Technology Balance for Kids

Only a few years ago, children were playing outside all day, playing sports, building forts and riding bikes. Children use to create their own form of play, that didn’t require costly equipment or adult supervision. Today, children are spending an increasing amount of their time using technology, sometimes without realizing the effects. While some argue that technology can greatly benefit to a child’s learning and education, others argue that overuse of electronic media can cause an unbalance in a child’s daily life, and can be harmful to those who don’t have access to digital devices and the internet.

It is hotly contested whether children should be encouraged to use technology, as it can expose them to inappropriate and harmful content. However, technology can be a great benefit to a child’s life, as new technology “opens up new worlds to them” says Nancy Jennings in her article called ‘Children and Computer Technology’. (Jennings, 2013) This is important to notice, as children who are using technology have a wider range of resources for school projects and research, as well as new platforms that are exposing them to new learning methods and education systems. Technology can also encourage children to capture, create and share memories, increase instant communication and enhance learning abilities. According to an article ‘10 Benefits of Exposing Young Children to Modern Technology’, (DigiParenthood, 2013) “Technology presents opportunities to present different activities children may eventually engage in.” An example that they mentioned was children get the idea of what sports such as gymnastics look like, or even race car driving. All in all, this suggests that technology can also lead and engage children to their biggest interests and passions for their future. Relating to sports, I personally find that technology can really spread the news about sports competitions such as swim meets, soccer tournaments, marathons etc. I also know useful apps for both swimming and gymnastics created for parents, coaches and athletes to get access to updated scores, times and points for competitions all around the world. Overall, technology can have great benefits to a child’s but also a parent's daily life.

A reason technology can be harmful to children is that they can lead to an unbalance in their daily life, sleep and screen time. Some parents take an active role in their kid’s lives and set limits on technology. According to an article titled ‘Balancing Screen Time’, poor sleeping patterns are related to the overuse of electronic media, and concluded that technology “raise a public health concern regarding lifestyle and functioning in young individuals”. (Ikeepsafeorg, 2016) This means that children who are using electronic devices regularly may not be balancing their important tasks with their screen time. I personally find that I feel more enriched and satisfied when I get enough sleep, while still accomplishing other important tasks.  An article on Huffington Post titled ‘The Impact of Technology on the Developing Child’ stated that “The truth is, no matter how engaging and educational certain technologies may be, if a child is sitting in front of a screen they are generally not being physically active or learning social skills.” (Cris, 2013) This brings up my point of technology balance, as many children are spending time on screens rather than balancing their daily lives with being physically active and learning new social skills. This also shows that being engaged in sports and other hands on activities can teach more skills to children than when they are sitting on their laptop. However, some argue that children should be independently choosing the appropriate platforms to be learning and entertaining themselves for their own benefits, rather than their parents. From personal experience, this can be very difficult because you can become very attached to what you are doing on the screen, and it can become a habit. With parent supervision, children will know the restrictions better, and it is more likely that they will listen to them. In an article named ‘The Truth About Kids and Tech’ by Heather Jones, it refers to Common Sense Media saying that “tweens from 8 to 12 years of age spend an average of four-and-a-half hours each day watching TV or using a digital device. (Jones, 2015) For teens 13 to 18, the average is six-and-a-half hours.” This is showing that as kids are becoming older, they are spending more time on digital devices. Making sure that you are not spending too much time on digital devices is important, therefore making parent supervision necessary.

Another reason technology can be harmful to a child is that most digital devices are expensive. Children who are living in lower income and lower educational household families are less likely to have access to the internet. Others may feel that this can benefit to the children, as they are not exposed to harmful content and are not distracted by what is on their screens nevertheless, I contend that children who can’t afford digital devices may feel left behind. I think this because these children won’t have access to the internet for homework, school projects and for their own entertainment. A recently published article by Terrance F. Ross stated that “Currently, 99 percent of America's K-12 public schools and libraries are somehow connected to the web.” (Ross, 2015) This is relevant as the small number of children or schools that don’t have access to the internet are not using the same resources as the majority of other children, which may be making them feel like they are not part of this new technology world. In the same article, they also mention that “In today's schools, having a dial-up connection is far from sufficient when measuring adaptation to modern times.” The part that seems relevant is the mention of modern times. As society will eventually grow, technology will grow with it, and it is therefore important to know and possibly have access to the internet and other digital devices.

