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Jessica Mendoza
Kristi Perkins
ENG 101
May 1, 2015
Childhood Obsolete
With every passing year the age that constitutes a child continues to descend closer to the
ages of infancy. The kids that once enjoyed innocent and juvenile play, now engage in
inappropriate and profane activities disproportionate for their maturity. The concept of a
childhood is being diminished by the hands of the 21st century. The modern culture of today is
using technology as the medium to influence the younger generation. The issue began in the 20th
century with the growing emergence of new inventions (Bakan 4). Each generation that has
begun since the start of the 20th century have been exposed to technology, some dating as early as
the 1920s. For example, the creation of the automobile essentially created the teenager, as it
liberated adolescents from the home. Now, the children of the 21st century are the most effected.
Innovations in electronics have skyrocketed and have become a necessity in daily life. For
example, 95 per cent of 8 to 11 year olds had accessed the internet in the last four weeks and
nearly all have had accessed the internet at some point in their lives ("Kids Online: The
Statistics" 3). The issue today is that children are being subdued to modern society as kids
partake in vulgar activities and adopt unacceptable characteristics.
The current solution to the epidemic is to observe and take notice of the consequences of
children engaging in social media, TV, tablets, phones, etc. Neuroscientist Baroness Susan
Greenfield shed light on the fact that the bombardment of technology pulls away kids from
reading and potentially gaining needed concentration skills. She noted that it could be related to

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the rise in the number of children with ADHD ("Is Modern Life Ruining Childhood?" 5).
Another note she made was that todays society is suffocating creativity. Screen based
activitiesdid not foster the imagination as much as reading books or being told a story "Is
Modern Life Ruining Childhood?" 3). A different aspect to the observations specialist are noting
is that the affluences on children brainwash them into thinking they have to act more mature than
they are. Girls were made to worry about their appearance and their weight, boys were meant to
act tough and both boys and girls were under pressure to take an interest in sex at too young an
age ("Modern Childhood 'ends at Age of 12' 6). The positive outcome of taking observation to
the situation is that awareness of the dangers and effects toward kids has been raised. While
being educating to handle the situation makes for better reactions, the kids are still continuing to
be robbed of their innocence. The current solution has not made the situation better. However,
the tactic to become well informed on the problem and raising awareness has reached many
individuals. This will enable people to take action on the next step toward protecting their
childrens childhood.
Now that the public is informed of the peril the children of today are in, it is time to take
action. Restricted exposure must be implemented to secure healthy development of kids. Parents
and Guardians need to become more involved with a childs activities and disable profane
advertisements and other media types. For example, authority figures need to pay attention to
television ratings. The same goes for the music kids listen to. It is not enough to ban songs that
contain profanity. Guardians should look over the actual lyrics of the song. Most of the music
manufactured in modern culture have sexual innuendos and explicit meanings behind the lyrics.
Another action caretakers must take is to limit use of mobile electronic devices such as tablets
and smartphones. These devices are the medium that play a large role in transferring the obscene

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trends from todays era and corrupt the minds of the young. This will immensely help the
problem by limiting the affluences that suffocate childhood. The old solution lacked action and
only collected data on the epidemic. This answer to defeating the nefarious content that is
embedded in the modern culture will be far more effective. It is the only fighting chance
guardians have to rescue the children from insolent behavior.
Opponents of the subject criticize that the mission to save the children is a frivolous
notion. The counterargument they project is that it is virtually impossible to deter the profane
content that entraps the general public. Critics attach to the claim that it is not the modern society
that is afflicting the children. While the point may be valid, statistical evidence helps solidify that
the culprit for the corruption of children lies in the hands of the culture of today. Kids from the
upcoming generation are plugged into technology at a dangerous number. For example 70
percent of children under 12 years old have played with a tablet ("Kids Wireless Use Facts." 8).
The frightening aspect of the fact is about 70 percent of children confessing to hiding online
activities ("Kids Wireless Use Facts." 5). The technology is the gateway to being bombarded
with explicit material courtesy of the modern culture. The amount of exposure the children faced
can be reduced. The power for that resides with the guardian. To restrict technology use and have
parental blocks on devices is a way to protect the youth of the nation.
The modern culture of today continues to play a vindictive role and influence kids to
partake in crude and unethical behaviors. The nativity and pure heart of an adolescent would be
tarnished by the pornographic images and violent messages that compose the internet. Kids
would indulge further in grotesque actions because todays society has taught them to do so. The
only other groups that would be affected would be the offspring of the children today. It is vital
to raise awareness to the issue or else the country would watch the youth transform into immoral

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vulgar beings. Choosing to not acknowledge the problem, is choosing to condemn childhood
obsolete.

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Works Cited
Bakan, Joel. "The Kids Are Not All Right." The New York Times. The New York Times, 21 Aug. 2011.
Web. 02 May 2015. <http://www.nytimes.com/2011/08/22/opinion/corporate-interests-threatenchildrens-welfare.html?_r=1>.
"Is Modern Life Ruining Childhood?" BBC News. BBC, 12 Sept. 2006. Web. 02 May 2015.
<http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/uk_news/5338572.stm>.
"Kids Online: The Statistics." KidsMatter. Kids Matter, n.d. Web. 02 May 2015.
<https://www.kidsmatter.edu.au/health-and-community/enewsletter/kids-online-statistics>.
"Kids Wireless Use Facts." Kids Wireless Use Facts. The Wireless Foundation, n.d. Web. 02 May 2015.
<http://www.growingwireless.com/get-the-facts/quick-facts>.
"Modern Childhood 'ends at Age of 12' - BBC News." BBC News. BBC Newa, 6 Mar. 2013. Web. 02
May 2015. <http://www.bbc.com/news/education-21670962>.