Omar Johnson

Professor Stalbird

English 1201

20 Mar 2018

Children and Technology

Today we live in the age where technology reigns and only continues to improve.

Being born in the late 90s I was introduced to the early stages to technology such as computers

and cellphones. Growing up I lived with my mom and four other brothers. There was no way we

could afford this new technology, I didn’t know that until later on in my life. I didn’t know how

poor my mom was because he never showed it to us. I always wondered why houses were nicer

than ours, when my mom works all day and night or why I didn’t have the nice clothes and shoes

like my peers. I didn’t understand social statuses until I was about 15 when I saved up enough

money to get my first gaming device called the “PSP” also know as PlayStation Portable. With

that device I was able to search the web and find an abundant of information I have never been

introduced before in my life, not in the classroom, not in church, or not at home. I believe

children with the usage of technology can further increase their intelligence through social

media, internet research, and basic computer knowledge.

When I first bought this PSP, we did not have internet in our apartment, something else

we could not afford. My neighbor was a very kind lady who gave me her Wi-Fi password, in

which empowered me to surf the internet and make a Facebook. Of course, my mom was not

thrilled when she found out. I was confused, she took it as an act of me being disrespectful and
going behind her back. When in all reality I was just curious on what exactly goes on this planet

I called Earth. I think a lot of parents misunderstand a child’s intentions. A lot of the times we

are just curious and want to further develop our mind. One of the best ways to do that is by the

internet! After she took away my gaming device, my fuel for learning could not be stopped. I

would go to my middle school’s library and just read up on the most random things, I always

found myself in the Guinness World Records book and books about War techniques. I even

asked questions in class on certain subjects I read up on for a clearer understanding. I used to

never do such thing, I used to be way too shy. A week later my mom apologized for taking my

device and saw how interested I become in the things around me and thought it was helping me

improve.

Technology use is just not for children and teens to play games and stream on YouTube

all day, a lot use it for means of connections. A study in Abu Dhabi, off the cost of the Persian

Gulf, discusses a study in which Masood Badri and his team try to figure out how much social

media is used and for what reasons amongst ages 6-18 years of age (Badri). Below is a study in

which percentages are broken down to determine how students used technology in their free

times.

Table 3
Student reasons for using social networking (Descriptive stats, and ANOVA)

Items Mean S.D. Gender Type of school Grade

F Sig. F Sig. F Sig.

Make new friends 2.7 1.39 54.45 0.00 0.33 0.56 30.2 0.00
 Items Mean S.D. Gender Type of school Grade
F Sig. F Sig. F Sig.

Keep in touch with 4.8 1.15 43.36 0.00 1.44 0.22 11.49 0.00
family and friends

Share 3.0 1.37 8.342 0.00 63.1 0.00 23.0 0.00

photos/music/videos

Play games 2.9 1.46 749.9 0.00 17.9 0.00 53.8 0.00

Find information 3.8 1.26 24.76 0.00 6.18 0.01 6.88 0.00

Assist in learning 3.6 1.32 29.10 0.00 1.35 0.24 15.13 0.00

Most of my friends 3.2 1.43 49.59 0.00 78.3 0.00 6.17 0.00
use it

Pass the time 3.2 1.432 51.82 0.00 592. 0.00 70.0 0.0

When looking at the table you can see clearly that most of those 6 to 18-year old’s in that district

mostly use their internet usage to stay in contact with friends and family, also to find new

information. To play games is second to last in the table above.

 Badri also goes on to get parents involve. A parent’s job should be to provide a sense of

security for their child may it be mental, physically, and even online. “Students were also asked

if their parents were aware of their online social activities. About 82.2 % said “Yes”, 5.8 % said

“No”, and 12 % said they were “Not Sure”. Another question asked if the parents were in the

student’s friend group on online networking. About 30 % of the students “yes, on all

applications”, 38.7 % said “yes, on some applications”, 23.4 % said “no”, and 7.9 % said “not

sure,”” (Badri). Parental involvement is needed for the use of technology, kids will try to learn as

much as possible, without knowing the repercussions of the things they put into online databases.

