Critical Analysis of a contemporary social issue

Answer

Evaluating the Positive Impacts of Digital Technologies among Children and Adolescents

The contemporary society is characterized by children and adolescents exposed to both modern and traditional technology. The core challenge in this regard is to establish the impacts of technology on their social, physical, and psychological development. According to Mustafaoglu, Zirek, Yasaci, and Ozdincler (2018), although  studies have concluded that technology has negative impacts on children’s health and development, some support the use of tablets, smartphones, and computers by children since they increase a child’s creativity and open up other opportunities to the child. From experience, there is a significant change between the current young generation and those who grew up in the 90s. Presently, majority of children are at least addicted to a technological device such as smartphone, computer, or video game. At school also, there is a transition from traditional education approach to using technology, which is centered on enhancing the efficiency of the educational strategies. However, the main concern remains whether the exposure to technology has positive or negative impacts on the child’s development.

Research Question

This research narrows down to the impact of technology on a child’s mental well-being, physical health, and social relationship. The study is informed by the current transformation globally, where children have access to an array of technological devices and the increasing number of companies that manufacture these devices. In addition, children’s exposure to social media is also argued from two dimensions of positive and negative. The positive element is that children have increased their social networks in virtual context across the globe, while the negative aspect is based on reduced physical contact of the child to the social environment. According to Kardefelt-Winther (2017), through a literature review, the existing evidence is inconclusive regarding the effect of digital technology on physical activity. However, the findings indicated that technology has significant benefits on social relationships. Concerning mental well-being, several studies have concluded that the impact of digital technology is U-shaped (Kardefelt-Winther, 2017). This implies that limited or excessive use of digital technology can have a small negative effect, while moderate usage is associated with a slightly positive effect.

Research Question: Is time spent on digital technology associated with positive or negative impacts on the child’s mental welfare, physical activity, and social relationships for individuals aged 3-15 years?

Digital technologies have positive impacts on the psychological, mental, social, and physical health of children and adolescents through enhanced cognitive abilities, literary skills, social circles, connectedness, and exergaming.

This research takes the position of positive impacts of digital technology on children’s mental, social, and psychological development. In addition, current technologies have increased the child’s physical activity through exergaming and children imitating the physical activities that they view on the digital screens. The central argument is that digital technology is currently an integral part of society. According to Hatch (2011), at least 500 million individuals communicate using social networking platforms. As the world transforms into the use of technology across various sectors, including health, financial, and organizational management, it is apparent that children are becoming avid users of digital technologies. From experience, a child as young as two years understands how to unlock a smartphone, open various applications, and watch cartoons. The positive impacts on the individual’s mental and social welfare are reflected in the ability to grasp various concepts of using the technology, exploring the opportunities, and understanding the social interactions. Besides, the majority of children understand the songs and hymns shared on the digital platforms, which contribute to their literary skills.

Digital Technology, Psychological Development, and Mental Welfare of the Child

Children utilize and encounter technology constantly at school and home through video games, cell-phones, personal digital assistants (PDAs), and computers. Bavelier, Green, and Dye (2010) share an experience of classroom simulation activity that is meant to educate children on Newton’s laws. Through a video game that has integrated these principles, Bavelier et al. (2010) shows how the use of digital technology can be harnessed for education activities. In video games, for instance, the activities that simulate Newton’s laws are unfolding before the children’s eyes, which improves the individual’s ability to understand the idea. Drawing from the psychological perspective, the difference between children and adults in learning is the use of experience. Notably, the development of the brain among children is malleable in responding to experience at a higher level compared to adults. The pervasive impact of technology on the children’s cognitive development, therefore, is centered on the experiences in using these devices.

Digital technology has a significant relationship with arousing moods and the long-term behavioral response from the brain. Relating the brain to the intake of caffeinated soda, it is apparent that the impacts of the drink are demonstrated in the long term and persistent use. Therefore, the argument against the use of technology for children is centered on the long-term use of the devices, which according to Hoge, Bickham, and Cantor (2017), affect the psychological welfare of the young ones. Long-term use is also associated with stress and depression. However, the measured use of technology and the viewed material brings out the positive impacts, which introduces the issue of content. Different media have different content, activity requirements, and attentional needs, which affect the child’s behavioral response. Content such as ‘Word Play’ and ‘Dora the Explorer’ have remarkable impacts on the child’s language and vocabulary skills. This implies that the technological content developed for the aim of improving the child’s cognitive ability will have positive impacts. Video games, on the other hand, are associated with visual, motor, and attention impacts.

