Nguyen 1 Thi Phuong Nhan Nguyen Professor Alfred Carson ENGL 1102 25 April 2021 Dangers of Technology for Children Because of factors such as the rise of technology and the internet, the ease of having several smartphones or tablets, and many jobs incorporating the use of technology, people are spending the majority of their time in front of a screen more than ever before. They use technology to keep in touch with their family, finish their work, or simply to surf the internet without a goal. Due to these various reasons, the role of technology, especially smartphones, grows day by day to the point of creating an appeal that is hard to resist. However, like most things in the world, technology, especially smartphones, is like a double-edged sword. Children nowadays seem to increasingly rely on smartphones or tablets. Many parents are probably blind to the risks or ignore the drawbacks of smartphones and continue to allow their children to use them because they do not know that smartphones can be harmful to young children’s physical and mental health. Electronic devices can seriously affect a child’s physical health. Moreover, smartphones allow children to access a lot of websites that often do not censor inappropriate information. Even worse, in some cases, when children are trying to access a meaningful website to watch or learn something, an inappropriate advertisement could appear, and children could accidentally touch it and be redirected to another site. According to Lisa Shaw and Rebecca Terrell, “Young people are inundated with sexual images and sexual conversation that allow them to very freely participate in those types of conservations and activities” (11). Moreover, an article in The New Nguyen 2 American states that, “Pornography consumption is associated with decreased brain volume in the right striatum, decreased left striatum activation, and lower functional connectivity to the prefrontal cortex” (12) and “As hours of reported pornography use increase, the amount of gray matter in the brain decreases” (12). Imagine that as children’s brains are developing, and they were exposed to technology, the negative content on the internet might negatively affect their brain development and make it stop or getting worse. Furthermore, when children use technology devices excessively at a young age, it is very harmful to their eyes. According to an article in Gale, “According to a research by the University of Toledo in the U.S., exposure to blue light continuously might cause poisonous molecules to be generated in the eye’s light-sensitive cells and lead to macular degeneration” (para.2). Due to children abusing technology, especially smartphones, at an early age, their physical health is increasingly being affected negatively. The most evident manifestation is that more and more children are being nearsighted from an early age. In addition, electronic devices can also cause mental health problems for children. The number of deaths related to mental illness, such as stress and depression, is increasing rapidly. More than that, the main cause of these illnesses is pressures from work, school, and social media – the most important reason. According to Jean M. Twenge, “Adolescents using electronic devices three or more hours a day were 34% more likely to have at least one suicide-related outcome than those using devices two or fewer hours a day, and adolescents using social media sites every day were 13% more likely to report high levels of depressive symptoms than those using social media less often” (para. 41). Many young people are obsessed with getting news or comments from social networks to answer. People today firmly believe that mobile devices are their only way to stay in touch. Separated from them, people severed the connection with the Nguyen 3 world, including friends and family. If they hear the ping sound from their smartphone or screen light up, they feel like they have to check it; otherwise, they will miss something. Jouwstra calls this phenomenon as “a disconnect” (para. 16). The most adverse effect of mobile phones is on sleep. Most young people often put their mobile phones by the bed every night. This issue makes it easier to interrupt sleep because they often wake up at night to check their phones. It is a serious problem because not getting enough sleep will affect their ability to remember and have many other consequences as well. Especially after a stressful day at work, the brain needs time to rest. Moreover, because of electronic devices, especially smartphones, cyberbullying is becoming more and more common. In the past, bullying used to happen only in a specific place, such as at school, but now bullying can happen anywhere. Children who were bullied used to feel safe at home, but now they feel that they will never be able to avoid the potential harm of being bullied and are always afraid of being attacked. It has caused a lot of mental health problems. According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), “About 19 percent reported that bullying had somewhat or a lot of negative effect on how they felt about themselves, 14 percent each reported that