Good training from a parent, relative, or older figure can help secure that knowledge.

Abu Dhabi is not the only one in the world to have parents also maintaining their child’s

network security. Amongst Facebook, “Parents with relatively young children are more likely to

be friends with their own parents on Facebook. Among Facebook-using parents who only have

children ages 11 or younger, 63% are friends with their own parents, compared with 44% of all

other parents,” (Duggan). Over half of Facebook users seem to at least have their children on

Facebook. “Parents show relatively low levels of concern about what others have posted about

their child online. Just 12% of parents say they have ever felt uncomfortable about something a

spouse, family member, or friend posted about their child on social media. Fully 88% say they

have not felt this way,” (Duggan). All through a child’s an adult figure is needed for growth, but

through technology not only can children grow at an rapid pace, but their parents can also stay

connected throw social media, parental controls, and internet security. Times are changing every

decade; the kids are growing up in it. The ones that need to adjust to it the most are parents.
 The internet can also be used for positive reinforcement, in a New York Times Post a

student broke his neck this past fall in which he was out the whole season. His cell phone was

one of the most crucial items for his recover, (Homayoun). He was able to contact his concerned

family and friends on social media and through text. The most important take away from this he

was able to look at YouTube videos with athletes will similar injuries and get their take on a

recovery plan, he was able to have a sense of hope and a smile on his face to help him through

this tough time. This shows how teens can use technology to not only improve mental health, but

also their physical health. In a YouTube video called, How Social Media Is Affecting Teens in

this video kids are introduced to social media at a young age and on Instagram use it to

compliment one another, them getting their peers to like their pictures makes them happy. (The

National)

The use of technology in the early stages of life will set a child up in the long run. AS it

continues to evolve in the future. “Their digital footprint will have an impact on their future.

Where they end up getting admitted to college, getting a job, and more. Social media will help

connect them with like-minded individuals, including mentors, that share similar interests and

aspirations that can help them achieve their long-term goals,” (Kohrman) The internet is great for

networking! There is no age standard or limit for networking. Why not start at an early age to

start getting that edge on your peers? In todays world knowing the right people can really get you

far in life. Besides children are going to get the access they desire without a parent’s permission

or not. They are growing up in this age, they are not new to this, it is the parents that are getting

accustomed to this age. “After getting into a discussion with the third graders, we learned that

several of them had abandoned their Facebook accounts because that’s where their parents were.

They knew that the adult powers that be are a hop, skip, and a click away from monitoring the
kid’s accounts on Facebook. The third-grade solution was to hop from Facebook to Instagram

(which, ironically, Facebook also owns). In some cases, kids said they created new, rogue

Facebook accounts where they connected with their friends and used their old ones as a decoy

for parental supervision,” (Kohrman) Although, most parents help create their child’s first social

media, not all kids want to be held down by a parent’s guidance.

The use of technology also promotes growth, growth within self, community, and

professionally. Ideas are created into of blogs, podcasts, videos, and gaming sites, which can set

someone for a bright future. “Middle and high school students are using social media to connect

with one another on homework and group projects. For example, Facebook and similar social

media programs allow students to gather outside of class to collaborate and exchange ideas about

assignments. Some schools successfully use blogs as teaching tools, which has the benefit of

reinforcing skills in English, written expression, and creativity,” (O'Keeffe). The internet is

making teens more aware of their own conditions. “Adolescents are finding that they can access

online information about their health concerns easily and anonymously. Excellent health

resources are increasingly available to youth on a variety of topics of interest to this population,

such as sexually transmitted infections, stress reduction, and signs of depression,” (O’Keeffe).