As technology will grow and surround us, it is important to know the benefits but also the negatives of electronic devices. Technology can improve and build upon our education systems, giving access to more tools and resources than ever before. However,  it is clear that overuse of electronic devices can have serious negative effects. In order to prevent these effects, parents need to make sure their children are improving their self control and limiting their use of technology in their daily lives, and also making sure they get enough exercise and sleep.  

Resources:

Ross, Terrance F. "When Students Can't Go Online." The Atlantic. Atlantic Media Company, 13 Mar. 2015. Web. 16 Mar. 2016.

"10 Benefits of Exposing Young Children to Modern Technology." DigiParenthood. N.p., 23 Aug. 2013. Web. 20 Mar. 2016.

Cohen, Katherine. "Kids Spend Too Much Time with Technology." Newsworks.org. N.p., 16 June 2014. Web. 16 Mar. 2016.

"Balancing Screen Time." Ikeepsafeorg RSS. N.p., 26 Feb. 2016. Web. 10 Mar. 2016.

Jones, Heather, and Belinda Luscombe. "News." The Truth About Kids and Tech. N.p., 4 Nov. 2015. Web. 12 Mar. 2016.

Rowan, Cris. "The Impact of Technology on the Developing Child." The Huffington Post. TheHuffingtonPost.com, 29 May 2013. Web. 10 Mar. 2016.

Wartella, Ellen, and Nancy Jennings. "Children and Computer Technology - The Future of Children -." Princeton University. Trustees of Princeton University © 2014, 11 Feb. 2013. Web. 12 Mar. 2016.

Smartphones for Teenagers

22 March 2016

Smartphones for Teenagers

Pro

A hotly debated subject is smartphones for teens, I take the position that parents should give Teenagers smartphones, not only does it help them at school but it can help their safety, they can communicate with friends/family all around the world and it is a form of entertainment.

My evidence for that it helps their safety, yes I know that you can get cyber bullied and texts from strangers, but it can also help them, for example their parents can put a GPS on their son/daughter. Almost every smartphone has a GPS and if not then are many apps that will allow you to do on the app store. Another reason it helps your safety is that you can phone/text your parents wherever you are so if you get lost you can phone someone. Another reason it can help your safety is that you can get taxis and the metro easier, for example before you didn’t know what metro line to get on but know you can search it up to find out, also it helps with taxis because before you would get any taxi, you have no idea who the person is and they could do terrible things to you, but now with a smartphone you can get an app with taxi drivers you can trust. Another reason that it helps your safety is that if there is a fire then you can phone the firemen and also if they are in accident and are the only one conscious then you can phone the ambulance, you would not be able to do that without a smartphone.

My evidence for that it helps academically is that if teenagers are struggling and can not ask anyone to explain they can search it up and then they know how to do it. Also it teaches them new stuff, using a personal experience that I learned how to help and do a rainbow, Healy and how to play many songs on the guitar watching videos. Yes you can do that on a computer or an iPad, but with a smartphone you normally have it with you wherever you go so that means you can watch it wherever you are, your friend’s house etc.. Another reason it helps you academically is that there are loads of free lessons on the internet, for example I learnt how to divide decimals doing this. As well if you are sick one day then you can ask your classmate/teacher what you did that day and what you can do so you can study what you were meant to be doing at school that day.

My evidence that it is good for socialising is that if you are a shy person then you can talk to people without making eye contact and things like that. For example imagine that you are super shy and you do not like making eye contact, well then with a smartphone you can message people without making eye contact. Another reason I think having a smartphone helps you socially is that you can message your family/friends wherever they are in the world, so your friends in your old school or your family in other countries. If you are struggling to make friends in your new school then you can message your friends in your old school. Another reason that having a smartphone helps you socially is that many teenagers have things, such as Snapchat, Skype, WhatsApp, Facebook etc., so then you can get in touch with your friends easier and meet up with them during the weekend.

Evidence for it is a form of entertainment is that you can use it long car rides for example on the bus to school and it takes some time and you have no friends on the bus then it is a form of entertainment as well as when you are on long flights. Also there are many games need creativity, quick thinking and problem solving, yes due to the phone you might get less face to face time with family but it can be solved with a time limit. Also there are many games on the app store which are educational that can teach you multiplication, division, stories etc..

