Children with technology... good or bad?

In a recent article I just read from the New York Times Antisocial Networking.  In this article I found out that teens and kids spend about 7 1/2 hours a day on phones or the computer.  Researchers do not know for sure how it will affect kids because they haven't done enough research.  But what i found interesting about this article were the people arguing for and against technology.  I was surprised to find that a lot of parents were okay with their kids always being on their phones.  Some parents think that its easier for them to make plans with and get in touch with them through texting.  Other parents like it because sometimes their kids are shyer and it is easier for them to branch out and make more friends.  But on the other side parents thought that their kids aren't making as good of connection as they did when they were kids.  Reading this made me really think about how kids on their phones all the time might be a good thing.  These parents brought up good points and I thought about how personally its so much easier to just text my mom from where i am then call her.  I am very split on this situation and i feel like having technology all the time is something that can be good or bad just depends on the circumstances.

How tv shapes our development

In the article Youth Culture Window at the bottom they talk about how tv now a days exposes teens and children to sex at an earlier age.  75% of primetime shows have sexual content in them and only 14% of these shows mention the risks of sexual activity.  It alarming to really realize how much sexual content is on shows.  I know most teenagers obviously know what sex is about but younger children are starting to watch shows like MTV more then ever and when you think about it how many times is sex referenced there?  This article also says the earlier exposure to sex and sexual lyrics in songs leads to early sexual intercourse and more teen pregnancy.  Kids are being so immune to seeing it on their televisions that they watch every day and they start to not think of it as a big deal.  Now that television can also be on your phones and even laptops more kids are able to have access to these kind of shows which will lead to worse things.  Children are so glued to portable electronics and devices it is nearly impossible for them to not hear or see sexual content in what they are doing.

Impact of technology on children's brains

This video is about how children's brains are changing through technology.  Computer games have more abstract techniques so they can process information but they don't have a lot of "understanding knowledge". Social Networking desensitizes people and they start to lack empathy and the doctor also said that someone's identity might not be clear.  This is a scary thought because kids now are always going to want to be acknowledged for what they are doing because on the computer then can get responses from other people fast and they can tell people what they are doing in seconds.  Its also alarming that kids will start lacking feelings because they are not used to interacting with other kids face to face.  If they can always be playing games online or on Facebook then they don't have to make connections with people in the real world anymore.  So when they start to grow up they really don't understand certain body language that people have and they really lack empathy.