Sometimes it seems like everyone is always lecturing about the downside of technology. These phrases are all too common: “It keeps you from sleeping”, “technology is taking over”, “it cause ADHD in children”, or the most absurd statement, “it causes cancer”. While I don’t quite believe that technology causes cancer, I have been guilty of lecturing about the negative effects technology can have. Especially when it comes to these class assignments. In this post however, I thought I would be helpful to discuss some of the benefits technology can have especially when relating to children. Linked above is a short article listing 10 benefits of exposing young kids to technology.
The Screens
Often times people have this idea that any type of electronic screen is bad for you. People are concerned with blue light, and pixels, and brightness, and the amount of time children are in front of a screen. The truth is: there are negative affects from staring at a screen all day, and blue light does keep you awake and can cause your eyes to strain. But did you know that you can also receive a lot of blue light from the sun. According to the article “Blue light: It’s both bad and good for you“, the sun is the main source of blue light. So yes, “The Screens” that appear in almost every aspect of our lives have some negative effects, but the content that is on the screens can also have some really good benefits.
Exploring the Benefits
The article list 10 benefits of exposing technology to young children. One of the most important of those being the “Increases Motivation to Complete Tasks.” Sometimes its hard to find things that motivate children. And motivation is something that needs to be learned at a very earlier age. Just as the article explains, most apps and computer games are designed to encourage the completion of a level or task in order to gain a reward. These early lessons of motivation will help children as the grow older and need motivation in order to complete school and gain achievements.
Another benefit that I found interesting was the improvement of language skills. Obviously reading is a great way to teach children how to talk, but with technology kids now have a variety of different learning mediums all their finger tips. Learning to speak, read, and write can all be encouraged by reading a eBook, watching a video, or by playing an interactive game.
Remembering the Bad
Even when discussing all the benefits of technology and of the content we show on the screen we can’t ignore the issues technology may bring. It’s import to take all into consideration. However, lets not forget, that sometimes the best skills come from things we once thought were bad.
LIS 4022 Spring 2020 