You know how your parents are always going back in my childhood we played outside all day and roam around free. But things change, now there are more skyscrapers and more motorways and less places to roam around free, before you could get the metro at a younger age and go around the town by yourself at a younger age then. Also a really important thing to do is that you have to be careful, if you get emails from strangers, tell your parents. That is really important, a way to prevent this is that your parents have access to your email/texts and that you must tell them immediately. Also another important thing is to have a limit, if not teenager get easily distracted. For example you can not take the phone into your room after dark, no phone at the table and during family time. Also not all games are bad. Yes, even though they are quite expensive, there are many things you can do, so a solution to that is that you can get hand me downs, for example I could get my Dad’s old phone and then you do not have to pay so much money for the kids. To make kids not cheat during class is easy, when kids enter the class when they have tests they have to be checked, because sometimes it is more than just bringing in a phone, but a calculator, notes from friends who did the test already. Also you need to keep your password secret, because if not your friends can log on to your computer and post silly posts. So to prevent this you should keep your password secret. That is why I think smartphones are good for teenagers and that it can help their academics, safety, great fun and can communicate with their families and friends wherever they are.

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

Technology at break times

An issue that is hotly debated is whether technology should or shouldn’t be used in break times. I think that by making kids not use their technology, they can be more social with other friends in school and at the same time save their eyes. You could also spend the time doing something physical, because break and maybe PE are the only to times of day during the full 8 hours of school that you can actually do some physical exercise. While some say that using technology at break can have multiple functions and ways to improve your learning, it can also be very damaging to yourself. Students should try and avoid using technology at break times and schools should have specific days where students are allowed on their digital devices.

I think that Schools should not use technology at break because when you use technology at break times and times that you should be taking a rest from work, you can damage your brain more than you think. When you use your brain or eyes for too long at a time, it can damage the way you perform in later lessons. “Downtime is to the brain what sleep is to the body,” said Dr. Rich of Harvard Medical School. “But kids are in a constant mode of stimulation.” This means break times are and should be for taking breaks, not for spending the time on a screen which you probably have been doing on the period before. By doing some sort of physical activity during break time, you are essentially improving your mental focus for the next class. Scientists have proven that performing physical exercise before classes stimulate specific parts of the brain, helping the child stay more focused during the class.

Scientists have proven that taking short breaks is mentally better for learning, so if you do not give you brain a break, what you are basically doing is working it too much. By not taking your eyes of the screen, you are also damaging your eyes by not letting them have a break. Computer eye problems are common. “Somewhere between 50% and 90% of people who work at a computer screen have at least some symptoms of eye trouble.” This shows that even if we are not straining our eyes, even just by working at a computer in school, Computers and technology damage our eyes anyway, so why make it worse? Yes I understand, that using technology at break times and be a way to finish up homework, and yes I know that some people will use them for video games which can be good, which is why I am proposing the following; Schools should assign a specific day, either once a week, once every two weeks, or once a month, depending on how much the school uses technology in their curriculum.

As an add on to all of this, by not using technology at break times, you can socialise with people, and if you want evidence on this, “Socialising during lunch is a desirable activity and should be included in the time allotted. Socialising allows time for students to relate to others, provides a break in routine and allows students to return to afternoon classes refreshed.” Says Dr. Conklin. Another reason here why not using technology at break times helps you academically. Socialising is a natural habit, and right now what we are doing using technology as an excuse to keep to yourself.

All in all, while using technology at break can be a way to do things you couldn’t at home, it is harmful to you and by not using technology, you can, and will be overall a better student in class, save your eyes and use break times for break.

Take a Break, Save your Eyes

"You can imagine if you were at the gym and you held a dumbbell, your bicep would be extremely sore nine hours later.... Same thing for your eyes, you have to take breaks to relieve those muscles," (Starr, 2015). Even as an avid user of technology, I have to agree that we all need frequent breaks from our screens. Our school provides these electronic breaks by prohibiting the use of electronics during break and lunch time. The constant use of a screen can be detrimental to our health. First and foremost, staring at a screen for hours on end is extremely damaging to your eyesight. Furthermore, you lose direct connection with those around you, while you are connecting with others, halfway around the globe, some whom you may not even know. In addition to poorer eyesight, overuse of electronics can affect your mental and physical health in a negative way.

Social isolation is the lack of contact with other people in normal daily living, such as, in school, with friends during social activities. We isolate ourselves by listening to our iPods or staring at the screen of the latest mobile device even when we are around other people. The use of online social media 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 (Roo, 2013). Most children and teenagers spend 75 percent of their waking lives with their eyes fixed on a screen, according to a recent study performed by the International Center for Media & the Public Agenda (ICMPA). The study also found that students who unplugged their electronic devices for a 24-hour period felt extremely lonely and did not know how to fill their time (Morgan, 2014). During this time however, we could be interacting with our friends, studying for upcoming tests or doing homework.

