their mental and physical development. 

1. Lower Attention Span:

Spending too much time using the most common technological devices such as computers, smartphones, and tablets can cause distraction and concentration difficulties. One of the negative effects of technology on children is that it affects their academic success. As we mentioned at the very beginning, the reason for such problems is the extreme (unconscious) use of technology, not the technology itself. It should not be forgotten that technological developments primarily aim to provide benefits for us. Using the right technology in the right amount is not harmful to anyone.

2. Minimized Social Interaction:

Negative effects of the internet on a child's social skills usually appear when the child plays too many games on a computer because they become disconnected from real life. The child, who doesn’t communicate, interact and share with his/her environment, will try to meet all these needs in a virtual environment. For example, children can see the level they have achieved in a game. This level is a respectability element, and they can try to gain respectability in the vicinity of friends. However, these titles, which have no importance in real life, should be replaced by skills such as respect, love, sharing, and communication. A child should gain respect for these skills, so it’s important to praise them for these elements. 

3. Increased Aggression:

We all know that children have wider imagination than adults. Therefore, they are more vulnerable to the content they come across. Children can be exposed to frightening elements in videos, cartoons, or games they watch and play. Children who are not capable of perceiving the difference between the real and the imaginary can experience unfavorable situations such as fear of being alone, nightmares, and not being able to go to the toilet alone. Similarly, when they consume videos or games containing elements of violence, they can turn into angry children. Internet safety for kids should be provided to prevent unhealthy emotions from building up.

4. Health Problems:

The negative impacts of technology on children are not only limited to emotional and mental disorders. The subject also has a physical dimension. The following disadvantages of technology in child development may occur due to watching TV for a long time, using a computer or a tablet in the wrong sitting position, etc:

• Vision problems
• Neck pain
• Distortion of the skeletal structure of the body
• Arm, hand, finger numbness
• Overstrain

In addition to these, we can also say that the physical development of a child who is immobilized through the use of technological devices, reduces the time that should be allocated to activities that support muscle development, such as walking, running, jumping, and playing physical games. 

5. Reduced Sleep Quality

The harmful effects of technology on children's health are not limited to the above-mentioned effects. Children, as well as adults, can suffer from sleeping disorders. Technology for kids should not only be supervised in terms of what they’re doing and where, but also in terms of for how long and when. The risk of developing an addiction is especially common among children and adults. Having the right measures of Internet safety for kids will prevent both lack of sleep (which has a tremendous negative effect on school, work, and all kinds of daily life routines), and developing a gaming disorder. 

6. Cyberbullying, Abuse and Security Risks

We have often talked about “overuse“. There are some hidden threats among the negative effects of technology on children that are not related to overuse. 

For example, Cyberbullying! Considering that the technologies that children are interested in can usually be linked to the Internet, we need to be aware of the external threats. In games and apps with online communication preferences, children can be exposed to bullying. They can be abused by malicious adults. Again, malicious adults can obtain personal information about the child or his family. That’s why being aware of “cybersecurity for kids” is a must.

7. Depression Risk

We know that there are bad aspects of the internet other than the positive effects of technology on teenagers and children. One of the most common is depression risk. Because of the technological improvements, unfortunately, children start to be less social and use social media more. If the necessary precautions aren’t taken, they can easily feel depressed and alone. The more they turn in on themselves, the more depression risk is surfaced. When you see the signs of anxiety in your kids, you need to help by having a connection or receiving support from experts.

8. Obesity

Unless your children use online sources in an appropriate way, they tend to be less active. When the time of staying still is increased, they are come up against with the obesity problem that lots of kids get into trouble about it. Because the obesity problem doesn’t show up in a short while, the parents can have a problem seeing this. Obesity risk is one of the most important negative effects of internet on a child. Don’t forget the obesity problem is defined as a modern world disorder. 

9. Lower Grades

We are all aware of the positive effects of internet on students but technological tools such as computers, tablets, or smartphones are used in an effective way, they can cause children to have lower grades in school. As we’ve mentioned before, when kids start to spend more time on screens, their attention span is decreased, they can feel depressed; hence, their success can be declined. Remember that increasing technology usage means the time when is spent on homework is diminished.

10. Emotional Problems

There are positive and negative effects of internet on our daily life but if we want to guide our children to have good sides of it, we need to be careful about their excess usage. When the kids start to spend more time online, they are at risk of having emotional and behavioral problems. The overuse of technology can cause a delay in the emotional skills of your children. When you see it, even if you want to interfere, they can be aggressive or in a total shut-down. In these kinds of situations, you should get help from professionals. The positive points of the internet are hard to dismiss; however, it is important to take the necessary Internet safety measures to be able to benefit from the positive effects of technology without facing the negative impacts of technology.