BENEFITS OF TECHNOLOGY FOR CHILDREN
Written by Caroline Meyer
There are pros and cons to exposing children to technology. The solution may perhaps lie in moderation. Too much of a good thing is generally bad for you. You can go to the extreme and not expose your children to technology at all until they are much older, but that would mean restricting yourself and the entire household as well. It would also limit who your children can stay with if you are wanting to enforce the restriction quite strictly. Complete removal of technology may hamper your child and reduce their coping mechanisms and earning potential down the road as also everything revolves around technology today. You could also be cutting off their skill building and restricting their personal and emotional growth and their interactions with peers.
The best way for children to benefit from technology may be a delicate balancing act. You want to expose them to technology for education and development preventing their exposure from becoming excessive and actually hindering their progress and development.
Technology allows kids to expand their imaginations and demonstrate creativity wherever they may be. In the past kids had paper and coloured pencils and crayons to show their artistic sides. This may not always be easy to cart around and was perhaps a little limiting. Tablets, PCs and mobile phones allow them to access apps and programs to express themselves even when you are away from home. Yes, you could pack crayons and a colouring book, but now they can create 3D animations and create anything that comes in to their heads. Interacting with tech in this way may also lead them in to fields such as mobile app and video game designs when they are older.
Social media, online gaming and many other forms of relationship building occur online today. As children get older, much of their interaction takes place on platforms where some technology is needed. Kids who do not own any devices may find their interactions are limited. For many children, social media, video games and other technology are hobbies. It is also useful to be able to interact with like-minded kids that share similar or the same hobbies. Tech also allows for live chat, so your child can have a play date with a friend without having to leave your home. This is perfect for times when movement is restricted such as when children are ill. Technology also allows them to collaborate with their peers on projects and schoolwork. Some friends become online friends only, but the bond may last many years.
Technology may empower your child and given them a sense of independence. They are able to conceive of projects, do research, get input from others and carry out the project on their own. This can lead to a feeling of pride and accomplishment and improve independence and free thought. Having an upbringing that include some technology reduces the fear of failure when working online and encourages experimentation. This could lead to trying new things and potentially improving tech in the future. If nothing else, they won’t be scared of any new tech that is introduced.
Many online games encourage perseverance and problem solving. Kids learn to make decisions and manage in the aftermath, learning that there are consequences to actions and taking responsibility for their choices. Most games have levels and children are encouraged to complete levels to move up and improve their characters etc. This encourages perseverance and determination. They learn to change their problem solving in different games and learn that they need to change their approach to a problem depending on the situation they are in.
With unemployment increasing all over the world, technology may assist you child in developing skills or starting a business based on technology on the future. Learning to code, developing app or programs, creating content, setting up websites and many more aspects can be learned from a young age. Setting up a site to retail items can lead to a fulltime business for a young person. Almost any job, even offline, requires some knowledge of technology. Being exposed to technology at a young age allows for easier learning and expression of their knowledge as they get older. Remember to check the guidelines of tech exposure for youngsters, with babies not being exposed under the age of 2.
Children do not learn from books the way they used to do the past. Today much of their knowledge is gleaned from internet research. As the technology starts to move towards a more immersive form, virtual reality will eventually become part of the norm. Eventually children may even be able to “visit” the past or places of interest without having to leave their home. This is also a great way to learn as seeing and hearing creates a more vivid memory and is easier to retain. Teaching your children how to manage their time on the internet and restricting the amount of time spent, allows them to learn to prioritize and do things more efficiently as well. Some supervision would be needed to allow time for “work” (school research/homework etc.) and “play” (games/socializing/pet projects etc.).
These are just a few of the benefits of technology which may also include eye-hand co-ordination improvement as well as reaction times and critical thinking. There are many benefits to allowing your children to become comfortable with technology. Technology is not going away and it is almost guaranteed that they will need to have quite a bit of know-how if they are to succeed in the future. As with all good things, put in reasonable restrictions and watch your child flourish.