week 5 c

Critical Analysis of Research Article

Child Development and Technology

Nasser Y Miranda

University of Phoenix

March 26th, 2018

Introduction

Technology and automation have shifted the attention of most young people in the society. Most of them spent more of their interactive time with gadgets especially touchscreen-enabled phones and pads. On the other hand, some parents have dedicated their parenting roles to the devices. The parents give less attention to the children once they obtain devices for them than attending to them lively. Despite the devices having some negative impacts on the children, most parents still give more time to the children for interaction with the gadgets. Based on active interaction with touchscreen gadgets, there is prolonged exposure to light emitted from the devices just like the light emitted from televisions known to cause brain issues. The advent of digital technology has led to various tangible positive development as well as problems which can be controlled by revisiting the parenting roles in taking care of children.

Rosin, Hanna (2013). "The touch-screen generation. “The Atlantic 20.

The article is about early exposure of the young children (below the age of 10) to touchscreen technology as a replacement to active parenting roles. Results are obtained based on interview and random sampling especially at playing grounds along the united states coastal regions. Data obtained is regarded first hand as the process involved both one on one interaction as well as direct observation of children engaging in various activities with most of them having high affinity for mobile phone gaming rather than active involvement in physical plays and work outs that involve running up at down as it was in the olden days. Such gadgets have identifiable effects on the development of children and thus they pose some great danger to growing children despite acting as expository means.

Despite technology having brought flexibility in operations- “we are given technology that allows us to be mobile” as per an interviewee in the book “The Net Generation Brain”- more problems affecting young people especially children are evident. Most of these problems are associated with the interactive gadgets used for gaming internet connectivity and entertainment especially by parents to their young children. Automation and introduction of interactive gadgets have weakened the bond between parents and their children. Most children currently feel comfortable when interacting with gaming devices and phones than spending time with their parents. From the article, the author narrates of the (young children less than three years) at the shore. The children are busy on touchscreen devices either gaming or watching videos. Despite interactive time being available for parental care, it has been diverted to active interaction with digital devices in this case. “Mom, everyone has the technology but for me!” by the 4-year-old son wails. This is an indication of widespread use of gadgets. The slow response is another problem caused by too much exposure to interactive devices. The issue is related to damage caused by the mental activities of the brain. The problem manifests itself in slow stimulus by the optic neuritis which is affected by exposure to bright light from screens (Halliday, et al., 1972). From the article, the author notes” He’d gone to this state where you’d call his name, and he wouldn’t respond to it, or you could snap your fingers in front of his face …” this is an evidence of slow response to stimuli. The subject being referred to is an active user of an iPad. His response is an evidence of the brain effects caused to him by the gadget.

On the other hand, the technology has tamed the minds of young people. Based on Nicholas Carr “The Glass Cage,” there is evidence of tamed minds. Our concentration is reduced by continued use of the internet (Citron and Rodger, 2014). The young generation cannot do anything without involving technology or automation. The result is a rejection of long working hours as they think technology offers them freedom. In the book, “the next generation brain” we encounter Alex with his father. Alex says “twenties are for self-discovery” and active working starts in thirties but with more of freedom to interact with technology.

Interactive screen light causes slow brain development among kids below the age of two years. The screen technology utilized in making interactive devices is noted as the cause of brain problems similar to those brought about by the television. The issue is linked to the light emitted by the touchscreen gadgets. As per the article, in 1999, television viewing had been discouraged for children younger than 2, concerning brain development problems. Despite the findings, parents are still exposing their children to the same technology. As for the case at the store where children are put in seats with interactive gadgets before them. Despite the challenges brought on by technology, there are mitigation measures that can help in getting rid of the issue. In the conversation with the former Montessori teacher, the teacher reveals on reducing the time spent on gadgets by scheduling shorter gaming and watching periods. “Because I don’t allow it. We have a rule of no screen time during the week,” unless it’s explicitly educational, the teachers say. Another way of taming and diverting the attention of children below the age of two is by giving them more attention regarding interaction. Instead of letting children to be entertained by gadgets, parents can come in to play and guide children on various issues.

Conclusion

To sum up, Technological advancement has led to significant diversion in the young generation. Almost all the problems they face can be traced back to their interactive time with gadgets and applications. The parenting attention has also significantly been diverted. Children are currently brought up with more of technological aspects than real-time interaction with their parents. Based on the issue, various institutions should come together to probe into the matter and come up with a comprehensive report that outlines the negative and positive impacts of technology an automation as an aspect of technological development. Providing concrete solutions to the problems cited will be of great importance in curbing the issues identified.

References

Citron, Rodger D. (2014). "Nicholas Carr, the Glass Cage: Automation and Us.": 712.

Demeulemeester, Morgane, et al. (2015). "Assessing early-onset hallucinations in the touch-screen generation." The British Journal of Psychiatry 206.3: 181-183.

Greenfield, Susan (2015). Mind change: How digital technologies are leaving their mark on our brains. Random House.

Halliday, A. M., W. I. McDonald, and Joan Mushin (1972). "Delayed visual evoked response in optic neuritis." The Lancet299.7758: 982-985.

Rosin, Hanna (2013). "The touch-screen generation." The Atlantic 20.