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.

Fight The Procrastination

Procrastination is a complicated issue because even though it is evidently damaging to many people in our world, it is an addiction that many cannot put a stop to. While procrastination can give you instant gratification by delays, when the time arrives, all the built stress which had been put aside with countless excuses, is mind-blowing. Day after day, the time which can easily be used to do something, gone to waste because of procrastination. This is a continuous cycle which lacks hard work or determination. Don’t you think the overwhelming stress and pain in the end outweighs the small-term satisfaction?

Days will pass by, procrastinating each day by filling your day up with excuses. Deep down, you know you can do it with the time you have, but the stress and discomfort you have when you sit down just makes you feel… bad. So, you pass the time you have with all sorts of things you like to do so you can push away that feeling. For example, in the article by Tim Urban, “Why Procrastinators Procrastinate” said, “In college, the sudden unbridled personal freedom was a disaster for me… I would do those the night before, until I realized I could just do them through the night, and I did that until I realized I could actually start them in the early morning on the day they were due” said the author. The more time you have, the more you overestimate it. Somehow, the math in your brain tells you that the hours you need to finish your homework can be done on the last few minutes before you go to bed. That time you have slowly fades away since you are using it to waste. Especially in this article called “Procrastination: Oops, Where Did the Day Go?” by Timothy Pychyl, one sentence especially captured what I want to say. “Feel good now, worry about that intention later. Short-term gain, long-term pain.” Put all the negative emotions aside, have fun for a short while, and it comes back, worse. So why? If you have time, use it, or else it will result in enormous servings of anxiety.

Another reason why I think procrastination is damaging, is that the pain and stress when the time is the time is up, outweighs the small-term satisfaction during procrastination. Procrastination isn’t ‘caused’ by anything. You decide. The small-term relief of stress doesn’t even come close to being worth the wave of pain in that slim amount of time. An example of this would be from the article, “The Balloon” written by Marky Nemko, which states, “Tony’s procrastinating ways finally caught up with him. He had been smart enough to be able to slide by at work but, at 40, senior-citizenhood for programmers, his procrastination combined with not keeping up with the latest languages and the slight decrements to his brainpower--noticeable only in such cognitively demanding fields as programming--got him "laid off.” This means procrastination really can affect your health, career, and your future. Right now, procrastination only applies to your homework, but in reality, this is proof of how procrastination can really mess up lives. “Lives can be ruined by procrastination. Certain kinds of procrastination have severely negative consequences if we don't take care of the tasks now. Dr. Bruce Liese mentions his concern for patients who procrastinate on coming to the doctor for fear of confirming that they really are sick.” says the article, “Negatives Consequences of Procrastination” written by Bill Anderson. Doesn’t this prove my point?

After all this, there is still more. Procrastination causes lack of hard work and determination. Even small procrastinations can demonstrate the laziness and how quickly you give up. Because of all this delaying, it’s a hurry to finish at the last minute. From the same article written by Bill Anderson, it stated this, “Dr. Bruce Liese explores this question and gives some insight into some of the causes and effects of procrastination. He says that any kind of procrastination is essentially delaying and thus avoiding our obligations. However, many people "get away" with procrastination time and time again, causing a perpetual cycle that reinforces a lack of discipline.” What this shows and should prove to you, is the more you procrastinate, the more it becomes a habit in which you don’t bother and avoid the challenges you face. In BBC’s “Procrastination: Readers' Tales of Epic Time-wasting”, there was a story from Craig, Bedfordshire, “I bought a book called 52 Steps To Defeating Procrastination. I've still never read it - it was over 10 years ago, and I'm not even sure where it is now.” Funny right? Well, in reality there are more serious scenarios which harm many, in terms of perseverance and finding a solution to a problem. Would you like this to happen to you?

It isn’t easy to stop, but when it comes to fighting to procrastination, you need that hard work and determination. The sooner you learn to fight it the better, the built up stress overflows and will swarm you unless you use that time you have efficiently. Don’t make excuses, don’t delay, just do it. Personally, I was a hardcore procrastinator. No joke. I would have a bunch of homework and bail, and eventually stay up until midnight because I began so late. Because of the numerous incidents, I just remembered the stress and tiredness, so I work hard when I have homework. I even do some homework several days before it’s due! What you need to remember, is to live in the present. Do it now, and you will have a good rest. Sit down and don’t be distracted and start making excuses. Set a time to start and finish and see what you get done without any distractions. You’ll be surprised.

