Technology is a key part of American society in this day in age, but though it is extremely useful in helping with everyday tasks, such as communicating with others, there is a danger in overusing it. Young Americans have unfortunately become victims of addiction to technology. While this not only takes away from their learning experiences socially, it also harms them physically. Overusing technology can lead to Computer Vision Syndrome and nearsightedness because of the light emitted from the screen and eyes having to constantly refocus (“Computer Vision Syndrome”). Yet physical problems can hardly compare with the damage that is being done to kids social and cognitive abilities. Loss in volume and tissue of grey matter can actually occur
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There is only a certain amount of time in a day and more of it is getting eaten up by technology in the lives of kids. Catherine Steiner-Adair, a doctor of psychology states that: “children have to know that life is fine off the screen, it’s interesting and good to be curious about other people, to learn how to listen. It teaches them social and emotional intelligence, which is critical for success in life” (qtd. in Brody). With many children being cued into screens rather than the world around them, they are missing out on the necessary social skills, hurting them in the long run. Technology has unfortunately been allowed to replace the irreplaceable social experiences of face to face interaction. Children are becoming so attached to technology that it is taking away from the learning opportunities of the everyday, such as thinking through ideas instead of being enveloped with Candy Crush (Brody). Learning from everyday life is crucial to understanding how to act socially and sadly technology has allowed kids to bypass those learning experiences. For example, it was revealed that after only one week with absolutely no screen time and instead interacting with people face to face, sixth grade children were able to better determine the emotional state of others by their facial expressions and understand non-verbal communication (Saltmarsh). The overuse of technology among kids is taking away from the …show more content…
The encouragement to let kids play with electronics or watch television hurts their delicate eyes as well. Nearsightedness and other symptoms of Computer Vision Syndrome are higher than they have ever been before. Eye surgeon Steve Schallborn said, " I believe we are creating an epidemic of short sightedness which recent studies shows is linked to the regular use of hand held devices such as smart phones and tablets," after a study revealed nearsightedness has doubled among young children who regularly use some kind of device (qtd. in Stevens). The sharp increase of kids developing signs of nearsightedness was not only noticed and pointed out by Schallborn. Doctors of optometry Gary Heiting and Lary Wan mention in their article about Computer Vision Syndrome among children that there has been over a 66% increase of nearsightedness among Americans (Heiting). Though this study, conducted by the National Eye Institute, covered more than just children, the connection is still believed to be technology. However, Hieting and Wan continue in their article with this statement, "Sitting for hours in front of a computer screen stresses a child's eyes because the computer forces the child's vision system to focus and strain a lot more than any other task. This can put children at an even greater risk than adults for developing symptoms of computer vision syndrome
There is only a certain amount of time in a day and more of it is getting eaten up by technology in the lives of kids. Catherine Steiner-Adair, a doctor of psychology states that: “children have to know that life is fine off the screen, it’s interesting and good to be curious about other people, to learn how to listen. It teaches them social and emotional intelligence, which is critical for success in life” (qtd. in Brody). With many children being cued into screens rather than the world around them, they are missing out on the necessary social skills, hurting them in the long run. Technology has unfortunately been allowed to replace the irreplaceable social experiences of face to face interaction. Children are becoming so attached to technology that it is taking away from the learning opportunities of the everyday, such as thinking through ideas instead of being enveloped with Candy Crush (Brody). Learning from everyday life is crucial to understanding how to act socially and sadly technology has allowed kids to bypass those learning experiences. For example, it was revealed that after only one week with absolutely no screen time and instead interacting with people face to face, sixth grade children were able to better determine the emotional state of others by their facial expressions and understand non-verbal communication (Saltmarsh). The overuse of technology among kids is taking away from the …show more content…
The encouragement to let kids play with electronics or watch television hurts their delicate eyes as well. Nearsightedness and other symptoms of Computer Vision Syndrome are higher than they have ever been before. Eye surgeon Steve Schallborn said, " I believe we are creating an epidemic of short sightedness which recent studies shows is linked to the regular use of hand held devices such as smart phones and tablets," after a study revealed nearsightedness has doubled among young children who regularly use some kind of device (qtd. in Stevens). The sharp increase of kids developing signs of nearsightedness was not only noticed and pointed out by Schallborn. Doctors of optometry Gary Heiting and Lary Wan mention in their article about Computer Vision Syndrome among children that there has been over a 66% increase of nearsightedness among Americans (Heiting). Though this study, conducted by the National Eye Institute, covered more than just children, the connection is still believed to be technology. However, Hieting and Wan continue in their article with this statement, "Sitting for hours in front of a computer screen stresses a child's eyes because the computer forces the child's vision system to focus and strain a lot more than any other task. This can put children at an even greater risk than adults for developing symptoms of computer vision syndrome