Picture Essay: How Technology Affects Children's Everyday Lives
In the city of Dearborn Heights, lives a six year old girl named Madison. She is one of the
millions of children growing up in the 21st century with technology at her fingertips. Madison
uses technology many times throughout her day in school and at home. This is almost
completely different from the way many of us lived through our childhood. Yes, the generation
called the Millennials did grow up with technology and are considered digital natives because
of the extensive development of technology that started mainly when I began middle school,
but there may need to be a new term for the generation being born and growing up here in
2018.
millions of children growing up in the 21st century with technology at her fingertips. Madison
uses technology many times throughout her day in school and at home. This is almost
completely different from the way many of us lived through our childhood. Yes, the generation
called the Millennials did grow up with technology and are considered digital natives because
of the extensive development of technology that started mainly when I began middle school,
but there may need to be a new term for the generation being born and growing up here in
2018.
A report done by ReportLinker and the corresponding article on MediaPost written by Jack
Loechner, stated that “the average household has 7.3 [screens]...an astonishing array of
digital devices.” The report also states that “the more technology a family owns, the more
likely it is to end up in the children’s bedrooms.”
Loechner, stated that “the average household has 7.3 [screens]...an astonishing array of
digital devices.” The report also states that “the more technology a family owns, the more
likely it is to end up in the children’s bedrooms.”
The explosion of the advancement of technology over the past few years affects the everyday
lives of children under the age of ten growing up in the 21st century.
lives of children under the age of ten growing up in the 21st century.
Back in Dearborn Heights, when Madison comes home from school, she is greeted by her
twin baby brother and sister. The television is usually on, playing a children’s show. Madison
will play with them, then eventually take the alternative and go on the laptop her grandfather
gave her for Christmas to assist her with her school work.
twin baby brother and sister. The television is usually on, playing a children’s show. Madison
will play with them, then eventually take the alternative and go on the laptop her grandfather
gave her for Christmas to assist her with her school work.
In this first picture, Madison plays a game on the laptop that can detach from the keyboard
to become a tablet. She usually finds herself creating a new Bitmoji (an app that allows one
to create a digital figure of themselves), watching YouTube, or playing games.
The regular, old fashioned paper and pencil homework that many of us have grown up with still exists. In fact, Madison has a lot of homework every night ranging from math problems, writing practice, and spelling words. Here, she is writing her name in her notebook, about to start a new assignment.
Technology also can take over at dinner time. Some nights, Madison watches YouTube videos while eating dinner. On YouTube, she usually watches videos of other kids playing with or opening new toys. I asked her why she watches those videos instead of doing the playing herself. She responded with shrugging her shoulders.
Madison also watches videos of people making slime. This has become her new obsession. She thinks she knows how to make slime from the videos, then ends up mixing too much of the household ingredients together, never creating slime.
Like most kids her age, Madison parks herself in front of the television. She even has one in her room but she “can only watch football because [she] can’t change the channel.” The amount of time she spends watching TV is lower than the amount of time she spends on her laptop/tablet.
In this picture, Madison is enjoying listening to music over this speaker with her one year old sister, Savannah. Madison is very tech savvy, she explained to me how she plays music from her laptop through the speaker by the use of Bluetooth. The two sisters, along with their brother, love music. The twins sing along to two of their favorite songs, “Tin Man,” by Miranda Lambert and “Greatest Love Story,” by LANCO.
The technology craze of this generation starts young. When the two one year old twins hear their favorite songs or see technology in general, they turn into moths attracted to the light. They run towards the source of the music or device that catches their eye, and grab a hold of the piece of technology and stare at the screen. They both love seeing themselves with the funny Snapchat filters as well.
Technology may take over a portion of children’s lives but don’t worry, the way some children play hasn’t changed too much. Even though the technology is there, Madison still enjoys playing with her dolls and doll house as well as other toys in her bedroom. I overheard a pretend conversation she had with her dolls; “Knock, knock.” “Who’s there?” “Cow.” “Cow, who?” “No silly, cows say moo.”
Madison also enjoys reading books for fun. She told me that her mom has her read a book everyday as part of her daily chores. She and I read beginners books together, with little help coming from me. There is a bookshelf in her room filled with the many books that she reads.
“As children spend more time with devices, child development and education experts disagree about the devices’ potential benefits or harm,” Loechner wrote. In his article, Loechner went on to explain that on one hand, children will become more tech savvy but on the other, they may lose important social skills. Loechner also quotes the report, “Psychologists suggest such frequent exposure is re-wiring the developing brain in very different ways than in previous generations.”
Hello Mary,
ReplyDeleteYour picture essay was written well and the photographs did a good job at representing what you were discussing. The theme overall was strong and made a good point. I really liked how you brought up the fact that the digital natives are called the millennials and how you think that people born more recently, such as the young girl you used for your essay, should be categorized as something different. I agree with you because although people our age are familiar with technology and have been around it for awhile, a significant amount of toddlers now a days are on technology almost all day, everyday. While I grew up I never had tablets or a cell phone until I was about 11, so it's crazy how kids who are just 7 or 8 have cell phones with access to internet. But, as you shows in your essay there are still some children who participate in other things than just technology such as playing with toys and reading.