CITATIONS

Urban, Tim. "Why Procrastinators Procrastinate - Wait But Why." Wait But Why. N.p., 29 Oct. 2013. Web. 11 Mar. 2016.
Pychyl, Timothy. "Procrastination: Oops, Where Did the Day Go?"Psychology Today. N.p., 6 Sept. 2011. Web. 13 Mar. 2016. ”Procrastination: Readers' Tales of Epic Time-wasting - BBC News." BBC News. N.p., 30 Aug. 2012. Web. 13 Mar. 2016.
Nemko, Marty. "The Balloon." Psychology Today. N.p., 11 Mar. 2016. Web. 13 Mar. 2016.
Anderson, Bill, Matthew Long-Middleton, and Sydney Llewellyn. "The Negative Consequences Of Procrastination." The Negative Consequences Of Procrastination. N.p., 9 Sept. 2013. Web. 13 Mar. 2016.

More Sporting Opportunities for the Youth

I feel the same as you that during sporting events teens can loose self esteem and possibly injure themselves but one might argue that more sporting events and opportunities should be available to kids around the world because it gives Teens across the world a chance to achieve sporting greatness, sports events can help bond friendships and a player can gain confidence from participating in sporting events.

While Sports competitions can damage teenagers self esteem and possibly injure them more sporting opportunities and events should be available to teens because A player can gain confidence from participating in competitive sporting events, Teenagers across the globe look to achieve athletic or sporting greatness and competitions can also help bond teams and friendships within the team.

Sporting events are only available for the top athletes in certain sporting clubs. Sporting committees and owners of Youth sport teams should create competitions to help less skillful players develop Teamwork, Dealing with defeat and skills that are needed to make a good teammate not the best player.

Firstly, Teenagers across the globe look to achieve athletic or sporting greatness. Giving Teens more sporting events to participate in will increase the chance of coaches scouting them. They will also train more often which will help them increase their skill level. A article By an unknown source on the website www.topuniversities.com says “By participating in a competition organised by a company, university or other organization, you have a new opportunity to show your talent and apply your skills. In turn, the rewards of student competitions, whether tangible or otherwise, can help you achieve your educational and professional goals. You might win an internship that leads to the job of your dreams, some money that would help you buy course books, or even help to start your own business.” This is really important because it shows how people with experience and practice can achieve greatness in an area of interest. Although this is in a school perspective this shows that participating in competitions can help develop someone's skills as well as show them off which can really help outside scouts to pick players especially if they have experience.

Another reason is that competitions can also help bond teams and friendships within the team. This can help the team play better as they will also feel a lot more comfortable around each other. An article by Cherie Burbach from http://friendship.about.com/ says “If you're looking for friends, joining a sports team is a great way to connect with people. There are several reasons for this. First, you and your team are all working together and playing by the same set of rules. You need to trust each other (will he make the play, will she have my back when I miss) and as you get to know one another you play off each other's strengths.” This is saying how being in a sports team can help build trust with friends/team mates as well learn that they will always have your back.

Lastly, A player can gain confidence from participating in competitive sporting events.An article from Richard Bailey says “Over the years that followed my "discovery" of running, my self-confidence grew, and feeding off the accomplishments I achieved in sports - setting new personal bests, winning a little local race, surviving the setbacks of injuries and marathons gone wrong - I discovered a capacity within myself that I never knew I had. I wasn't just physically stronger than I expected, I thought of myself as a different person, as someone with more potential, broader horizons, bigger possibilities. I saw that I could push myself and take risks, not just in sports, but elsewhere, too. The competition in sports, as in life, was not with someone else, it was with myself. To "compete" was to discover my own potential to do better, to hold my own self to a higher standard, to expect more of myself--and deliver” This shows how from years of running he built up his self esteem and this helped him in places outside of sports and helped him push himself, take risks until he reached his full potential.

Owners of Youth sports teams and sports committees should take immediate action to include the less skillful player and offer more opportunities to help get players recognised to hopefully help them pursue their dream sometime. Opening more youth academies and more local and international sporting events for teams to bond and for young talents to be recognised in the community.

