The subject for today is kids getting introduced to technology much sooner these days and whether that is good or bad.

I have a love/hate relationship with technology.  I studied computer science so obviously I’m fascinated by it and use it daily for my job.  Looking back from when I got my first desktop computer with a dial up internet connection to now it blows my mind how each day technology advances.  I think it has done some amazing things and brought so many conveniences to the world but I also think it is deteriorating some aspects of life.

From the perspective of kids being introduced to it I think it has its benefits but if not used properly it could be incredibly dangerous.  I know in schools it has done wonders for kids with special needs or kids that can’t communicate.  It has served a very important purpose in getting kids to communicate by other means when they are not verbal.  There are some amazing websites and apps that I firsthand saw work wonders for my own kids.  Both my girls have developmental delays and it took lots of working with them and some amazing teachers and therapists to get them where they are today and technology was definitely used to assist.  The way technology is advancing in the world I think there is no choice but to introduce it at school as we live in a very digital world.

The flip side though is when outside of the education it gets used for everything else like communication, entertainment, etc.  When you look around at the kids today how often do you see them without their phones in their hands?  How often do you see them not watching TV? How often do you see them not glued to some electronic device?  This is where it gets dangerous because it is turning kids into zombies that stare into screens for everything.  Hanging out sometimes means seating around each other each looking down on their laps or hands in a trance.  They have become obsessed with social media as a means of communication.  There is little human interaction and that is kind of scary.  Sadly this does not stop at kids and you see it at all ages.  I know I see it just in my family when we gather around.  It’s all around us unfortunately.

I know I can’t control it all the time but for my kids there is no use of electronic devices after 6 PM during the week, which includes tablets, TV, laptops, etc.  I see drastic differences in their behavior when there is too much of it so it has been very beneficial doing this.  I can see though as they get older I won’t be able to limit it as much because they will need to use it for homework but that is at least for educational purposes.

I try not to think too much about what the future will bring in regards to technology but at the same time I worry what the world will be like when my kids get older.  All I can do is make sure I am in the presence of my kids with as much interaction and only allow the technology when it is absolutely needed…