![]() Over the last few years I have been astonished at the amount of children I see with cell phones. I have seen children with cell phones as young as the age of two. Although it may not be their own phone, toddlers are still being introduced to technology before they can really understand it. I think that in some ways phones and iPads can be used as an educational tool for elementary level kids due to learning games and educational videos however when I witness kids on phones at restaurants, church, and other social settings, I cant help but to think the use is not for education but rather entertainment. I recall coloring at restaurants and being bored at times at family and social events when growing up. There were times I had to endure conversations I didn't care to partake in and socialize with people I didn't care to speak to. This taught me communication skills I didn't know I was learning at the time. I cant help but to feel saddened by the lack of these skills children will gain in todays technology filled society. Even people my age, who like me grew up without cell phones, call themselves addicted. In a CNN article online titled, “Half of teens think they're addicted to their smart phones,” Kelly Wallace states that according to a poll taken for Common Sense Media, “77% of parents feel their children get distracted by their devices and don’t pay attention when they are together at least a few times per week.” The quote lead me to question parents rolls in this issue and wonder if giving iPhones to toddlers to entertain them is a way of getting out of entertaining the child themselves. I question these things but because I am not a parent myself I feel as though I cannot assume why parents choose to give they're young children such complex devices. Either way we see that this generation is addicted to cell phones and social media, a kind of social interaction that requires no real social skills. We see that even kids who got their first phone in 8th grade, like I did, have become obsessed, which causes concern for the children being introduced to cell phones at age three. My personal opinion on the matter is that parents should try and refrain from allowing cell phone use for as long as possible to teach the skills to communicate in real life first. Children should learn to be in awkward, boring situations without being able to escape into their phone. I cant help but to think this will create more social/creative individuals rather than anti-social/self-absorbed people.
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AuthorStudent/aspiring kindergarten teacher interested in children's psychological growth Archives
December 2016
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