"Do Sports and Other Physical Activities Build Self-Esteem?" Psychology Today. N.p., n.d. Web. 16 Mar. 2016.

"3 Tips for Making Friends Through Sports." About.com Dating & Relationships. N.p., n.d. Web. 16 Mar. 2016.

"Six Reasons to Participate in Student Competitions." Top Universities. N.p., 03 Oct. 2013. Web. 16 Mar. 2016.

Homework vs Videogames

The idea of homework has been debated as good or bad for many years, however till very recently, the concept of video games has not been a factor in such debates. In some cases, homework can help children further consolidate their knowledge and understanding about topics learnt in school. However, homework more often than not is a negative use of time and time that instead could be devoted to video games because despite cliche stereotypes, many video games provide psychological and academic advantages. This paper will explain why parents should allow children to play video games in moderation alongside homework as it can provide many psychological and academic benefits.

Homework has been adopted by many schools all over the world, it is now almost a tradition. However as it has grown more and more popular, no one has had the motivation to challenge it. But is homework really worth the time? The Curry School of Education at the University of Virginia decided to look into homework and how much it really benefits children. These researchers reported no “substantive difference” in the grades of students related to homework completion, (Fuglei, 2016). This means homework plays little if any role in a child’s academic success. Another study by Penn State’s Education Policy Studies department found that “Pages and pages of homework that is simply marked and handed back have less effect than short assignments that are marked individually and discussed later in class, (Fuglei, 2016). This shows that the quantity of homework is not related to its benefits. Akshat Jain, an extremely academically successful middle school student, says “The reason I do well does not lie in the homework provided by school, I would be better off without the stress and pressure of homework.” (Jain, 2016). This represents two things. Firstly children do not appreciate homework as it build stress and wastes time. And secondly, homework does not blossom into success, success is found in other factors of a child's life.

Many people think that video games lead to a drop in grades. There are countless studies that have formulated theories putting video games down. However recent research and studies show that video game can provide many academic benefits. Drew Guarini (an experienced and active contributor to the huffington post) says “your mother was wrong. Video games aren't bad for you. They're actually making your life better.” (Guarini, 2013). Studies conducted in england, provide strong evidence that video game, especially strategy games, massively develop skills that they believe to be key factors to learning, like brain flexibility (Guarini, 2013). This not only proves all the olden day research to be horribly wrong, but also proves there is a positive side to video games. However this study wasn’t the only of its kind, a study, based on a set of psychological test done before and after the 72 patients play video game for 40 hours over the course of 6 weeks, conducted by the Queen Mary University of London, found there to be an improvement from the first test to the second test taken after videogame play, patients were also able to complete cognitive flexibility task faster after playing video games. This is fact based proof that video games can have a positive effect on a child's academic life.

However, video games are not only good for academics, despite many stereotypes that video games damage eyes and make people violent, video games can actually help prevent problems like bad eye sight and depression. Depression, a problem faced by many of our youth, depression can lead to bullying, aggression and worst of all, suicide. It is obvious it is an itch that needs scratching. Researchers in New Zealand, tested a new way to treat depression. Instead of using traditional counseling techniques, they experimented with video games. They experimented on over 150 teenagers with depression problems, most of which had already attempted the classic counselling treatments and saw no effect. Half were given the usual one on one counselor, the second half were given video games. 44% of the second half recovered completely, while only 25% of the first group recovered, (Guarini, 2013). This means video games could be the answer to one of the biggest problems faced by today's society. However videogames aren’t only good for curing depression. Researchers at the University of Rochester, found a significant improvement on people’s eyes after playing video games. The results for first person shooters like Call of Duty and Halo, were especially encouraging. Scientist found that they improved the players contrast sensitivity function. This allows people to pick out small changes in light and color, an important skill for common task like driving at night.

So why keep children from playing video games. Would you ever prevent your child from doing their homework? Focusing too much on homework can lead to stress and ultimately waist time. Homework in large quantities does not benefit a child any more than a solid 50 minutes a night. Success comes from developing skills like adapting, learning and flexibility, not pages of repetition. Video games provide the specific skills one needs to be successful in school like the three mentioned earlier. Video games can also decrease stress and allow children to focus harder at school. Video games also provide a variety of benefits outside of school as well like better eyesight and curing depression. So as the age old debates about homework continue, it is time to throw video games into the mix and give it a chance. Society moved past the old stereotypes about social media, children having mobile phones and even LGBT, so why can’t we do the same about video games.



