When I was younger, I used to come home and sink into my phone either watching videos or playing games on my phone. I was so lazy that I did nothing all day but stay inside. I relied on technology to entertain me instead of going outside, reading a book or even hanging out with some friends. Now there were many reasons why I may have been that type of child but the main point I want to discuss is the pros and cons of technology for adolescents. I will also explain how adolescents use technology, how it affects social connectedness, how it affects their health, and how it impacts their literacy. I will then add some of my points of view and compare them to what I have been through when I was an adolescent.
As an adolescent, you learn that having a phone is important not only because your friends may think it's cool but also because your parents want you to be safe and want to make sure that you or they may be able to contact one another. That is actually one of the main pros of having technology because you can connect with others through phone calls, texts, or social media apps. Another pro is that “technology provides a source of educational entertainment for children” (Regoli, 2018). It is important that adolescents know how to use technology because you have to know how to search for what is safe and what is not. Also, to help you with future endeavors such as doing a paper for school, help you do school online or even get a job. “Exposing children to tech concepts early on prepares them for a future where they can remain productive” and able to handle doing things independently without having to ask (Regoli, 2018). Another pro that I find very important is that technology helps those who have a disability like me. I am a visual person and sometimes need to hear things more than once. So, when I am able to record someone talking or when I need a visual of something that I am learning I may look it up online. Now there are also cons when it comes to technology. As an Optometric Technician working with an Optometrist, eye strain is a common issue that may be due to too much screen time. Staring at a phone, computer or Tv can cause your eyes to hurt that you either tend to tear or feel like your eyes are dry. From experience, there are ways to fix that with glasses or eye drops. Not only does technology strain your eyes but it also is distracting. Some adolescents are so focused on what’s on the internet and what notifications just popped up. It's like they always need to check or answer back immediately to a text message/notification. This also reduces more social time with friends outside and them to be less active. Another con is that it may cause adolescence to post things they don’t mean to, such as rumors or bullying others. Social media allows adolescence to speak freely about what they may like or post pictures or videos of others or things they have seen. Now since people may speak freely about what they like there are also people that may speak freely about what they don’t like. This can cause others to say mean things about the post you’ve put on social media. Social media is a way to interact with others, such as Facebook, Twitter, Instagram, or TikTok. These apps are what make an adolescent life a bit harder based on the fact that everyone has their own opinion on different subjects. Most adolescents don’t tend to hold back anything they feel and don’t realize what they are saying till they realize the effect it has on that person.
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Now that we know what the pros and cons are of technology against adolescence, which is very 50/50 in my opinion. I will now discuss how adolescence uses technology in a more in-depth explanation. During my research, I read that “Adolescents easily identify the technological tools and resources available to them, those that are the most appropriate for any given use, how to assemble and initiate them, and how to manage those technologies to support unique learning and engagement experiences” (Fitton, 2013, page 400). This means that technology is an important resource in an adolescent life because it allows them to learn and engage in new experiences. Between the ages of 10-14, it is important for adolescence to experience new things and to grow from those experiences. This allows them to get new ideas that are connected to what they believe in, as well as their “personal values, morals, ethics, philosophical principles, the validity of religion and spirituality and their own sense of direction in the world” (Fitton, 2013, page 400). All of these ideas come into play when they want to make sure they can be like other children, such as being normal. Adolescence also uses technology to be on top of the most popular social media sites. In Fitton’s Journal article she says that “Their online interaction also helps them to address developmental issues in their lives (Reich et al., 2012) such as identity formation (Subrahmanyam, Smahel, & Greenfield, 2006) and sexuality (Suzuki & Calzo, 2004)” (Fitton, 2013, page 401). Technology has multiple purposes and most of the time cell phone use is higher among girls than it is among boys. Another use for technology is in school because when kids are sharing computers it is found “to increase group interaction and cooperation, rather than social isolation, and to facilitate communication (Heft & Swaminathan, 2002; Orleans & Laney, 2000). Computers ease social interaction, cooperation, social anxiety, friendship formation, and constructive group play (Desjarlais & Willoughby, 2010; Kingery, Erdley, Marshall, The Role of Technology on Young Adolescent Development 401 123 Whitaker, & Reuter, 2010; Wartella & Jennings, 2000)” (Fitton, 2013, page 401). Making sure adolescents maintain relationships with others was also important for them to emerge into society so that they can become on with everyone else as they grow into fine young adults.
