Technology, which facilitates every aspect of our lives in the twenty-first century, inevitably affects children's lifestyles. Children, who previously only had the opportunity to watch cartoons on television, then started watching cartoons and playing games on the internet. Nowadays, we observe children playing games or watching cartoons on their mobile phones or tablets. Although technological devices negatively affect children's development if used incorrectly, they can contribute to children's development when used correctly.
What are the positive contributions of the use of technology to child education and development?
✓ Computers and tablets can be widely used among young
children due to their ease of use, making learning fun.
✓ Computer games, especially strategic games, help children develop cognitive development, planning and problem-solving skills.
✓ Age-appropriate computer activities in pre-school education programs can contribute to hand-eye coordination.
What are the negative effects of technology use on child development? ✘ Sitting children in front of a computer, tablet or television for a long time negatively affects their eye health and body posture.
✘ Children who have all kinds of control in computer games may experience adaptation problems in the social environments they enter because they want events in real life to be under their control. For example, such children may have difficulty following rules.
✘ Spending too much time with technological devices may cause children to withdraw from social life.
✘ There are many studies showing that continuous and unplanned television watching causes the frontal brain cortex, which is responsible for planning, organization, attention and self-control, to become lazy.
✘ Nowadays, cartoon heroes throw dynamite marshmallows at the audience to make their audience laugh, thus leaving the impression on the child that scenes of violence can be enjoyable. According to research, children who watch a lot of television and watch movies containing aggressive images More aggressive behavior is observed in children.
✘ Spending too much time with technological devices prevents the development of children's creativity and imagination.
✘ Excessive use of technological devices such as computers or tablets may cause children to catch diseases such as obesity and diabetes.
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What should we do as parents about using technology?
The sensory, motor and attachment systems of children in the developmental period have not yet completed their evolution to adapt to a biologically settled life and rapidly developing technology. We have just begun to observe the impact of technology on children in their developmental period, and there are many issues that need to be understood and researched. Childhood obesity and diabetes are national epidemics in Canada and the United States, often associated with excessive technology use. Similarly, the number of children diagnosed with Attention Deficit and Hyperactivity Disorder, Autism, Coordination Disorder, Developmental Delays, Anxiety, Depression, Sleep Disorders has increased at an alarming level, and this is again associated with excessive use of technology.
Four important factors to ensure healthy child development are movement, touch, human contact and exposure to nature. It is recommended that in the first years of life, the child should be in an interaction where he can use all five senses and find a response to his own looks, voice and smile. This depends on the parents being able to establish a healthy bond with the child. The child needs physical and emotional closeness, such as being in a mutual relationship with the parent or caregiver, hugging and touching.
Research emphasizes that children should not be exposed directly or indirectly to technological devices before the age of two. After the age of 2, if the child's language development is at the expected level, he or she may be allowed to use technological devices for a limited time. However, it is important that an adult accompanies the child during this time and that the child does not passively watch. (For example, while watching TV, the adult points to the character on the screen and says, "Oh, look what he is doing?" etc.) k like making it interactive).
As a parent, you need to choose the right programs for your child to watch and determine the program your child can watch by examining the television programs in advance. You should prevent children from watching programs that will negatively affect them, contain violence, and therefore activate aggressive reactions in children.
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If the child has been exposed to a violent incident on television, sharing with him/her about this issue and giving him the opportunity to express his feelings will minimize the effects of this situation on the child.
✓ Limit television viewing time.
✓ Offer children other fun activities that you can do together at home or outside, other than watching television.
Television, computer, internet and computer games can positively affect children's development if used in a limited time and in a controlled manner. For children's social development, they need to be together and communicate with both their peers and their elders. However, since children who are constantly in front of the screen withdraw from social environments to play computer games or watch television, their communication skills cannot develop sufficiently and they have difficulty expressing themselves. But we should not forget that when we want children to show a behavior, we, as parents, must first demonstrate that behavior. Nowadays, adults also spend a long time with television, internet, smartphones and tablet computers. Therefore; Restricting technology to children is an unrealistic approach in a home where all kinds of television programs are watched until late every evening and where parents always have their smartphones. If we do not want to raise a technology-addicted generation, we, as parents, must first put aside our smartphones and computers and spend quality time with our children.
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