To use, or not to use technology at breaks?

"Being able to use technology at break" is a topic that is hotly contested, because some think that technology can have some potential educational uses. However others think that technology shouldn't be allowed or even touched, as using too much technology can affect people's future's. This includes, the disturbance of eye-sight, as well as mentally and physically disturbing students, cutting connections with friends and activities (ex : football, basketball, tag, chit chat) . Not to mention, technology at break can destroy students self-management as technology at break can always leave students saying "I can do my homework at lunchtime". Below is going to be why specifically technology at break should never be allowed…

One reason why technology shouldn't be allowed at break is because of the mental damage and physical that technology can potentially do. This can be, continuously playing video games every day or checking your social media. Leaving students to sometimes have lower attention spans and memory damage in classes and outside of schools which could hugely impact students performance in schools. As well as slowly hurt students eye-sight. Here are 4(four) pieces of evidence from articles that proves the point…

"Neck pain and bad posture. Maintaining proper posture is essential for any time spent in front of technology, but the vast majority of us don’t do it. Computer desks and screens can be optimised for good posture, but try holding your phone up to eye level while composing your next email and see how long it lasts. All the neck-craning leads to neck pain, wrist problems, and bad posture, which arguably could have a lifelong negative affect on our health(10 Negative Effects Of Technology, THEHEALTHY.COM)."This article tells us how sitting for long periods of time staring at your electronic device can have a huge impact on your muscles and neck, If continued this could be a major problem.

"The use of social media has shortened our attention span from 12 minutes to 5 minutes. Constant news feeds, getting information in 140 characters and videos that are 10 minutes or less has literally rewired our brains. People who are online an average of 5 hours a day have trouble remembering people’s names, forget pots on the stove and even their own birthday(25 Negative effects of technology, roogirl.com)." This article tells us how the use of social media for a long period of time can affect students attention spans and memory.

"Constantly being “plugged in” and “connected” causes an extra layer of stress that wasn’t present before the overuse of technology(25 Negative effects of technology, roogirl.com)."This article tells us that if we are too connected to social media, for some, not checking social media can be very frustrating and that develops F.O.M.O (fear of missing out).

"Using technology can change a child’s brain. An article in Psychology Today says that the use of technology can alter the actual wiring of the brain. More than a third of children under the age of two use mobile media. That number only increases as children age, with 95% of teens 12-17 spending time online. The time spent with technology doesn’t just give kids newfangled ways of doing things, it changes the way their brains work. For example, the article says that while video games may condition the brain to pay attention to multiple stimuli, they can lead to distraction and decreased memory. Children who always use search engines may become very good at finding information—but not very good at remembering it. In addition, the article said, children who use too much technology may not have enough opportunities to use their imagination or to read and think deeply about the material." This article tells us that the over-use of technology can potentially affect our memory , students / children need more chances to use their imaginations and be outside, instead of staring at your screen(The Four Negative Sides of Technology, edudemic.com, Pamela DeLoatch)."

The second reason why technology shouldn't be allowed at break is because of the cut of connections with friends and out-door activities, or it could just be having a conversation with a group of friends. Using technology at break destroys that connection and that could leave you on your own for long periods of time, which also could lead to depression and loneliness. Exercise is also a very important aspect, even if its just walking from the cafeteria to the library. Here are 3(three) pieces of evidence that proves my point…

"Isolation. Constantly staring at a screen with earbuds in keeps you cut off from the people in the immediate, physical world around you. This unwillingness or even inability to connect to real people in front of you leads to isolation, a recurring issue for people who can’t disconnect from their technology. Relationships can certainly form and grow online, but electronic communication is a far cry from real human companionship(10 Negative Effects Of Technology, THEHEALTHY.COM)." This article tells us that relationships and bonding is very different from the "tech world" compared to reality. Meaning that students might find it difficult to communicate with friends in reality due to shyness and lost of communication.

"The use of online social media outlets causes us to meet face-to-face with much less frequency resulting in a lack of much needed social skills. We lose the ability to read body language and social cues in other people(25 Negative effects of technology, roogirl.com)." This article tells us how communication in social media can be very different compared to reality, resulting in lack of communication and social skills.

"Childhood obesity is on the rise, and technology may be to blame. Paediatricians also say that severe obesity is increasing among young people. Although one traditional focus is on the amount and type of foods kids eat, one study says that obesity is on the rise, not just because of food, but because as we use more technology, we exercise less. With technology that includes cars, television, computers and mobile devices, the amount of time we spend sedentary increased and our time in physical activity dropped(The Four Negative Sides of Technology, edudemic.com, Pamela DeLoatch)." This article tells us that over-use in technology can decrease our time with activities either after-school or at breaks and lunches. This means that technology can also be very unhealthy, and as well as keeping us away from others.

The third and final reason which is guided by experiences and thoughts of why technology shouldn't be allowed at break is because of self-management. By self-management, this means the way students think and organise their homework. Ex : "I can just do my homework tomorrow lunchtime, it will be fine". And this is often known as procrastination. This, if done multiple times can turn into a habit that is very unhealthy for students and can lead to physical and mental damage, as well as disconnecting from friends. From experiences, I have seen this process of "procrastination" happen very often with subjects such as Math, Chinese, English, etc… Even thought we already have a no-electronics at breaks and lunches rule, students are still using electronics heavily. Here is what an eye witness has saw during lunches…

"I had a music activity during lunch, sand at the back of the music room, far out in the garden. Their were a colony of gamers, about 15 (fifteen) of them, all sitting and gaming." This eye witness tells us the amount of students that are still using electronics at break even after UWC has set this rule.

In conclusion, technology allowed at break could be beneficial, but very risky as well because of the mental and physical damage, relationship problems and self-management. To avoid any further consequences from students regarding over-use of electronics during break-times and lunches, principals and heads should take this rule more seriously.




Bibliography

1.http://thehealthy.com/

2.roogirl.com

3.edudemic.com