Technology in contemporary society has enhanced classroom activities, which demonstrate the positive impacts depending on the content and time of exposure. Students, as young as those in the kindergartens use technology, which teachers find positive to the psychological development of the individuals. Four distinct elements arise in the classroom use of technology. Primarily, technology has accelerated and enhanced basic skills. For learners who have access to digital technology, they easily get engrossed in the content and demonstrate a high ability to absorb the information (Miadi, Kaniiawati, & Ramalis, 2018). In addition, digital technologies are interactive and stimulating for children. The second aspect is the motivation to learn. Notably, the learners find it easy to type than to write. Typing makes it interesting to learn, which is a key motivation for children. Comparing the traditional and present learning approaches, digital technology has introduced the three-dimension views and simulations, which expose the children to new and engaging concepts. This enhances their understanding, especially those that are slow in learning and have special needs. Among the core competencies in the modern workforce is technical skills. Technology, therefore, exposes the child to various technical skills, which prepares them as they transition from learning to the labor force.

A major concern on the use of technology is the effect on the child’s language development and communication ability. Different studies have diverse conclusions on this aspect. According to Wooldridge and Shapka (2012), electronic toys reduce child-parent communication compared to the children that play using traditional devices. This effect was attributed to various features of the electronic toys. Sosa (2016) also, through an investigation of how books and the different toys affect the child’s communication skills, found out that electronic devices reduce the interactions between the parent and the child. Notably, the child spoke less when using the device compared to the period that they read the books. In contrast to these findings, the research by Bergen, Hutchinson, Nolan and Weber (2009) found out that there is an increase in the child’s interaction with the parent, which implies that there are toys that elicit this communication. Also, McPake, Plowman, and Stephen (2013) found out that the child’s communicative experience is dependent on the toy and the features. From experience also, the use of smartphones, tablets, and computers enhance the child’s communicative experience before they join the school. The key concerns, therefore, are the time spent using these devices and the specific content that the child is accessing.

To address the issues of time and content exposed to the child, the responsibility falls on the parent to select the age-specific toy and applications for the tablets, phones, and computers. In addition, it is the responsibility of the child to limit the time of usage for these devices and ensure that the streaming profiles are specific to kids. This will limit the need for the parent to supervise the child’s activities. Regulations are also essential in controlling the associated health effects of overusing digital technologies. In China, for instance, there are several regulations, especially in the gaming sector. The games are required to have a limit mechanism for the over usage, which implies that the game will shut down after a particular duration (Kiraly et al., 2018). Also, Chinese gamers should provide identification numbers, which can establish the user’s age. These factors demonstrate that the use of digital technologies in the child’s psychological development is associated with the content, time, parental control, and age. When used in the right manner, they have positive effects.

Digital Media and Social Relationships

A core concern for using digital technology is the impact on the social welfare of the child. According to James et al. (2017), the negative effects of digital media on the social connectedness of the individual are centered on offline communication and narcissism, especially among the millennials. Notably, there exists a tension between offline and online communication. The main concern is that the use of social media platforms reduces the time that the individual spends face-to-face with social environments. This challenge also reflects on the overuse of digital technologies, which may result in the disconnect between offline and online interactions. The screen-based, asynchronous, and online communication nature makes it uncomfortable or risky for young individuals to share their feelings with friends. There is also a concern of narcissism, which originates from the love of fame, peer influence, and cultural dynamics. The personality issues, introvert behavior, and social disconnect demonstrate the negative effects of digital technologies.

The afore-mentioned negative effects are valid in cases where digital technologies are overused. However, the social circles of the children increase with the use of social media, among other digital platforms and applications. The narcissism issue is also diverse since it is influenced by social media and is a concern (Gnambs & Appel, 2018). In the contemporary context, the children, especially those between the age of 10 and 17, have learned the art of sustaining their emotional bonds with the social environment and establishing their identities. Besides, social media applications, including Twitter, Facebook, Instagram, Skype, and YouTube, are a fixture in contemporary society, which reflects on the inability to address the narcissism. Rather, it is the present generation that is developing new approaches to adapt to the changes. From experience, the social circle is in at least two of the currently used social media. This implies that the interactions are dictated by the new social order of using these platforms.

Digital technologies, including social media, have become the foundation of people’s interactions. The contemporary society is immersed in the social media platforms, which are enhancing their features to facilitate the new social requirements. Besides being communication platforms, the social media major platforms, such as Facebook, have become event calendar, chat room, application store, and a gaming center (Wong et al., 2020). As the digital technologies change; the user base also increases. Besides, such technologies are inevitable in the contemporary community, which reflects on the need for young individuals to change their usage. Another positive impact of digital technology in the social context is the exposure of the children to the diverse ways of communicating, which are used in various areas, including the organizations and educational centers. Taking an example of the current COVID-19 crisis, the majority of institutions have transitioned to online education platforms. The discussion posts, access to the learning materials, and online activities have imitated the use of digital technologies and social media. Therefore, the prior knowledge in using these technologies has enhanced the individual’s ability to navigate the platforms, speed in typing, searching for information, and engaging with other users, including students and the teachers.

