'Tis the season of giving. For most of us parents, this means purchasing some number of gifts for our children, both practical and not. Our children, born of this remarkable age, are bound to ask for some gizmo or gadget, something with connectivity that lets them surf and play in a virtual world. The advantage of being an educator is that I witness trends as they emerge over time, the effects of our behaviors and choices on a much larger scale. Whereas a parent in this day and age is likely to have a few children, and know a few dozen more in any substantive way, those of us with decades in schools have a frame of reference in the thousands. The following is food for thought based on anecdote and research and a statistically significant number of cases; something to consider before all of those well-intended holiday purchases.
I am a technophile, and have been since I first programmed in DOS on my Commodore 64 back in the day. It's hard to put into words just how much technology has transformed the world. What was science fiction in my youth, Captain Kirk's communicator, Spock's touch screen science instruments, now pale when compared to the power of my iPhone 6 Plus and iPad Pro. Technology is a thing, so many wireless devices and networks with many positive uses. It is a tool, and like all tools, the user sees fit when and how it is applied. It is people who surf, who post, who plug in, and it is the behaviors of people that shape technological outcomes, for better and worse.
For educators, the power of technology to enhance learning and the overall classroom experience is unmistakable. Used in the right way, technology supports inquiry and promotes creativity and innovation. The classroom, however, is a controlled environment, with a finite time frame and plenty of opportunities to go off-line and think and interact the old fashioned way, face to face. Our children, digital natives, mostly acquiesce during class time. When the bell rings, they all but dive for their technology. This is a problem.
In a controlled environment, in reasonable doses, at work or at play, technology is a good thing. Unregulated, it is not only a distraction, a rabbit hole with no end and no moral constraints, but it can actually harm, especially children. To be clear, I am not talking about exposure to inappropriate material, say profanity or pornography, bigotry or violence. These dangers are obvious, and I assume each family takes action to protect their children from the same. My focus is the real impact of technology on child development, on the architecture of the brain, on learning and behavior.
The American Academy of Pediatrics recently published guidelines for children's access to technology. Infant's brains triple in size between birth and toddlerhood. Over exposure to technology, especially TV, cell phones, and tablets, can cause attention deficit and cognitive delays, impair learning, increase impulsivity, and negatively affect the development of executive functions. The Academy recommends that children of this age have no exposure to technology. Children older than two should have very limited exposure to technology, one hour or less through early childhood (up to age 8), and no more than a few hours per day through pre-adolescence.
Technology restricts fine and gross motor function, and results in sedentary behaviors, e.g. hours spent lounging rather than in active play. As a result, more and more children are entering school with developmental delays, as high as one in three. Children who spend extensive time with technology are at significantly greater risk of obesity, which may actually shorten their lives. A recent report in the Journal of the American Medical Association, on studies accounting for more than 125,000 school-age children, a strong sample, show a correlation between sleep deprivation and their access to cellular technology during normal sleep hours. Sleep deprivation dramatically impacts both child development and learning overall. Furthermore, overexposure to technology is associated with rising rates in childhood depression, anxiety, attention deficit, aggression, addiction, digital dementia, and a host of other disorders and illnesses. Social media is definitely affecting the way children socialize and resolve their problems.
Our choices as parents are accumulative over time with potentially broad developmental implications for our children. To be direct, technology must not be a surrogate for parenting or teaching, or for human interaction. Cell phones, game stations, tablets and laptops, etc. should not be used to babysit children. Technology and social media usage must be monitored, limited. Small children do not need smartphones. Wired and wireless devices should not be left in children's rooms at night. Choose educational apps like Motion Math and digital books and readers for your children over mindless gaming.
We too need to be good role models. We need to put down our cell phones at the dinner table; put our iPads away and turn off the TV. We need to hold our ground when our children protest or beg for a few more minutes on the net or game console. We need to give them alternatives, like books and board games and puzzles and all those analog diversions that actually promote creativity, problem solving, and socialization.
See you around campus.