bullying had somewhat or a lot of negative effect on their relationship with friends or family and on their school work, and 9 percent reported that bullying had somewhat or a lot of negative effects on their physical health”. Similarly, another article by CDC states, “Bullying can result in physical injury, social and emotional distress, selfharm, and even death. It also increases the risk of depression, anxiety, sleep difficulties, lower academic achievement, and dropping out of school” (para. 5). Cyberbullying affects almost every aspect of children’s lives, and technological equipment is a bridge, a tool for others to do Nguyen 4 that. So, parents need to consider whether to allow their children to use technology devices or not. Although electronic devices have a lot of harmful effects, some may argue that electronic devices are necessary for children to learn something new that is not taught in school. Parents could not buy for their children, but they also could not ban them from using technology devices, which are impractical and unrealistic. What is important to note is when a child comes home from school begging for a device just like their friends. Furthermore, if children could not use electronic devices, some parents will feel as if their children will not keep up with others. Yes, it is true, but that is the result of completely banning them from electronic devices and the internet. Parents must teach their children that technology devices are tools, not toys, and certainly not best friends. They can limit how many hours children can use technology devices and what websites or programs they watch or learn from it. They should regularly let children go out to play, be active, and talk to other children. It helps children grow better and contributes to helping other children get off the screens. Most children in the world have become accustomed to carrying technical equipment with them and regard them as essential items no matter where they are. Electronic devices are affecting a harmful way for children’s physical and mental, such as brain’s development, eyes' sight, and making them stress. No one can deny electronic devices’ features and usability. But be wise not to let the screen control and manipulate other people, especially children. As Maria Montessori – a famous educator said, “Within the child lies the fate of the future” (para. 1). Children are the community’s future, the world’s future. If parents ignore all the hazards of technology devices, what will the world be like? In other words, children are like a blank sheet Nguyen 5 of paper and can be influenced very easily. Everyone can succeed in preventing the misuse of technology devices easily and preserve the world’s future. Nguyen 6 Works Cited Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. “Preventing Bullying.” 2018. www.cdc.gov/violenceprevention/pdf/bullying-factsheet508.pdf Chiang Jeng-Tung. “Transitions in Smartphone Addiction Proneness among Children: The Effect of Gender and Use Patterns.” 2019. EBSCOhost, search.ebschost.com/login.aspx?direct=true&AuthType=ip,shib&db=edsgov&AN=edsgc l.587216654&site=eds-live&scope=site. Gulf News (United Arab Emirates). “Is It Time to Ban Children from Using Smartphones?” 2017. EBSCOhost, search.ebscohost.com/login.aspx?direct=true&AuthType=ip,shib&db=edsgwh&AN=eds gcl.519578495&sitc=cds-live&scopc=sitc. Lisa Shaw and Rebecca Terrell. “What SCREENS ARE DOING TO OUR KIDS.” The New American, no. 12, p.10, 2019. EBSCOhost, search.ebscohost.com/login.aspx?direct=true&AuthType=ip,shib&db=edsgov&AN=edsg cl.593148768&site=eds-live&scope=site. Maria Montessori ǀ Rochester Montessori School. “Rochester Montessori School.” “Within the Child Lies the Fate of the Future.” 2013. rmschool.org/content/within-child-lies-fatefuture-maria-montessori. National Center for Education Statistics (NCES) Home Page, a Part of the U.S. Department of Education. “Indicators of School Crime and Safety” 2016. nces.ed.gov/pubs2017/2017064.pdf. Nguyen 7 Park Joo-Hee. “The Effects of Smart Phone Gaming Duration on Muscle Activation and Spinal Posture: Pilot Study.” Physiotherapy Theory & Practice, vol. 33, no. 8, pp. 661-669, Aug. 2017. EBSCOhost, doi: 10.1080/09593985.2017.1328716. The Canadian Broadcasting Corporation. “Smartphones, other distractions can be more deadly than impaired driving, data suggests.” Accessed 12 Nov. 2019. https://link.gale.com/apps/doc/A604121500/OVIC?u=cht2&sid=OVIC&xid=26dd1171. The London Evening Standard (London, England). “Will a WiFi Network Harm Your Children?” 2006. EBSCOhost, search.ebscohost.com/login.aspx?direct=true&AuthType=ip,shib&db=edsgov&AN=edsg cl.154715639&site=eds-live&scope=site. Twenge, Jean M. “Increases in Depressive Symptoms, Suicide-Related Outcomes, and Suicide Rates Among U.S. Adolescents After 2010 and Links to Increased New Media Screen Time.” Clinical Psychological Science, vol. 6, no. 1, pp. 3-17, Jan. 2018. doi: 10.1177/2167702617723376. Xinhua News Agency. “Blue Light from Smartphones Could Accelerate Blindness.” 2018. EBSCOhost, search.ebscohost.com/login.aspx?direct=true&AuthType=ip,shib&db=edsgwh&AN=eds gcl.549973135&site=eds-live&scope=site.
