For hundreds of years children have spent time playing with toys, going outside, and running around. These days kids still are playing with toys, just “different” toys. These new toys have access to the internet, social media, and thousands of games. Computers and phones have become the new normal toy for everyone.
The new generation of children have grown up with technology their whole life and think it is normal to use them constantly. A report done by Mary Meeker, an internet analyst, shows the daily time spent on technology per country. Indonesia, on top of the chart, spending on average 181 minutes on smartphones and 117 minutes on laptops, while the United States spends 151 minutes on phones and 103 minutes on laptops daily. That’s not even including time spent watching television. Aryan Goyanka, a student at UWCSEA in Singapore tells reporters he spend 2 hours every day on his phone. Imagine if this time has spent for studying, doing chores, or spending time with family. Overall, technology is a true time waster.
Many of the hours spent on technology is spent on social media. Social media allows you to connect to people all around the world without being face to face. Although it has upsides, it has quite a lot of negative effects on kids. According to the Houston Chronicle, Social networks create a false sense of connection, children think that talking online is the same as talking face to face. When in fact the connections you make online weaken your real relationships. Social media also decreases productivity. You are wasting time looking at other people’s life rather than living your own.
The next time you go on your phone or laptop, take a second to think of the other things you could be doing, the people you could be with, or think of this article. I’m not saying you can’t use technology, I’m just saying technology should be used responsibly and moderated. Now please excuse me, I’m going outside for a little bit to enjoy some fresh air.
The new generation of children have grown up with technology their whole life and think it is normal to use them constantly. A report done by Mary Meeker, an internet analyst, shows the daily time spent on technology per country. Indonesia, on top of the chart, spending on average 181 minutes on smartphones and 117 minutes on laptops, while the United States spends 151 minutes on phones and 103 minutes on laptops daily. That’s not even including time spent watching television. Aryan Goyanka, a student at UWCSEA in Singapore tells reporters he spend 2 hours every day on his phone. Imagine if this time has spent for studying, doing chores, or spending time with family. Overall, technology is a true time waster.
Many of the hours spent on technology is spent on social media. Social media allows you to connect to people all around the world without being face to face. Although it has upsides, it has quite a lot of negative effects on kids. According to the Houston Chronicle, Social networks create a false sense of connection, children think that talking online is the same as talking face to face. When in fact the connections you make online weaken your real relationships. Social media also decreases productivity. You are wasting time looking at other people’s life rather than living your own.
The next time you go on your phone or laptop, take a second to think of the other things you could be doing, the people you could be with, or think of this article. I’m not saying you can’t use technology, I’m just saying technology should be used responsibly and moderated. Now please excuse me, I’m going outside for a little bit to enjoy some fresh air.
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