The Impact of Technology on Children's Development Essay

The modern society is overwhelmingly driven by technological advancement. Technology is taking charge and changing every aspect of life with the radical growth. The effect of technology is particularly bringing concerns on the impact it's contributing to children's growth. According to Surgenor (2010), children learn through interaction and observation through mimicking. Exposure to technology has boosted children's contact with the bigger picture of the world's experiences, their dependence on disseminated information affects their ability to process information deteriorate. This paper will evaluate the impact both positive and negative of children's exposure to technology in relation to their developmental issues.

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The modern world is clogged by technological growth and advancement. The integration of technology in every aspect of life improves the quality of human life through conveniences, but its access and use have a significant effect on the modern child. Technological convenience has made it easy to keep children occupied while glued on television screens, computers, or tablets and phones playing games or watching movies and cartoons as we tend to 'importance' of life (Alvarez, 2018). Multiple pedagogical experts have condemned excessive exposure of children on technological platforms in reflecting their social interaction development, and communication skills, as well as health concerns. A child exposed to excessive technological devices use may suffer conversation skills and visual expressions. Social anxiety emanating from the excessive use of electrical devices makes children avoid social interaction and use technological apparatus as the scapegoat to avoid eye contact, conversation or even listening to social talks. Moreover, health concerns on children's excessive use of technology include back pains, eyesight damage, and obesity.

For young growing toddlers excessive gadget use cause delayed speech and language skills than their peers who actively engage with other children, parents or even caregivers. Other developmental issues affected by technology access include attention deficit. This hyperactive disorder in children entails children developing difficulty in behavioral control due to excessive engagement in multiple activities at the same time. Exposure to uncensored materials on technology devices exposes children to inappropriate and violent media causing the development of anxiety and hast. Excessive witnessing violence on television and video games inhibit aggression in children leading to changed behavior and response mechanisms (Sundus, 2018).

However, we cannot fully condemn technological exposure to a modern child in the contemporary world. Everything from education to competence and competitiveness exposes children to positive effects of technology. Children learning with the exposure to electronic media as reference material are able to gain vast knowledge and easier research-based learning. The access to information for educational purposes helps children to widen their understanding of the learning concepts when they access unorthodox learning materials that are more clustered depending on their educational needs. In contrast to paper and hardcopy learning increasing academic knowledge on subject matters is easier for learners researching their learning needs from the internet and other tutorial teachings on electronic media. Other forms of technological interaction like educative video games and other three dimension interaction properties on technological devices offer children competition and competence skills. Active engagement with the competitions in the games gives them the necessary skills to remain competitive in life situations in real life scenarios (Sundus, 2018). Young children playing games on electronic gadgets gain motor skills from active movement of their fingers, wrists, toes, and or lips. Active small movement of the muscles increases children motor skills for efficient use and coordination of hands and legs moving. The cognitive development connection with technological exposure shows that children gain the ability of process information in complex measures in reasoning, relation and remembrance due to their active engagement with high resolution and objective sceneries on the screens. Children who watch television movies and other episodes gain better storytelling skills than their peers of the same age with limited technological exposure (Alvarez, 2018).

Children engagement with a simple smartphone, he or she can stay busy while playing games, watching videos, or perusing through educational resources for long hours. The entertainment role of technology keeps the child enjoying playing competitive games of solving puzzles which in the end serves the entertainment purpose and learning experience altogether. Use of these technology devices advances the learning options experienced by children decamping the boredom of the traditional learning methods (Christakis, 2013).

Conclusion

In conclusion, every aspect of life has its two sides of the coin. As much as technological growth and advancement has revolutionized the way of life for human beings, it has done as much harm as good especially to the growth and development of children. Much blame lies on parents level of exposure of their children to technological gadgets. Some use the gadgets to keep their children busy as they tend to other issues in life. The irony of the matter is the level of harm impacted on the child's developmental consequences especially the communication, speech, and behavioral issues. All the same, some positive educational, competition, and cognitive aspects tend to gain tremendous benefits in children exposed to technological gadgets than their otherwise peers. Therefore, total condemnation of childhood exposure to technology devices should not happen through their access should be cautiously monitored.

Works Cited

Alvarez, Manny. Technology in early child development: Good or Bad?. New Jersey: FoxNews, 2017. Available at ww.foxnews.com/health/2017/05/17/technology-in-early-child-development-good-or-bad.html. Accessed on 9th April 2018

Christakis, D. A. Interactive media use at younger than the age of 2 years: Time to rethink the American Academy of Pediatrics guideline? JAMA Pediatrics, 2014, 168(5), 399-400. http://doi.org/10.1001/jamapediatrics.2013.5081

Sundus, M The Impact of using Gadgets on Children. Journal of Depression and Anxiety, 2018, 7: 296. doi:10.4172/2167-1044.1000296

Surgenor, P. Teaching toolkit: How students learn. 2010.