In this blog I wish to talk about whether technology is good or bad for youth. I chose this topic because in today's society we see our youth spending more and more times on their phones or any technology that they can get their hands on. I would see these girls walking down the hallway with their phones out and not even paying attention to each other. There are times where they are so focused on this other world they do not even realize where they are heading towards. The problem also happens in classrooms. When their phone vibrates, lights up, or rings they will either immediately pick it up and check who it is, or when they have a spare moment. It distract them from the lecture that the teacher is giving or the assignment they are giving to finish.
There is also another side to this story though. Technology can help us on many cases. When a teacher gives out a assignment and you do not understand the wording you can just Google it. When you are assign to find a article, instead of going into a library you can just find it online. It help you connect with your distant family members. It can take pictures, send/receive texts, call one another, and you can post things online to keep up to date.
There are good things and bad that is why I wish to understand more about which one will out weight the other.
I agree with you that technology is a mixed blessing. In some ways it brings us together and in some ways is causes huge social disconnect. I'm also taking a Human Growth and Development class and I just read the chapter on psychosocial development in adolescence and I was surprised that the textbook stated that technology is mostly a good thing for teenagers (in terms of bringing them together socially.) I see both sides of this issue. I have a son with a learning disability and the assistive technology that's available to help him with everything from spelling, text-to-speech, visual mapping and font enlargement has been extremely helpful. As part of St. Vrain Valley School District, my daughter (and every student) was given an iPad starting in 7th grade. My daughter doesn't like the iPads. She said kids mostly use them to play games. Instead of sitting and talking at lunch, she said kids are often absorbed in video games. Given the pervasiveness of technology, maybe the real question is how do we teach kids to use technology in a way that makes use of the enormous opportunities it provides without allowing it to take away from our real lives and personal connections. Moderation is a hard thing to teach to adolescents whose mental control centers aren't fully developed. I think an interesting question is whether exposure to technology changes how connections are made in the developing brain.
ReplyDeleteThe technologies have so many pros and cons it is really hard to judge. I like you have seen people so involved in their device where they actually bump into something. The biggest thing for the youth is when they use it for school. My son and daughter both have tablets, we would use them for homework or if they had trouble with something because they didn't get how the teacher taught we would look for a different way that they do understand, and then I would send an email to inform the said teacher about the issue and where we found this other way to do it. I was very lucky in having a teacher that wa so accepting of that. the flip side there was a study (sorry to long ago to be considered a viable source lol) that stated that because this generation no longer has to actually use a book and scan it for the information they need they actually end up learning less. When it comes to using technology too young it is a mixed blessing but if you use it right it is a great help and then tell them that once they are done with their homework they get 15 min of game time and if they get a 100 on said homework they would get an extra 10 min.
ReplyDeleteI think there are good and bad for technology. It maybe bad for our eyes but it basically is our daily life, we get up check our emails, texts, social media. We can't live without technology.
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