In my opinion, the proper use of technology by children can be achieved by taking care of multiple factors. It has to be a blend of good parenting, legislation and education/awareness about these technologies. As far as parents are concerned they should set limits for use. The time that kids spend with technology definitely needs to have restrictions and at the same time limiting the sites and apps. Parents should spend time with kids using the technology together and also monitor their children’s usage.
According to Rideout et al. (2010), kids of age group 8-18 use digital media on an average of 7.5 hours per day. Whereas, the recommendation by the American Academy of Pediatrics is no more than 1-2 hours per day of screen-time. Rowan (2010) states, “There is absolutely nothing in technology that is developmentally healthy. Any time spent in front of a device or with a device is detrimental to child development.”
According to Rowan research specifies that overusing the technology is damaging the brain chemistry and paving a way to the increased probability of the development of the mental illnesses in children. They way human associate, converse with each other and their eye contact is vital but the digital devices are enormously restraining this key experience. Due to that an increase in depression, anxiety, obsessive compulsive disorders, and ADHD is witnessed by therapists/clinicians that is clearly connected to technology overuse. “I’ve been working with kids for 25 years. I’ve never seen this,” she concludes. “This is something that’s epic. And we’re really just witnessing the tip of an iceberg.” (Buck, 2011)
The following figures depict some informative facts from the study conducted y Rideout et al. (2010)
Coming to the legislation and education about the safe use of technology, there definitely have to be measures to keep children safe both at the school and home. The education secretary in the UK, Nicky Morgan in 2015, stated “All schools will be required to put in place strengthened measures to protect children from harm online – including cyber bullying, pornography and the risk of radicalisation”. The government also announced the 2 guides, developed by the UK Council for Child Internet Safety’s panel of experts, to keep children safe online. These will equip parents with the information they need for their children to explore the internet safely, and will be instrumental in helping new tech start-ups to routinely factor safety features into the design of their products and platforms. The government made internet safety a compulsory part of the new curriculum in 2014 (Department for Education, 2015).
References:
Buck, S. (2011) Kids & Technology: The Developmental Health Debate. Available at: http://mashable.com/2011/08/09/kids-tech-developmental-health/#9Z7qM4t_OqqJ (Accessed: 16 January 2018)
Department for Education (2015) New measures to keep children safe online at school and at home. Available at: https://www.gov.uk/government/news/new-measures-to-keep-children-safe-online-at-school-and-at-home (Accessed: 16 January 2018)
Rideout, V.J. et al. (2010) Media in the Lives of 8- to 18-Year-Olds. Available at: https://kaiserfamilyfoundation.files.wordpress.com/2013/01/8010.pdf (Accessed: 16 January 2018)
Rowan, C.A. (2010) Virtual Child: The terrifying truth about what technology is doing to children. Createspace Independent Publishing Platform