Before technology, teens could not identify why or how something is affecting you. In today’s

internet world all you must do is input a few keywords and you have some kind of solution you

may be looking for, money is saved, you are educated, and can probably use that knowledge to

help a friend out! A study shown how young children could be advocates even at their age. A

advocate is a person who publicly supports or recommends a particular cause or policy. A young

girl was able to illustrate her media skills on why she deserved to get a stuffed animal bear,

(Exely).
“The children used an App called ‘Shadow Puppet’ (see http://getpuppet.co/) to transform their

written PEEL paragraphs into a multimodal text. Shadow Puppet is an icon driven application for

making short voice narrated videos using screen grabs, text overlay, screen drawings, camera rol

l, photo streams and/or music with transitions and/or auto image citations,” (Exely) This just

goes to prove how the internet can help open up skillsets you may have never known existed. In

this current generation you will see kids walking around with iPads and tablets everywhere they

go. Parents seem to have come to an understanding that those are the key to keep their child sane.

A lot, of people seem to frown upon this ideal, but for what reason? There are six-year-old kids

out there that understand computer technology better than a 45 year old. Jane Rumble, Ofcom’s

media research head states, “These younger people are shaping communications. Growing up in

the digital age, they are developing fundamentally different communication habits from older

generations, even compared to what we call the early adopters, the 16-to-24 age group,”

(Garside). Technology surrounds these kids on a daily, they have a much more range of access to

information as oppose to a child of the previous generation. By them making used of this

technology at an early age, these children will have a natural understanding of how computers

work and will be able to further evolve it. Ofcom made a “digital quotient”, or DQ test to put 800

children and 2,000 adults through their paces, which rather than measuring intelligence attempts

to measure awareness and self-confidence around modern technology from tablets to smart

watches, knowledge of internet, 4G mobile phone networks and mobile apps. Among six to

seven-year old’s, who have grown up with YouTube, Spotify music streaming and the BBC

iPlayer, the average DQ (digital quotient) score was 98, higher than for those aged between 45

and 49, who scored an average of 96. Digital understanding peaks between 14 and 15, with a DQ

of 113 – and then drops gradually throughout adulthood, before falling rapidly in old age,”
(Garside). More than half of children ages 6-15 claim to know a lot about smartphone and tablet

apps, with only 3% having never heard of them. While half of all adults claim to know a lot

about smartphone and tablet apps, nearly had never heard of Snapchat or Instagram. This

technological generation are already changing the social norms when it comes to

communication. Two decades ago teens devoted their time on the telephone, devoting hours of

on the home line talking with friends and family. In this current age you are able to send video

messages, instant message, e-mail. You can get an idea across in seconds! Another form of

communication that is becoming obsolete is the television. Streaming services have changed the

way television is looked upon. Even among adults, television is becoming less important. “The

number of hours spent in front of the box fell for the first time since a new measurement system

was introduced in 2009, from 4 hours and two minutes in 2010 and 2011 to 3 hours and 52

minutes in 2013. Had it not been for the London Olympics in 2012, television viewing would

have fallen during that year as well,” (Garside). This generation is already changing the way the

world operates on communication and the phone/tablet have not been out that long.

Like most tools in life, there could be several draw backs for the use of technology and

social media for teens. For one, cyber-bullying. Cyber-bullying is a form of bullying in which

people or attacked on social media forms. Before Facebook and cellphones, we would see

movies where teens would bully a kid by taking their lunch money or something of that sort. In

today’s age you see bullying take a form when a teen says something on Twitter about someone

else and then everyone gangs up on that person now that person is embarrassed for being made

fun of without even seeing anyone. Current data suggest that online harassment is not as

common as offline harassment, and participation in social networking sites does not put most

children at risk of online harassment. “On the other hand, cyberbullying is quite common, can
occur to any young person online, and can cause profound psychosocial outcomes including

depression, anxiety, severe isolation, and, tragically, suicide,” (O’Keeffe).

Another problem in which social media and technology can present is “sexting.” Sexting

can be defined as “sending, receiving, or forwarding sexually explicit messages, photographs, or

images via cell phone, computer, or other digital devices,” (O’Keeffe). Many of these images

become distributed rapidly via cell phones or the Internet. “This phenomenon does occur among

the teen population; a recent survey revealed that 20% of teens have sent or posted nude or

seminude photographs or videos of themselves,” (O’Keeffe).

