1

Adam Lyons
Adam Padgett
English 102 (section 27)
September 21, 2016
Electronics and Its Impact on Adolescents
Recently, inventors and innovators of electronic technology, specifically tablets,
smartphones, and laptops, have been improving and generating new, better technology for mass
consumption every year. With the constant improvements and polishing of electronic technology,
the demand for the new and improved electronic device is exponentially growing and pushing
mankind further toward complete dependence on electronics. With electronic dependence
increasing and the rate of innovation showing no means of slowing down, present and future
adolescents are being brought toward an unforeseeable future of technology. This modern
childhood experience is extremely different from past generations and the unknown effects
disconcert many parents, causing the mass of adults to question the effects of technology on
adolescents social, academic, and disciplinary attitude development.
One of the main rising questions resulting from the amount of electronic use in
adolescents is the effect it has on social development. In almost any place one goes, there is the
strong possibility that they will see some child with their attention focused on some sort of object
back before the age of tablets it is safe to say it was most likely some sort of toy, but today it is
more probable that it is a tablet or smartphone that their parents in a time of parental stress need
to distract the child. This situation may cause the child to be distracted for that moment, but how

is it affecting their social skills? In the New York Times article by Nick Bilton, The Child, the
Tablet, and the Developing Mind, Bilton states from Gary Small, a director from the University
of California, that there still is not much analysis surfacing from observations of the electronic
use effects, but there is one logical concept that is true: If a child does not balance social and
electronic interaction, there can be a hindrance in social development (Bilton). When Small
states the logical fact that too much of something is a bad thing, he also questions if there is a
difference between children with coloring books and those using tablets instead. In both cases,
Small explains that neither tablet nor coloring book use by a child yields separate results; both
types of children are equally inattentive to surrounding conversations (Bilton). Overall, as far as
present analyses of electronic use goes, the modern child does not suffer any more with social
development stunting than children of past generations that would color instead of play with a
tablet.
Around my fifth grade year, the aspect of technology incorporated into schools really
began to sprout through various resources in academics. My school started to receive
Promethean Boards, a computer-powered white board, and every teacher and student desperately
wanted one for their class. Within only one year, every class in the elementary school had a
promethean board and by the next year, every school in the district had Promethean Boards as
well. The tools for learning changed in almost no time during my K-12 experience and it did not
seem to cause a drastic difference in my own academic progress, but did the assimilation of
electronic tools in the classroom accelerate academic progress? A 2011 thesis by Mariah Brown
of Gonzaga University ties together different analyses that illustrate technology enhanced
learnings, or TELs, overall influence on modern education techniques. A program in South
Africa called One Computer Per Child brings intriguing evidence to light about the possible

effects of technological access in academia because its data leads to the conclusion that when all
children in the program use technology enhanced learning, the TEL systems can increase
overall academic performance for students (Brown 14). Technology in classrooms improves
everyones learning and the overall effect pertains to all groups and leaves no distinction between
economic classes, age, or race (Brown 14). Utilization between education and technology creates
countless positive points and electronic technology is definitely a miracle of a tool for education
as long as it does not control every aspect of education. Education administrators need to
remember that electronic technology is not the basis for learning, but merely a tool (Brown 17).
Limitations on electronic use and a balance with other tools such as books and handwriting will
bring more success than pure online tablet or computer usage.
When I played a game for too long during my adolescence, irritability set over me
whenever a level constantly resulted in my defeat. My agitation festered until my mother
eventually needed something, and I would snap at her in some way and afterward be rightfully
punished by her. These occurrences in my childhood may be a personal issue, but are electronics
such as tablets and smartphones leaving a bad effect on other adolescents attitudes? Todays
electronics are very inexpensive and the majority of children have some sort of portable game
device, tablet, or smartphone. Many parents question the possible overuse of electronics and fear
that too much exposure to electronics can negatively affect their childs behavior. A childs
continuous use of electronics is definitely able to cause negative attitudes to occur in countless
settings of social interactions, such as the dinner table or family reunions. Behavioral problems
such as irritability, laziness, and a low attention span are some of the most common results from
too much screen time, with laziness causing a steep increase in childhood obesity and lack of
attention leading to more and more cases of ADHD (Rowan).

Tablets, smartphones, laptops, interactive white boards, and all other mass produced
electronics in the world are spectacular gifts that are amazing outcomes of modern science and
technology. Although there are positive reasons for modern electronics to exist, there still needs
to be a fine line with the amount of time adolescents spend using them. The data proves that
academics prosper with electronics as a tool, but it also suggests that academics using electronics
as a tool only succeeds with moderation. Its logical to say that there needs to be a balance with
electronics use, and although electronic use will never be at equilibrium, adolescent development
can still turn out positive with proper checks and balances put in place for electronic use.

Works Cited
Bilton, Nick. "The Child, the Tablet and the Developing Mind." The New York Times. The New
York Times, 2013. Web.
Brown, J. Mariah. "Does The Use of Technology in the Classroom Increase Students Overall
Academic Performance? Thesis. Gonzaga University, 2011. (2011): 1-45.
Http://web02.gonzaga.edu/comltheses/proquestftp/Brown_gonzaga_0736M_10115.pdf.
Web.
Rowan, Cris. "The Impact of Technology on the Developing Child." The Huffington Post.
TheHuffingtonPost.com, n.d. Web.