School is definitely a very stressful part of life and although technology can work to ease the stress and simplify your workload, it may have the reverse effect.  Do you ever find yourself stressing over not getting a reply from your latest text message? Or maybe you find yourself constantly checking your Facebook to make sure you’re caught up on your social circle, or to see the number of likes you got on a photo.  If the results were not what you expected or had hoped for, it could really take a toll on your emotional health. We already have the stress from real life, we don’t need to add the additional stress of an online one as well (Simpson, 2013). In a recent book, Professor Rosen of California State University, Dominguez Hills conducted a study of high school students to determine how technological distractions affected their study habits. He discovered that students could concentrate for an average of a measly three minutes at a stretch. The major culprit behind their lack of focus was technology. Students who tended to change tasks frequently or to check Facebook even once during the 15-minutes they were monitored were likely to be poor students. Students reported that even without the constant reminders provided by notification lights and sounds, they were internally preoccupied with whether anyone was trying to get in touch with them or commenting on their statuses (Liz,Soltan).

In school, recess represents an essential, planned respite from rigorous thinking. It affords a time to rest, play, imagine, think, move, and socialize. After recess, for children or after a corresponding break time for adolescents, students are more attentive and better able to perform cognitively (Guinn-Jones, 2013). Recess is meant for students to have downtime to not think or focus on something. If we allow the use of devices during breaks, students will not get the time to relax and mentally prepare themselves for the lessons ahead. Using electronics is a sedentary activity as students won’t be able to play football or walk around while doing so.

Technology is amazing, unlimited resources at your fingertips, it’s no wonder why we use it so often. However, overuse of screened devices can lead to reduced eyesight, Taking enforced rest from screen time during breaks in school, will help reduce the risk of myopia. Myopia or nearsightedness happens when one views gadgets close-up for long periods of time, resulting in eyes getting stuck in the close-up focus position and no longer able to focus on distant objects. It has been found that nearsightedness in countries such as Singapore and Japan have risen to epidemic proportions, due solely to increasing amounts of focusing on close objects. 80 per cent of 18-year-old male army recruits are nearsighted, up from 25 percent just 30 years ago (International Myopia Prevention Association, 2005).

“Most digital screens are backlit and emit blue light, or high-energy visible (HEV) light wavelengths, which the group said can cause irritation and possibly long-term damage to the retina.” (Seidman, 2015) This means that using a screen for an extended period of time without breaks, will damage your eyesight. Also, while you’re socializing on the net, you’re doing the exact opposite to those around you. As well as bad vision, overuse of electronics will be detrimental for your health.

The wastage of technology

52,000 kilograms of carbon dioxide is being released into the atmosphere just from the iPads and iPods sitting around in IT. Any leader, teacher or student in UWCSEA should know that the school has purchased upwards of 400 iPads and iPods respectively. This, needless to say, is quite a lot of technology. More importantly though, it is a lot of useless technology. It is my position that we need to be aware of the usage of technology and adjust our resources to that. iPads and iPods use too much energy, waste natural resources, threaten the lives of factory workers and are again, mostly useless.

Before you take the pitchforks and torches out, we should address that some of us do use this technology once or twice in a year (not including classroom iPads). Although the real question at hand is the need for more than four hundred iPads and iPods for school purposes, in grade seven poll of a hundred and two students, approximately one in two of them said that they had never used a school iPad in grade seven. It really begs the question whether we should be using this technology, especially when we have more two thousand and seven hundred laptops to use on a daily basis.

First of all, the issue with having too much technology is because it takes up too much power. Through statistics shown in Leo Hickman's article explaining how green the iPad really is, he proves that in the average lifespan of an iPad, it is responsible for 130 kg of CO2 through continuous charging. If we cut down the number of iPads we have by half, we could be saving 26,000 kg of CO2.

Another problem is that it wastes natural resources such as aluminum. This is already a problem for apple with their wide variety of gadgets, but just having a random four hundred around isn’t doing a lot for the earth. There are a countless number of articles talking about how Apple's industry and manufacturing impacts the earth, but I’m going to make it short and simple. We are wasting the earth's resources by having excess technology. Period.