Fuglei, Monica. "The Homework Debate: The Case Against Homework."Concordia Portland Online. Concordia Online Education, 14 Nov. 2013. Web. 13 Mar. 2016.

Pilgrim, Trevor. "Homework: Harmful or Helpful?" Eduflow. Eduflow, 03 Oct. 2013. Web. 13 Mar. 2016.

Guarini, Drew. "9 Ways Video Games Can Actually Be Good For You." The Huffington Post. TheHuffingtonPost.com, n.d. Web. 16 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.

Social Media's Body Perceptions Lead to Horrible Circumstances

  “Nobody is perfect”. “You’re beautiful the way you are”. These are things we have all heard but never acknowledge. I claim that social media has a huge impact on how kids perceive themselves, and it is important to know the effects of that and how to stop it. It starts with one picture, one video, one story. Kids get influenced by everything. Even though it may be fake. Photoshop and plastic surgery have taken over our lives and the internet is full of lies. There are so many horrible things that kids do just to achieve the ‘ideal body’. Do we really want our kids to live in such a world that discourages insecurities but also supplies them?

  To start with, the internet is a wide, diverse place. There are so many good things that happen because of the inter-webs. But there are equally as many bad things that happen because of it. Imagine that you are a 13 year old girl, and your social media life is extremely diverse. Your entire life exists on Instagram, Snapchat and Twitter, to mention a few. Likes and retweets matter more to you than your own family. Suddenly, you discover a really pretty girl with the perfect body. You aim to be like her. After a bit of exercise and healthy eating, you see no results. You decide enough is enough. The next time you have a meal, you put your dishes away nervously and your hands quiver. After going straight to the sink, you vomit out all the food you have just eaten. ‘It’ll make you thin’ ‘You can look like her’  your mind tells you. Many people go through that. According to eatingdisorderhope.com, 2.7% of teens aged 13-18 will develop a serious clinical eating disorder due to insecurities from social media, and 50% of teenage girls use unhealthy weight control behaviours like skipping meals, vomiting, smoking, and using chemicals to control their body shape and make it ‘perfect’. 46% of 9-11 year olds are on diets due to the unrealistic standards set by social media these days. Would you want your child or your best friend or your sister or brother or even yourself to go through something so unhealthy for something so useless?

  Secondly, even though social media brings people together, it can tear them apart too. Some people go through depressive episodes, anxiety, and even suicidal thoughts. Being thin is regarded as the cult of happiness these days. Obese or even slightly bulkier people are ridiculed and as a result of that many people get extremely mentally or physically ill. Some mental conditions that people unfortunately develop due to not being ‘perfect’ are: depression (something very common even in teens), poor self esteem, panic attacks, panic disorder, and anxiety. It is devastating to see a quirky and carefree friend turn insanely obsessed with her body. It is important to identify the symptoms of this before it gets too late. If you know someone who has suddenly become into a nutshell, here are some symptoms that it may be more serious than just a bad day.

• Loss of interest in everyday activities
• Sudden appetite/weight changes
• Snappy attitudes
• Loss of energy
• Self loathing/Self hate/Self Doubt

Obviously all of these things could mean something else entirely but checking on that person and monitoring their behaviour is important. Another good way is to monitor their page on social media. Have they been posting weird things or have they been ranting on and on about how some person is prettier than them? Watch out before it gets serious.

  Lastly, how can you stop this? Most people don’t even know how to prevent it, let alone stop it. But it’s definitely worth a try. You never know, you could save a life. Well, considering at what point you are in your life, there are many ways you can help. If you are a teen yourself, I suggest taking a minute away from everything. Reconnect yourself with reality (not reality shows) and the real world outside of that screen. Imagine if everyone looked perfect. Eventually the standards would change. Trends don’t define you. You define yourself. Remind yourself that even though it’s perfectly fine to think someone is pretty or cute, there are so many people that think you are too. If you are a parent, I suggest monitoring your child’s use of media. Don’t snoop on them or read their messages etc, but just monitor their behaviour around their screens. Also, emphasize the rights and wrong on social media. Show them what is good and what is bad. And here’s a note for everyone: humans like to set standards. It’s natural. But in an ever-evolving world, let’s step away from fake identities and stay close to our real ones.