There are methods to combat these though, as stated a lot of these issued can be

prevented through parental guidance. It is important to be aware of how your children are

operating online. Parents should sit down with their children and let them know the right and

wrongs of internet use. If parents give their kids a notice on what’s out there a lot can be

prevented before it even happens. It was also important to see if the chances for ever being a

victim of online bullying (offensive comments or emails, nasty pictures or videos, etc.) on social

networking were influenced (increase or decrease) by parents more being involved in their social

networking groups. Parents should take the time to plan, monitor use, and the most important

thing is being a role model. “The 2015 Pew survey found that 46 percent of American adults

believed they could not live without their smartphones. Teens aren’t the only ones we need to

worry about when it comes to smartphone addiction — adults should consider their habits as

well,” (Duggan.)

After my mother took away my media device I used for social media/information I was

kind of sad, I started to know my dependency on the device, but soon she sat me down. She told

me the effects both positive and negative. She taught me the internet and technology could help
human kind in so many ways yet damage it in the same amount of ways. It was her job as the

mom to ensure I understood guidelines and procedures I should take while online. After a while,

she gave me back my device and I went right back to surfing the web and on Facebook, but it

was different this time. I did so with a cautious intent, I wanted to make sure there were no risky

sites or something that should not be on the internet on the PSP. I still had the means to learn as

much as possible and fuel my curious brain. Technology can help the growth of a child or cause

harm to a child, it’s all about how they are brought up into this technological world. This

generation is jumpstarting a new age of how humans communicate and interact, there are many

advancements to be done in the future with them steering. I believe children with the usage of

technology can further increase their intelligence through social media, internet surfing, and

basic computer knowledge.

 Works Cited
Badri, Masood, et al. "School Children's Use of Digital Devices, Social Media and Parental
Knowledge and Involvement -- the Case of." Education and Information Technologies,
no. 5, 2017, p. 2645. EBSCOhost, doi:10.1007/s10639-016-9557-y. Accessed 2 Mar.
2018.
Duggan, Maeve, et al. “Concerns about children, social media and technology use.” Pew
Research Center: Internet, Science & Tech, 16 July 2015,
www.pewinternet.org/2015/07/16/concerns-about-children-social-media-and-technology-
use/.
Exley, Beryl, et al. "Children as Advocates - the Potential of Using Social Media in the Early and
Primary Years." Practical Literacy: The Early & Primary Years, vol. 22, no. 2, June
2017, p. 9.
EBSCOhost,sinclair.ohionet.org:80/login?url=http://search.ebscohost.com/login.aspx?dir
ect=true&db=edo&AN=122939598&site=eds-live. Accessed 2 Mar. 2018.
Garside, Juliette. “Ofcom: Six-Year-Olds Understand Digital Technology Better than Adults.”
The Guardian, Guardian News and Media, 6 Aug. 2014,
www.theguardian.com/technology/2014/aug/07/ofcom-children-digital-technology-
better-than-adults.
Homayoun, Ana. “Is Your Child a Phone ‘Addict’?” The New York Times, 17 Jan. 2018,
www.nytimes.com/2018/01/17/well/family/is-your-child-a-phone-addict.html.
.How Social Media Is Affecting Teens. Youtube.com. The National, 24 Feb. 2014. Web.
2 Mar. 2018.
Kohrman, Miles. “The Truth About Kids And Social Media.” Fast Company, Fast Company, 24
May 2013, www.fastcompany.com/3010034/the-truth-about-kids-and-social-media.
O'Keeffe, Gwenn Schurgin, et al. “The Impact of Social Media on Children, Adolescents, and
Families.” Pediatrics, American Academy of Pediatrics, 1 Apr. 2011,
pediatrics.aappublications.org/content/127/4/800.
“Social Media and Kids Some Benefits, Some Worries.” American Academy of Pediatrics, 28
Mar. 2011, www.aap.org/en-us/about-the-aap/aap-press-room/pages/Social-Media-and-
Kids-Some-Benefits,-Some-Worries.aspx.