Lastly, manufacture of these iPods and iPads is not without damage to the environment. Most of Apple’s products are manufactured in China with horrendous work conditions as proven in an article on BBC which exposes the violations of Apple’s promise to “protect” workers and the 18-hour shifts worked by employees. Arwa Gunja is his article about the toxins and chemicals in apple factories quotes “most of the teens working there don’t even know they're working with poisons”. It has been shown that these workers are exposed to harmful toxins through making, yep, those 400 iPods and iPads lying around in IT. Aluminum dust, battery acid, and benzene have been proven to be harmful through prolonged exposure.

If we could simply sell or donate around 200 iPads and iPods, we would be saving 52,000 kg of carbon dioxide, save aluminum and copper and finally save the lives of many underpaid and overworked workers. It’s a win - win for everybody.


Bibliography:

Duell, Mark. "'Forced to Stand for 24 Hours, Suicide Nets, Toxin Exposure and Explosions': Inside the Chinese Factories Making IPads for Apple." Mail Online. Associated Newspapers, n.d. Web. 21 Mar. 2016.

Hickman, Leo. "How Green Is the IPad? | Leo Hickman." The Guardian. Guardian News and Media, 28 May 2010. Web. 14 Mar. 2016.

"Are Apples Really Green? The Environmental Impact of Our IPad, IPhone Obsession." My Green Halo. Green Halo, 14 Oct. 2011. Web. 14 Mar. 2016.

Elliott, Amy Mae. "The Impact of the IPod." Mashable. Mashable, n.d. Web. 14 Mar. 2016.

"BBC Exposes Inhumane Working Conditions in Apple Factories." BBC Exposes Inhumane Working Conditions in Apple Factories. N.p., n.d. Web. 21 Mar. 2016.

Technology Balance For Teenagers

          Teens can spend time on technology as long as they know how much is too much. They can go out and do physical activity and they can also be on the internet. Technology is good for schools to have as it makes learning more interesting and fun. But too much technology can lead to them not getting any physical activity. There needs to be a balance of screen time and face to face social interaction. One reason is that it can help in a kid’s learning, as it is more diverse than just a textbook. I also believe that you can be on technology as long as you do physical activities and have face to face social interaction. The last reason is that you can spend more time with your extended family that you may not live close to and stay in touch with them.


         Technology can help with a kid’s learning as it could make it more intriguing and appealing. “When technology is used to its potential and with purpose in the classroom, it can provide children with a range of skills that I feel would benefit them in the world they are growing up into.” Lee Parkinson, a primary school teacher, who trains other teachers about the use of ICT. Teens spend a lot of time on the internet, but in school, you use technology to learn new things and it can help you later on. Technology can give us millions of pages of research without using any paper. All of us are trying to be more eco-friendly and everything but still we use textbooks that use massive amounts of paper. How is that beneficial to learning? Technology can really benefit students by providing a diverse selection of different media types.


          Of course you can be on a phone or laptop but people still need to have face to face interaction and do physical activities. “This is why we need to put away the gadgets – at least for a while. Actual life may be duller, and more prone to conflict, than virtual life. But it has this one, signal advantage: it is real.” Tim Lott, a qualified British author and is experienced in writing as he has written a lot of books. Research shows that teens spend three hours per day viewing television and two and a half hours each day on the internet. Teens should go outside and hang out with their friends too. It can make them and stay fit at the same time. Not that you always have to be out, but it is good to be out sometimes and do some physical activities.


          Spending time with your family can make the relationship stronger. If you are with your family then using your personal devices isn’t such a good idea. When people are with their family, they shouldn't be on their phone, it can be seen as rude or as antisocial. It is essentially all about manners and social etiquette and how your family regards those sorts of things. But if we head in this same direction, eventually we are going to end up going out with friends and sticking to our phones every second of it. Also, phones cause social barriers between families. If you have a little sister and your parents give you a phone then they will want one too. That’s the problem with today’s society. It took barely five years for this whole shift. 7 year olds don’t play with dolls or action figures anymore. They are glued to their phones. It’s not the correct way to grow up. It’s just not.


          Technology is a a big thing nowadays. It’s the cool thing to have. It’s definitely got some good sides to it, but there are so many bad sides too. Finding the balance between screens and playing outside is very important and so is the balance between life online and life offline. Real family and real friends matter more than online ones. Likes and retweets do matter these days but they definitely shouldn’t matter more than your own dignity. So, eventually, we will all need to remember one thing. Using technology can bring us closer to the people that live far away but it can create oceans of distance between the people who are sitting right next to us.