Is the technology of today making kids anti-social? Science points to yes, but not everyone is affected the same.
Technology, more specifically cell phones, is a very powerful tool that can do spectacular tasks in an instant, or that allows us to seamlessly communicate with people around the world. Unfortunately, most powerful tools can also have a negative impact; cell phones are no exception.
As cell phones began to evolve and become increasingly mainstream, they started to become more accessible to the population which later began to include children.
As time went on up until the present, a debate began to arise in which society started to argue whether cell phones made children more anti-social. This debate sparked because children released that they didn’t want to or need to go outside and could be entertained for hours with cell phones.
Unfortunately I, a 19-year-old college student, much like others fell into the addiction of smartphones and all of the wonderful things they could do.
Although, this is a question I have had on my mind for quite a while and wanted to dive deeper into since it is such a prominent debate. Are cell phones actually making children [more] anti-social?
If you were like me and decided to look it up on Google, or such an equivalent search engine, you might find that science automatically points to yes. One article found by the Daily Universe writes “What used to be a crowded community park is now filled with silence and a few occasional visitors, thanks to technology’s effects on children.” Another example found in the New York Times states “The question on researchers’ minds is whether all that texting, instant messaging and online social networking allows children to become more connected and supportive of their friends — or whether the quality of their interactions is being diminished without the intimacy and emotional give and take of regular, extended face-to-face time.”
Most, if not all sources that you look at on the topic will tell you that children today are more depressed, on edge, and less likely to interact with people face-to-face. Although, in my personal experience and some of the other people I know, technology has actually made them more social than they were before.
One of the greatest aspects of technology is that it can be used to communicate with people all over the world using instant messaging and phone calls.
This in fact makes it very easy to reach out to old friends and family and has the potential to make people more social. Specifically, I remember there was one night when I decided to check on a bunch of my old friends and found out that one of them hadn’t been doing too well and needed someone to talk to but never ended up reaching out. I ended up talking to them over the phone for a while and talking them through everything they were going through.
Unfortunately, most of the evidence in favor of cell phones will be anecdotal since there is little research on phones actually being helpful.
Another example of cell phones allowing me to be more social was that one evening I decided to message about 10 or 15 friends that I hadn’t talked to in years and checked in on them to see how they were doing.
After using the power of technology to message some of my friends that were in different parts of the world, I found out that many of them were doing good and actually ended up making plans with a couple of them and catching up.
Overall, I understand that this article may not be as credible because I had to use lots of anecdotal experience and because the main effect that cell phones have on the brain is primarily negative. On the other hand, since there is little to no research about why certain children benefit from cell phones and the communication that becomes possible. I wonder if it might have something to do with parenting? Or genetics? I think that this would make for a fantastic study if it was feasible enough because as we know, with great power comes great responsibility.