  All in all, I think that even though the causes for these harsh effects may sound weird or unreasonable, it’s now part of our lives. Social media and the internet; it’s taking over. Simplicity and easy lives have turned into a complex track of stress and anxiety playing over and over. Do we really want to live in a world with people thinking about killing themselves just because they don’t look like a carbon copy of a person they haven’t even met?

Vedika Sanga

Technology Balance for Children

Every day children use technology without knowing the effects and influences of screens on their actions, moods, and bodies. This topic is hotly contested as parents often don’t know what is too much screen time and when to set limits. Yes, I know screens are fun and they most definitely pass the time easily, but many children do spend way too much time on them every day. While technology has a lot of positive effects, it is also important to ensure there is supervision and management put in place.

By now you are probably wondering what those negative effects of not supervising your child are. That is the focus of this letter. First of all, no screen supervision and letting your child have a lot of screen time creates addiction and emotional instability. The New York Times article Can Students Have Too Much Technology Time? says that video games are building anxiety that then turns into anger. This suggests that children, especially in their teen years, tend to have mood swings, and screens have a high risk of triggering them. Yes, some may argue that their children are not in their teen years yet and they won’t be for a while. However the article Video Game Rage by Victoria L. Dunckley, an adolescent and adult psychiatrist, quotes that “Mood swings may happen in the child's teen years, but headaches and possibly migraines happen to children of all ages.” (Dunckley, 2015). In conclusion, it is essential that parents need to know when the screens are harming their child mentally and physically, and they need to know when to put a stop to it.

Furthermore, many kids are just too young. Going out to dinner with my family, and looking around, I see babies even under the age of two on iPads and iPhones. They’re not learning to socialize. I feel very strongly about this as my parents grew up not using technology and they have taught me to manage my time on devices so that I learn many skills needed for the big world. The article Kids Spend Too Much Time on Technology quotes “68% of children under the age of two are on media every day.” (Cohen, 2016). This is significant and impacts self-regulation and attention skills necessary for learning. The article also says that many children in struggling families tend to have higher grades at the end of high school as they learn how to self-manage better and learn better time management skills. Children learning how to use technology, even before they have learned how to talk, brings attention to the point that screens are changing the next generation's social skills and everyday skills. This will harm the next society and change the way people communicate forever.

Finally, my last reason why supervision needs to be put into place is because technology limits the child’s creativity and imagination. Just think back to your childhood when you would walk outside and see children playing hopscotch and tag. Without technology supervision, the next society will be different as there is a likely chance you might not see any children outside playing those fun old games anymore. The article The Impact of Technology on Developing Children says that 75% of children have a television in their room, and 50% of North American households have their television on all day. One personal example of this is when I didn’t have a computer. I would always find something to do outside or inside depending on the weather. However now I’m often on my laptop, I feel that I have lost a bit of my imagination as sometimes I can’t think of anything to do. The article also quotes, “Technology limits necessary challenges that the body needs to learn how to handle.” (Wakefield, 2014). This idea is crucial as, even if we don’t want to admit it, we know that nothing good comes out of being couch potatoes.

In this day and age, technology is all around us and it seems impossible to avoid. However, it is clear that the overuse of technology can have serious negative effects, and supervision will help children avoid them for the long term.


"Technology in Schools: Future Changes in Classrooms - BBC News." BBC News. N.p., n.d. Web. 16 Mar. 2016.

"Kids Spend Too Much Time with Technology." Newsworks.org. N.p., n.d. Web. 16 Mar. 2016.

Pinker, Susan. "Can Students Have Too Much Tech?" The New York Times. The New York Times, 29 Jan. 2015. Web. 16 Mar. 2016.

"Five Ways Teachers Can Use Technology to Help Students." The Brookings Institution. N.p., 07 May 2013. Web. 16 Mar. 2016.