As I discussed social media, is a way for adolescence to interact with each other. In the article called “Social Media Use and Social Connectedness in Adolescents: The Positives and the Potential Pitfalls”, they discuss that adolescents are the most enthusiastic users when it comes to social networking. The question is, how does technology affect social connections? The article explains there are two types of adolescence that perceive connections with their peers. There are the ones who put more effort into their schoolwork and learning the material. Then there are adolescents that perceive less sense with their peers and are more likely to be maladaptive, have externalizing behaviors, and have negative emotions in the present and the future. Social connections also are important when it gets to adolescent cognitive representations when it comes to knowing who they are and how they belong in the world. This happens when they have to make real-world decisions such as college and what they want to do when they grow up. When it gets tough, they start to be impacted when entering adulthood. For adolescents “in the era of social media, it is necessary to understand the extent to which these experiences are affected by the digitized world” (Allen, 2014, page 20).
Lastly and most importantly is how technology affects an adolescent's health. Technology like I said can cause bullying and rumors being spread on social media. It can also “exposes kids to inappropriate content, can provide a platform for poor online behavior, and takes time away from important face-to-face interactions” (Orem, 2017). As well as “In a Pew survey of advanced placement and writing teachers, 77 percent of teachers say the internet and digital search tools have had a mostly positive impact on their students’ research work, while conversely, 87 percent agree that technologies are creating an easily distracted generation with short attention spans” (Orem, 2017). This is really important to know about a child’s health because this is positive information that proves it can impact them in a healthy way. Although it may be easy when it comes to schoolwork it may be difficult when the children that are on a screen 24/7 and for more than 10 hours tend to become depressed or commit suicide. As well as those who spend less time with others, they tend to want to kill one another or harm themselves. Adolescence health is important for our young ones to be the leaders of the future and “there is no question that technology will continue to accelerate faster than our ability to anticipate and deal with the consequences. To harness the good and protect against those unintended consequences that could be harmful to children, leaders, educators, and parents alike need to follow the research, engage in active discussions, and develop policies and practices that allow students room for growth while keeping them safe” (Orem,2017).
In conclusion, the impact of technology on adolescents is 50/50. Technology is easy for them to educate themselves and do online research, connect with others, stay safe, and help those with disabilities that need more visual and hearing accommodations. Some cons about technology are that it can cause eye strain, reduce them from being anti-social, can encourage cyberbullying and rumors, and most importantly it is very distracting. Adolescents should be on their technology for no longer than a couple of hours. Technology can be used in multiple ways. Some ways can be for new experiences, self-belonging, and maintaining relationships. It also impacts their health because it will put children in a depression stage and become less socially active with others, which then leads to depression, anger, anxiety, and suicide. In my opinion, children now are so privileged to have phones, yet they let them consume them like it's someone on their shoulder telling them to stay on them. As time goes by technology will expose everything and everyone and unfortunately, there won’t be anything that we can do to stop it because of the adolescence that have encouraged it.
Work Cited
- Fitton, V., Ahmedani, B., Harold, R., & Shifflet, E. (2013). The Role of Technology on Young Adolescent Development: Implications for Policy, Research and Practice. Child & Adolescent Social Work Journal, 30(5), 399–413. https://doi-org.libproxy.temple.edu/10.1007/s10560-013-0296-2
- Orem, D. (2017, September 18). How Does Technology Affect Teen Health and Well-Being? Retrieved March 27, 2020, from https://www.nais.org/learn/independent-ideas/september-2017/how-does-technology-affect-teen-health-and-well-being/
- Regoli, N. (2019, November 22). 16 Pros and Cons of Children Using Technology. Retrieved March 27, 2020, from https://connectusfund.org/16-pros-and-cons-of-children-using-technology
- Allen, K., Ryan, T., Gray, D., McInerney, D., & Waters, L. (2014). Social Media Use and Social Connectedness in Adolescents: The Positives and the Potential Pitfalls. The Australian Educational and Developmental Psychologist, 31(1), 18-31. doi:10.1017/edp.2014.2
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