Project Summary

For my project i am going to do a naturalistic observation.  I want to see how many kids and adults use technology when they are out in public.  I plan on going to three different places, a mall and two restaurants to see how many and how long people will be using technology.  I will mostly be looking for kids using ipads to play games or teens and parents using their phones.  I want to see if technology is really taking over people's lives even when they are out to eat or socializing in public.

Attention and Memory in children who use technology

In the article how technology is changing the way kids think and focus the author discusses how technology will lower our attention levels and memory.  It was stated that reading books and actual hand printed texts helps a person memorize and pay more attention rather then just reading something online.  He used an anology saying that reading is like scuba diving where you have to focus more and can see the deeper meaning (which is a good thing) and that technology (the internet) is like jet skiing; you only get quick things of information from surfing the web and are less likely to remember most.   It was also said that children who watch a lot of tv will have a short attention span and lack of imagination.  I feel like i can really agree with this author.  The points he makes about the internet ring true to me because even i notice that studying for a test from something online i tend to remember less then when i have something printed out for it.  Also if im on the computer during class in most cases i pay less attention to whats going on in the classroom and more attention to whats going on on my computer.  I feel like all of this technology really does slow us down and makes our memory worse.  The generation behind us is going to grow up depending on technology and they will never really have to pick up a book because their books will soon be online.  I am an advocate for reading because i feel like reading is necessary to learn and without it learning just won't be the same.

Children and play

I recently read an interesting article called Is technology sapping away children's creativity?  Through most of the article it discussed that not a lot of studies have been done with children and technology but with the few they have noticed certain things that are happening.  With all of the new technology it is taking away from kid's "play".  It is said that our most important times as a child are when we go out and play and make new friends and learn new things everyday.  Games and apps on ipads, tablets and other electronics are taking away from children.  They spend most of their time playing these games and really never get out and experience anything anymore.  This was shocking to think because as a kid i always would go out and play on my block and to think that doing this is becoming something that is basically unknown is alarming.  It also said that these games really do take away from a child's creativity because they are doing things that "the programmer" wants them to do.  The games they play on these electronics are not made up by them but by someone else so they start to lack creativity.
It is a very scary thought that technology is starting to really take over children's lives now a days.  It is even scary to think that parents are okay with letting it happen.  They sometimes will just give them a game to play so they dont have to deal with the problem.  The sad part is that technology can't be taken back and what is happening to the children of our society can't be changed.