Is Digital Dominance a Downfall in Childhood Development?

As I read through articles this week and digested the whole mobile nation, it really got me thinking about our society and especially our youth. Is all this mobile access helping or hindering the development of our children? Approximately half of our world’s population has mobile connectivity and 90% of Americans own mobile phones. The statistic does not exclude our youth population. The marketing thought within the business world today is pretty much, Go Mobile or Go Home. And, with those numbers above, why would you think otherwise. My thoughts are, with this rapidly evolving mobile and social media revolution we may be technologically engaging, but is it at the expense of losing our true physical social abilities?

Think about this, when’s the last time you sat down to hand write a thank you card or a note of appreciation to someone? If that question was presented to our youth today, the response would probably be that they send an email or posted something on Facebook, Twitter or Instagram. In today’s world the instant gratification of mobility and social media has replaced the intimacy of a hand written note or receiving a card in the mail. Even the act of going outside to play with neighborhood friends or joining an actual physical social activity has taken a back seat to online social groups and networks. Are the youth today being robbed of the excitement of receiving that special letter in the mail or going to an event and enjoying the roar of a crowd and being part of a social community that does not involve logging on. Being mobile has opened the door to a larger world for our children, but at what cost?

Some say that kids who struggle with social skills may find it easier to rely upon social media and digital applications as a crutch. They use these venues as an act of socialization, instead of actually challenging themselves to physically get out and participate in a true social environment. A person’s social skills are most critically developed in childhood. According to the American Academy of Pediatrics, the healthier a child’s early experiences are, the more apt they are to enter school and life with a strong foundation or social-emotional skills. When these social activities are challenged with social media being the only way some children interact with the world, it limits the development needed to for these kids to be socially functioning adult. But, on the flip side of that statistic, children who may have serious inhibitions about being part of a group can now find social networks that peak their interest and just simply log in and be engaged. Through an expanded network, a child is not just limited to social activities within their local community. Their engagement can expand far beyond these boundaries to reach across the nation and even worldwide. Mobility and social networking opens the door for many individuals to find other youth that share their same interest and goals which helps to foster their individual identities. For some of these children, mobile technology has opened a whole other world for them to actually grow and expand their personalities.

In today’s digital world, a child’s engagement can expand far beyond local community boundaries to reach across the nation and even worldwide. Social networking opens the door for many kids to find other children that share their same interest and goals which helps to foster their individual identities. Schools have successfully integrated social networking to help bridge the gaps in offering certain academic activities that would not be available without the internet. Some classrooms have even joined forces with other classrooms in entirely different countries to help expand cultural diversity. When engaging in activities such as this, it enlarges the community and teaches cultural acceptance at an early age.

 Now does all this new access to the world help or hinder a child’s development. There are additional studies that have shown that increased use of mobile application and immediate access to the internet increases attention disorders. It’s been recorded that 40% of 8 to 18 year olds spend 54 minutes a day on mobile apps and social media sites.  Also, when receiving an alert from a social networking site activity, like a new tweet or Facebook message, users take 20 to 25 minutes on average to return to their original task. In 30% of cases, it took two hours to fully return attention to their original task. When children are exposed to prolonged use of the internet or social media activity it can produce permanent changes in the brain structure and function due to the interactive, repetitive and addictive stimuli. When a developing brain consistently shifts from object to object without thorough evaluation or completion of one topic, it can increase the potential of attention deficit and hyperactivity disorders (ADHD). While it has not been factual proven that internet activity and social networking is a cause for the rise in ADHD diagnosis in youth today it cannot be dismissed. A direct correlation is arguable that since social media has saturated our lifestyles, ADHD diagnoses have been on the rise.

Since mobile strategies and social media are now part of our daily lives and will only continue to grow, it is important that parents understand that children need to be socialized in a way that does not include internet activity. Parents should consider limiting social networking in childhood to allow for proper brain development of social, emotional and behavioral skills. When properly monitored, these activities can enhance our lives instead of hindering our children’s development and growth.

 

References

Mark Connolly/Wisconsin Center for Education Research (2011, October). Benefits and Drawbacks. Retrieved January 13, 2014, from http://www.wcer.wisc.edu/news/coverStories/2011/benefits_and_drawbacks.php

 ProCon.org. (2014, January 16). Social Networking ProCon.org. Retrieved from http://socialnetworking.procon.org/

 The Rise of ADHD: Is Technology to Blame? - ADHD Center - EverydayHealth.com. (2010, August). Retrieved January 16, 2014, from http://www.everydayhealth.com/adhd-awareness/the-rise-of-adhd-is-technology-to-blame.aspx

 Carroll, J.A. & Kirkpatrick, R.L. (2011). Impact of social media on adolescent behavioral health. Oakland, CA: California Adolescent Health Collaborative.