Rowan, Cris. "The Impact of Technology on the Developing Child." The Huffington Post. TheHuffingtonPost.com, n.d. Web. 16 Mar. 2016.

Teenager Independence

Dear parents,

I am writing in the perspective of a 12 turning 13 year old, and with the experience of having an older brother, I believe I can legitimately say that I see both sides of the situation with teenagers. You are all parents of a 12-13 year old son/daughter. The issue of having a teenager living under the same roof is becoming increasingly hard to ignore. I believe that you, as parents should provide guidance, care and patience for your teenagers but at the same time giving them the freedom to make their own decisions. I believe this should be done while showing love and support to their ups and downs, strengths and weaknesses.

It is a popular belief that teenagers are emotional, irritable and not pleasant to live with. Have you ever asked yourself why? The scientific answer you usually get is puberty. But have you ever imagined what it would be like if they didn’t desire to be independent growing teenagers? If they were content under your control, never wanting to leave the house, never questioning your commands? You have to understand that a teenager’s desire to become independent and self reliant is a natural trait leading into growing and adulthood. Remind yourself that it’s not your fault and in a way it’s not your child’s either.

Firstly, you need to let your teenager make mistakes and learn from them. “Your child needs to make some mistakes, to explore and have new experiences. This will help him learn life’s lessons and continue to shape his brain’s development.” An article stated from Center of Adolescence Healthy, part of Royal Children’s Hospital. Through mistakes teenagers learn what’s right to wrong, life lessons etc. As hard as it is to watch your child stumble and fall, you have to understand that at the end of the day they will be positively developed adults. You have to believe in their ability to take a fall, recover and learn from it. This requires patience. Usually more than you’re ready to give. There is good news though, if you can make it past this rough patch of rudeness, arguments, scowling, your lovable, kind child will emerge.

Secondly, a popular topic when it comes to teenagers is the struggle for control. As they grow they’ll begin to want more of a voice in matters. “To put it in political terms, they want a democracy in which they are a voting member, rather than a dictatorship run by parents.” Stated Teenhelp, an organisation whose goal is to bring awareness to both parents and teens.

Although, some parents may argue that they are beginning to have less and less control over their teens in some issues, they still have influence. I can confirm this with my own experience. Understand that the more illogical and unreasonable rules and regulations they become, the less serious your teenager takes you. As hard as it is to admit it, there are times where it becomes appropriate to give in to the argument. This does not mean giving them free control all the time, it means sometimes you have to admit you are arguing the losing, irrational side of the argument.

In conclusion, you have to understand that parenting doesn’t mean having full control over your teenagers. They require guidance and support, not directions and commands. You have to loosen the rope over time, letting them explore, learn about themselves, their talents and weaknesses. This means being supportive and loving, , showing genuine interest in their everyday lives, giving space and privacy, yet setting family rules. "Don't panic; stay on your child's team, even when it appears to be a losing team, and give the whole process time to work itself out." Wrote Dr. Dobson professor in pediatrics. Remember, stay patient, keep talking and keep trying.

Racism in Advertising

Advertisements are constantly broadcasting (directly/indirectly) ideas about racism and stereotypes. People (especially the youth), unknowingly get influenced by these “false” ideas. Teenagers need to be aware of such ideas in advertisements are spreading such ideas, and try to spread awareness about this issue. It’s true that ads can help the youth learn new things and get to know their world better, however there are more negative impacts. One reason is ads stereotype people, trying to make teens believe that some races are better than others. Another reason is, ads have created a “fake” environment which people have started to get influenced by. People are beginning to believe what they see without knowing it. Finally, many races around the world get offended, or insulted by what they see on ads, and this has lead to many issues with ethnicity on ads.

According to the article “Racism in advertising: 50 shocking examples,” advertisements made fun of black people’s physique. This proves that ads can get away with saying insultful comments about other races. This impacts the youth by telling them information that isn’t real. They feel superior or let down just because of their skin colour. An article called “Racism no way” says that racism in ads are a form of racial hatred. In history there have been many incidents (the apartheid in South Africa, jews discriminated in Europe ect.) where racism has impacted people’s thinking. For a long time, ads have been stereotyping and this has become a tradition. From a young age, if they had learnt what to believe and not, they wouldn’t make such drastic mistakes.


