This an opinion piece written by a Hebrew Catholic cousin of mine called Gaye written in 2017.
Is Technology Turning our Kids into Zombies?
Do you find your children are becoming zoned out and not registering instructions? Are they distracted, preoccupied and unable to focus on the job at hand?Sound familiar… is technology turning our kids into zombies?
As a mother of six children with ages ranging from 11 to 26, I have witnessed the evolution of children’s interaction with the computer age. I’m convinced that overuse of technology and digital media is having adverse effects on our children’s brains.My older children were at the beginnings of social media and mobile phones. In those early years, there was only one computer in the house with very slow Internet connection. Mobile phones didn’t even have access to the Internet!
Gaye with her six children and son-in-law in 2019
The leap between then and now has been astronomical! My children are now using laptops at school. All their research and homework is done online. Exposure to technological devices has now become a daylong affair, with free time spent on computer games and social media. Mobile phones have almost become an appendage with the older children. I’m resisting the demands for a phone from my younger two, as I’m horrified with how much time the older ones spend on their phones.
We all feel the need for our children to be computer savvy, but at what expense? I recently attended a dinner party for my niece; her friends aged early to mid 30’s. A childapproximately 2 years of age was propped up in a high chair,totally engrossed with playing games on her mum’s iPhone. A great device to keep a child quiet, but I couldn’t help wondering how it was affecting this tiny child’s mind.
Melbourne University conducted a study, reported on the ABC News, which found playing online computer games actually improved children’s school results. The research concluded that online gaming could be beneficial for cognitive development. It helps develop their analytical and problem-solving skills. However, they also found that time spent on social media sites had the reverse effect.
So there are definite benefits to be gained from playing computer games but what about the problems that can arise, such as addiction and the subsequent psychological effects associated with detachment from the real world.Fortunately for us we do have a crystal ball. We can look to the forerunners of multimedia technologies, in particular South Korea, to see what the future holds.
So there are definite benefits to be gained from playing computer games but what about the problems that can arise, such as addiction and the subsequent psychological effects associated with detachment from the real world.Fortunately for us we do have a crystal ball. We can look to the forerunners of multimedia technologies, in particular South Korea, to see what the future holds.
ABC News reported on Internet-addicted South Korean children being sent to detox camps. Nearly all homes are connected to cheap, hi-speed broadband, but the social cost is high,with one in ten children classified as addicts. Children spend much of their time immersed on the Internet, some 10 hours a day or more. Their government is viewing it as a national health crisis and have set up these camps in order to help solve this problem.
According to South Korean psychiatrists, too much screen time has a damaging effect on developing brains. Professor Kang from Dankook University states that addiction affects the frontal lobes of the brain and was damaging to critical thinking. Interestingly, reading a book activates the frontal lobes, whereas online gaming does not produce any activity.
Not only is technology affecting the physical and cognitive function of the brain, it is having adverse effects on our children’s mental health.Dateline on SBS covered the same topic on addiction with children showing signs of aggression, violence, anger, anxiety and lack of self-control. Most had retreated into the virtual world with only online relationships and no personal friends. Ring any alarms? Let’s learn from these ‘Reboot’ camps and put some restrictions on usage in place.
Some mental illnesses are undeniably linked with heavy social media use and immersion in online communities. Many young people turn to social media for role models and lifestyles to emulate, often leaving them feeling inadequate and disenchanted with their own lives. An expose’ byEssena O’Neill, a teenager with a huge following on Instagram and YouTube,reveals the dishonesty behind image portrayal on social media. To think that my children’sself-worth might be determined by how many “likes” they receive or how many “friends” they collect on social media, is a terrifying prospect.Her activism against the deceptive portrayals propagated on social media, encourages us as parents, to promote awareness and to monitor our children when online.
It’s undeniable that the Internet has woven itself into our lives, which our children must engage with in daily life. However, we need to be aware of the damage overindulgence with multi-media technologies can have upon their development and mental wellbeing. We need to find a happy medium and encourage our children to form real life connections. Above all we need to help our children in the formative years, to develop healthy habits online and know when it’s time to log out and recharge.
