Call them Generation Twitter or Generation Text, these, kids would rather be logged in and plugged up than engaging in any real physical activity. Ask any 10 year old. According to a new study from the Kaiser Family Foundation, kids aged 8-18 are online for virtually their entire waking life.
Over the past five years alone, the amount of time spent by youth online has increased to an average of almost 8 hours a day. This means that kids are spending an entire 40-hour workweek online, not including weekends. Including weekends that bring the average to 53 hours. The upside to this is that kids are extremely engaged, just not so much with the real world.
Naturally, the concern remains that children are lacking in real world interactions. In fact, the study found that kids are actually more likely to suffer from behavioral problems and lower grades. Kids are getting bored – without being able to be tethered constantly to a TV, iPhone, or Internet (let alone all three at once) – it is hard to compel kids to listen and gain anything from class.
Moreover, even children younger than 8 years old are getting in on technology bandwagon. North Carolina native Armen Hareyan’s 5 year-old son spends much of his time playing online games such as Lego or Thomas the Tank Engine. Many children start off with Baby Einstein and move on to video games. What's more, it is a common occurrence for kids to receive over five hundred text messages a day, while at school, in class, at the dinner table, etc. The media onslaught really never stops.
While having technical skills and adapting the latest technology enhances awareness and hand-eye coordination, too much of a good thing can cause kids to essentially short-circuit. The Kaiser study shocked researchers who thought it impossible to increase technology usage.
The question now is how far will usage go and how will affect today’s youth in the long term? If kids continue to be permanently logged in, what will that mean for society as a whole? Should there be moves to limit usage with devices like iPods and laptops so readily available? Or should there be more acceptances – society certainly is not go to regress back to the Stone Age.
The growth technology and it use among today’s youth is certainly a double-edged sword. On the one hand, technology is a tremendous tool in learning; on the other hand, it can be a hindrance to learning. Only time will tell the full extent of technology on children.
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