“The media has created a “fake” image of how certain races are perceived to the world” says an article called “Cyber Racism explained”. The advertising business often uses a little of what people believe and exaggerate it. Their job is to make things big and bold. However, what we must remember is, this is false information. It’s true, that some things that the ads say are true, and everyone’s definition of racist is different. Some people may be offended by the slightest thing, while others wouldn’t mind at all. As teens grow, they must learn to develop a mind that is neutral, and takes in what others say, but doesn’t believe it immediately. This spread of racism in ads are really getting to the youth. Some people argue, that such information that the media spreads isn’t harmful and can be a fair game of advertising. This is only true in some cases. In most cases, this spread of false ideas causes dispute among races. It is certainly not a healthy form of thinking.


“This causes a great deal of debate when discussing whether it is ethical to use stereotypes in advertising” says an article called Racism on Wikipedia. Many people feel offended/ insulted when someone even makes a racist joke, while others don’t seem to care. We are all different, so it is only fair to give the media a break. After all, they are only after you because they want you to buy what they’re selling, not cause a war against races. Sometimes people overreact when they see even the slightest amount of racism. However, one might argue that most people aren’t like this. The youth must understand, that taking sides is not the smart way to go. You must analyse the situation before stepping into it. Advertisers, may sometimes be racist, but that doesn’t mean that they always are. If you do feel insulted though, you have no reason not to complain.


Racism in ads are constantly being broadcasted everywhere, so teens must be aware. Advertisers often exaggerate stereotypes and want to make people believe things that aren’t true. They spread these ideas on their ads, and people without realising get influenced. Everyone is different so some people get offended more than others. Overall, the youth must be aware of such ideas, not get influenced by them and spread awareness about such ideas to those around them.

Bibliography:

"Racismnoway." Cyber Racism Explained. N.p., n.d. Web. 08 Mar. 2016.
"Mass Media and Racism." Mass Media and Racism. N.p., n.d. Web. 11 Mar. 2016.
Wikipedia. Wikimedia Foundation, n.d. Web. 14 Mar. 2016.
"Media & Racism." Media Racism. N.p., n.d. Web. 11 Mar. 2016.
The Atlantic. Atlantic Media Company, n.d. Web. 14 Mar. 2016.

Social Media Causing Insecurities in Body Image

We’ve all known that feeling when you see someone on Instagram with that gorgeous new handbag or that makeup someone is wearing. You want it. You aspire to be like them, and that's fine, until you realise that you can’t be like them and that’s where the problem begins. Social media was designed so that you could see what everyone is doing every second of the day. But do we really need to know what everyone is doing every second of the day? If you think about it that way it sounds just that bit creepier.

Some people might argue that social media can be good helping to create connections, keep in contact and motivate you to be better and more like the people you see on social media. Whether or not teenagers should use social media is a complicated issue because although there are many benefits of social media such as keeping in contact with people, sharing job opportunities and resources. As well as helping find criminals, it can also raise money and awareness. But this argument is misguided because the average teenager doesn’t actually need to do any of this. What tends to happen is teenagers end up wasting time and using social media for things that aren’t so good. If social media was used responsibly these problems wouldn’t come up so much. The actual topic that should be discussed is that social media really affects the way teenagers think of themselves. Social Media can cause depression, anxiety and self esteem issues such as bullying as well as body image problems. This promotes teenagers to do unhealthy things to themselves in order to appear ‘ideal’ to society. To much social media can be bad for teenagers and people should promote less time spent using social media. Except when teens are using social media to help them stay in touch or if it is keeping them from doing other harmful things.There are many benefits to using social media however social media can be bad especially for teenagers who are vulnerable to depression and self esteem issues.

Social media can cause insecurity in teenagers. Now of days teenagers are using far too much social media such as Instagram, Snapchat, and Facebook. I’m not saying that they are bad but that we should be cautious of how much we use them and what we use them for. Social media leads teenagers into false impressions seeing a post and thinking that is what I should look like causing them to become insecure of themselves. Something on social media, a post of a beautiful girl (probably photoshopped and edited). Leaves you thinking that you are not ‘ideal to society’. According to an article on Teen Health and the Media, “One study reports that at age 13, 53 percent of American girls are ‘unhappy with their bodies.’ This grows to 78 percent by the time girls reach 17.” This is significant as that is a lot of girls who don’t feel good in their own body. Feeling confident in your own body is really important as so much is going on in your life that you don’t need to be worrying about what you look like. Now of days people spend way too much time worrying about things that they don’t need anything else to worry about. According to Clean Cut Media “Almost across the nation 50% of young girls are engaged in negative activities such as injuring and cutting themselves or engaging in unhealthy eating habits and disorders due to self-esteem and self-image issues.” (2009).

