Briana Moland

ENG 1201

Professor Reynolds

12 April 2022

Negative Effects of Technology in Children

Technology is evolving every day. We use technology in our everyday lives, whether

to make a phone call, catch up on the news, watch YouTube videos, or scroll through

social media. In today's age, we use technology to stay up to date with new trends,

family members' and friends' lives, etc. Not only is technology a part of teen and adult

lives but children have become more advanced with technology. Children exposed to

technology at an early age are more likely to have behavioral problems, fail to develop

communication/ social skills and be less attentive than those who aren’t exposed at an

early age. The violence in video games, and the foul language shown on YouTube

videos has become the main reason for behavioral issues in children.

Technology has become very accessible to young children. Many parents use

tablets, phones, computers, etc to distract their children while they focus on getting

tasks done. The tasks these parents/guardians are completing include dishes, cleaning,

running errands, and even making dinner. Rather than giving the child a device, a better

solution would be giving them an activity that can put their imagination to use, help them

engage with other kids around the neighborhood, and keep them active. If they’re

constantly on a cell phone, computer, or gaming system, they will fail to incorporate

these different things into their daily lives. The negatives of technology outweigh the
positives which are why it is so important to provide children with active and productive

activities.

Children are easily influenced by what they see on the media or around them. They

often engage in activities they see, whether it’s online or around them outside of

technology. In today's society, the internet can be a dangerous place for a child. Many

gaming systems and YouTube videos express a lot of violence and foul language.

Video games such as call of duty, mortal combat, GTA, etc mainly include violence,

foul language, and sexual activities. A child who sees that these activities are okay will

make them feel as if they can also engage in these activities.

A study was conducted to show how video games can affect behavior. that included

242 children between the ages 8-12. This study was conducted as a 3-group

randomized design of the game Minecraft. The first group was a game with violent

guns. The second was a group that played the game with violent swords. The third

game was nonviolent. The groups played their games for 20 minutes. After they played

their games they were able to play with toys for 20 minutes. The study found “47

children (61.8%) who played the violent gun game, touched a (disabled) handgun

(placed in the room specifically for the experiment). 42 (56.8%) out of the 74 children

who played the video game that included sword violence touched a handgun. 31

(44.3%) of the 70 children who played nonviolent video games touched a handgun. The

study found that children who played violent video games were more likely to shoot at

their family members or even themselves.” (Justin Chang).

Although violent video games and videos with foul language can result in poor

behavior in children there are also a lot of educational benefits on the internet. Children
can watch many educational videos found on the internet which can help them in

becoming more advanced and skilled. Typing the video or games that they are looking

for can also be beneficial. They are also able to download games that can be

educational and kid-friendly.

A very popular website used for educational purposes for children would be PBS

kids. https://www.pbs.org/parents/about. This is a free website that offers many different

things. It offers games and activities which are very important for young children. It

provides educational services that help children become more knowledgeable in

different subjects, which include "math, critical thinking, science, and plenty of other

benefits.

Another website is https://www.coolmathgames.com. This website makes learning

math fun. It has over 1,000 math games and usually averages 40 million players a

month. The games on this website are free from violence and foul language which is

amazing!

Not only are there educational games but there’s also a variety of YouTube channels

for children of all ages to learn math problems, english, biology, etc. These channels;

Alphablocks, Crash course kids, and Scishow kids include educational but fun videos.

80% of children watch youtube. Parents/ guardians whose children watch youtube say it

helps them learn about new cultures, subjects and keeps them entertained while being

productive.

One of the greatest skills a person can have is good communication skills and being

able to read body language. Children need to learn at an early age how to engage in

conversations, be social, and communicate. Good communication skills help us create

bonds with our peers, interact with people in the same career field, and do tons of other

things. Technology has taken away this skill. Texting and video chatting have become

customary in everyday life rather than having conversations in person. Without human

interactions this can cause a person to become socially awkward, leading to isolation,

shyness and not having equipped communicating skills.

UCLA scientists did a study with six graders. Six graders in one class went five

days without any technology. Six-graders in another class used technology. The

scientists found that the children who did not use technology for five days “did

substantially better at reading human emotions than sixth-graders from the same school

who continued to spend hours each day looking at their electronic devices.” (Stuart

Wolpet. UCLA) Based on this evidence we can see that using technology for only five

days has a dramatic decrease in social skills and ques.

A decrease in social skills, communication, and isolation can lead to children being

less active. People of all ages need to engage in physical activity because it helps

improve mental health and improve physical health. Physical activity regulates

dopamine in the brain. Increased dopamine is linked to a variety of benefits. These

benefits include lower levels of stress, increased happiness, and attention.

A study was conducted. This cross-sectional study was conducted among 458

parents of typically-developing Saudi children (6–12 years). The results showed that

high use of technology was significantly associated with a low level of activity. "Children

who spend less than five hours each week on their devices tend to have higher levels of

physical activity compared to those who spend more than six hours on their devices."

(Thekra Alotaibi)
 Not engaging in physical activity can result in a decrease of dopamine but it can

also cause obesity. Studies have shown while people are consuming food they are

looking at a screen of some sort. Seven European countries experimented with 10- to

12-year-olds. They found that those who had a television in their bedroom, and

particularly those who watched more daily television, had increased BMI levels. The

results of a study performed in Australia found that preschoolers who watched more

television did suffer from increased BMls, their increases were linked to both inactivity

and excess food consumption while watching television (L.D).

The key to having a good day, feeling energized, and being productive is getting

enough sleep. Sleep is one of the many things technology affects. Computers, phones,

tablets, and television screens all contain blue light. Blue light exposure can cause

eyestrain, fatigue, headaches, and sleeplessness. Blue light suppresses the natural

melatonin in our bodies. Melatonin is a hormone in our bodies that helps us fall asleep.

With the blue lights suppressing this, it makes it much harder to get the required amount

of sleep we need. (Moira Lawler. Everyday health).

As a result of technology becoming incorporated into everyday life, children's

grades are also suffering. According to a recent study, 47% of children who use

technology continuously have lower grades than those who don't. We receive hundreds

of notifications throughout the day, which makes it difficult to focus on the task at hand.

“Sometimes I'll say: I need to stop this and do my schoolwork, but I can't," Vijay Singh.

We as a society are becoming easily distracted, suffer poor grades, and we can't focus

on the task we are working on at that moment. (Tony Schwartz).

 With the gathered evidence we can see technology has more negative effects on

children rather than positive effects. It promotes aggression, poor communication skills,

isolation, decreased physical activity, and a poor sleep pattern. Although it can benefit

children with education purposes, it puts their mental and physical health at risk.With

the gathered evidence we can see technology has more negative effects on children

rather than positive effects.

.
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