Digital Technologies and the Physical Health

Digital technologies among children from the age of 3-15 are faulted for the increase in the musculoskeletal challenges, physical inactivity, obesity, and quality of sleep. According to Mustafaoglu et al. (2018), there are rising cases of musculoskeletal issues among children, which are attributed to the increasing use of digital technologies at both school and home. Notably, these issues are related to physical factors, including age, sex, and body mass index (BMI). Over usage of the digital technologies exposes the child to sedentary activities, which are the foundation of the individual’s musculoskeletal issues. Also, the increasing use of technology among children is associated with the risks of long-term obesity and insomnia, which affect the individual’s physical health. Poor quality of sleep is based on the increasing use of phones, computers, and tablets.

Despite the challenges mentioned above, the use of digital technologies among children has increased their physical activities and is used in addressing musculoskeletal health issues. Also, these technologies can be applied to mitigate the increasing rate of obesity and psychological issues, including depression, stress, and anxiety. In contemporary society, there is an increase in exergaming, which are defined as games that require the individual’s reaction or physical movement. Benzing and Schmidt (2018) examined the SWOT analysis of exergaming for children and adolescents and provided several advantages of the use of technology in enhancing the individual’s physical health. Primarily, exergaming is motivational to the children and adolescents to engage in the activities. Also, these games enhance the individual’s cognitive development, which is associated with academic achievement. Another core merit of exergaming is that they reach out to children and adolescents that do not meet the required physical activity levels using the traditional approaches or those that spend more time on video games. This reflects on how digital technologies can be used to address the issue of obesity among children and adolescents.

Digital technologies are also essential in addressing the physical health of children and adolescents that have musculoskeletal and psychological issues. As espoused by Slater et al. (2016), the young generation is expressing an increase in musculoskeletal pain, where the use of digital technologies is explored for co-care, including physiotherapy. The use of digital technologies complements the pharmacological management of the pain associated with musculoskeletal health issues. Benzing and Schmidt (2019) explain the use of digital technologies to assist children that have Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorders (ADHD), which is among the common neurodevelopmental issues among children and adolescents. Notably, exergaming was associated with an increase in the physical activity of these children and their cognitive ability. They have also replaced the time that such children and adolescents spend on the screen. Besides exergaming, digital technologies are associated with influencing the physical activity of the child. This is reflected in attempting to mimic the activities in the video games. Also, children can influence their parents and siblings to play together, as shown in video games and simulations. Social media, for instance, contain various physical challenges and shows, which prompt the users to attempt and increase their physical activities.

The analysis above across the physical, psychological, mental, and social welfare demonstrates the positive impacts of digital technologies among children aged between three and 15 years. Concerning the negative effects, it is apparent that over-usage of these technologies harms the child’s development. On the other hand, these negative impacts can be mitigated in various ways, including the use of technologies in exergaming, parental control, and policies that limit the time that children spend playing video games. From the literature evaluation, the benefits of digital technologies to children aged 3-15 outweigh the negative effects. For instance, Gao, Zeng, Pope, Wang, and Yu (2019), through the competence motivation theory, demonstrated the use of the personal computer in augmenting the individual’s morale to accomplish various tasks and activities. The use of digital technologies to counter their effects are reflected in various aspects. For instance, exergaming can be used to enhance the activity levels of the children that are exposed to sedentary activities, which addresses the health issues of obesity. Socially, digital technologies have changed how individuals interact, and although there are narcissism concerns, the same technologies have been used to develop new social orders and trends.

Conclusion

The use of digital technologies among children and adolescents present diverse concerns, which are based on positive and negative effects. Across the social, mental, psychological, and physical health concerns, digital technologies among children and adolescents have both pros and cons. However, this research, accompanied by personal experience, demonstrate that the positive aspects outweigh the negative ones across the different dimensions. In the mental and psychological context, digital technologies have enhanced the cognitive development of children and adolescents. This is reflected in the use of simulations and three-dimensional training approaches, which improve the individual’s grasp of concepts. However, the positive effects of these technologies are based on the content and length of use of these technologies. Socially, digital technologies have enhanced the interactions and connectedness of children and adolescents. In physical health, digital technologies, including exergaming, have enhanced the motivation of physical activities, which promotes the physical welfare of the children and adolescents.