Don’t you wonder why they do this? The cause is low self esteem that has been caused by social media. Social media is away to brag about your life and if you are already insecure enough the pressure can just be too much. You should never feel the need to injure yourself or do unhealthy things. I have known people to be upset and insecure about themselves and it has been related to social media. Social media causes many problems and insecurity is a big one especially in teenagers where they are most vulnerable to being insecure of their bodys. Especially when all those beautiful edited photos are posted. Body image is very important to many people and I understand that. Especially now in this time and age where it has become ‘normal’ to try and be ideal and have the perfect image. Did you know that in America 57% of girls have mothers who criticizes her looks. (Girl Self-Esteem & Image Issues & Parents, 2009). How would you feel if your parents or children criticized you on how you looked? Parents aren’t supposed to make their children feel insecure. Children already have enough of that at school and that is the last thing they need. 

Social media provides another place for bullies to hurt people. On social media things can be done anonymously and for some reason people think that it is different than face to face bullying. Let me tell you this there is no difference. While many people feel that bullying on social media is a problem. How many are actually trying to stop it? According to Social Networking ProCon “49.5% of students reported being the victims of bullying online and 33.7% reported committing bullying behavior online. [110] 800,000 minors were harassed or cyber bullied on Facebook according to a June 2012 Consumer Reports survey.” (Networking ProCon, 2015) Bullying is not nice and can make people feel insecure and have anxiety. No one wants to be bullied but often the bullies are the ones who are insecure. Everyone remembers when QuizYourFriends was popular. Someone who was obviously insecure took my quiz and said some really horrible things to me. Probably trying to make themselves feel better by taking pride in making someone else feel insecure. Social media offers just the place to do this. Cyberbullying is linked with depression. "There were consistent associations between exposure to cyberbullying and increased likelihood of depression," Hamm told Livescience.(Pappas, 2015). Bullying makes people upset and depressed and insecure. It’s all a vicious circle. "Kids really are hesitant to tell anyone when cyberbullying occurs," Hamm said. "There seems to be a common fear that if they tell their parents, for example, they'll lose their Internet access." Kids shouldn’t have to be scared to report bullying, parents are supposed to help in these situations. But it also provides a way of communication. According to Top Ten Social Media “Statistics show that 70% of adults have used social media sites to connect with relatives in other states, and 57% of teens have reported making new friendships on social media sites.” Social media is a lot quicker then sending an email and if your followers are people you want to keep in contact as soon as you post they get notified. It’s way easier. I use social media and don’t see a problem as long as you use it responsibly. The problem is that some people don’t.

Overall social media can be good helping people to stay connected, but people can waste lots of time on it. Social media can be bad causing teenagers to feel insecure, depressed and have self esteem issues such as not being confident in their body image. If people spent less time on social media there would be less of this trouble. Although social media can be good in some cases. It affects teenagers and how they think of themselves but in the end everyone uses it and it is the individual's responsibility to use it wisely. I hope that you can see how much social media can affect you and the way you think about your body. Please understand that social media causes many problems that you just don’t need especially in your teenage years.

Bibliography:

Pappas, Stephanie. "Cyberbullying on Social Media Linked to Teen Depression." Live Science. Live Science, 22 June 2015. Web. 14 Mar. 2016.


O'Brien, Shaelyn, and Camryn Reid. "Social Media: A New Source of Insecurities." The Highlander Online. Highlander Online, 18 Nov. 2014. Web. 08 Mar. 2016.

"Social Networking ProCon.org." ProConorg Headlines. ProCon.ORG, 24 Mar. 2015. Web. 13 Mar. 2016.

TopTenSM. "10 Pros and Cons of Social Media." Top Ten Social Media. Top 10 SM, n.d. Web. 13 Mar. 2016.