Affects of technology on Childrens health

Literature Review


Concern from parents, professionals, and the populace at
large about the impact of the media on children and adolescents
has grown steadily over recent years. Dietz and Strasburgers review (1991) summarized the
research of the previous 20 years, which demonstrated
the multiple effects of television on child and adolescent
cognition and behavior. Looking at topics ranging from
cognitive development, to obesity, to aggressive behavior
and violence, drug use, suicide, sexual activity, and the
promotion of stereotyping, this article highlighted earlier
findings and provided the basis for much of the recent
research. .(Villani, 2001)

Like tsunami waves, college and university campuses have been hit by new
generations of youth coming from high schools with quite a decent knowledge
about IT and how to use its tools, especially cellular phones and computers.
These youth have been referred to as the Echo Boomers, Millennial, the Net
Generation, etc. The expectations, attitudes, and fluency with new IT of this
generation have been beyond belief. Hence, dealing with these youth has been a
challenge for educators, parents, and governments alike, especially in a region similar to
the Middle East wherein public mingling between the genders is
generally discouraged, many schools are segregated, and certain unclean
behaviors or foul language are mostly edited out of the mass media. (Galal,
2002; Tubaishat et all, 2006; Wheeler, 2003) (Hashem, 2009)



Television
Two major meta-analytic reviews were published in the
1990s. Wood et al. (1991) examined 28 research reports on
children and adolescents exposed to media violence and
subsequently observed in unconstrained social interactions.
The authors concluded that exposure to media
violence increases aggressive interactions with strangers,
classmates, and friends. In a larger review of 217 studies
conducted between 1957 and 1990, Paik and Comstock
(1994) looked at the effects of television violence on antisocial
behavior. The age range represented was from 3 to
70 years of age, with 85% of the sample aged 6 to 21 years.
The analysis revealed a positive and significant correlation
between television violence and aggressive behavior,
regardless of age. The greatest effect size was demonstrated
for preschool children, even though the aggression they
exhibited was, by the nature of their age and size, the least
problematic.(Villani, 2001)


Recent research has continued to focus on television,
largely because children spend the most time with this
medium and it reaches the youngest ages. Nielsen Media
Research (1998) data indicate that the average American
child spends more than 21 hours per week viewing television.
Television viewing also occurs earlier than other
forms of media, often beginning before age 2 years. Within
the past year, television shows particularly designed to
appeal to infants and toddlers have emerged, causing great
concern and public debate about television viewing at an
early ages as an alternative to more developmentally
authentic human interaction. .(Villani, 2001)


Two current articles have looked at
trauma symptoms and television watching. Joshi and
Kaschak (1998), in a study using a self-report questionnaire
administered to 702 high school students, noted that
75% reported exposure to violence in the media at moderate
to high levels, with 10% reporting that they sought
counseling for the negative sequelae. Symptoms reported
included bad dreams and nightmares, anxious feelings,
being afraid of being alone, withdrawing from friends, and
missing school.
Singer et al. (1995) examined viewing preferences,
symptoms of psychological trauma, and violent behaviors
among children who watch television. .(Villani, 2001)


Music on electronic gadgets
Martin et al. (1993) surveyed 247 high school students
in two Australian government high schools about their
musical preferences and aspects of their psychological
health and lifestyle. The results showed a marked gender
bias, with 74% of the girls preferring pop music compared
with 71% of the boys preferring hard rock/heavy
metal music. They also reported significant associations
between a preference for hard rock/heavy metal music
and suicidal thoughts, acts of deliberate self-harm,
depression, delinquency, drug taking, and family dysfunction.
They suggested that there is a group of young
people with preexisting personal family psychopathology
who may choose hard rock/heavy metal music because its
themes resonate with their own feelings of frustration,
rage, and despair. .(Villani, 2001)



Computer and video games

Very few research articles have examined the effects of
this billion-dollar industry on children and adolescents.
Dorman (1997) provided a comprehensive review of the research looking at potential negative
consequences in five
areas: cardiovascular implication, video gameinduced
seizures, Nintendinitis, pathological preoccupation
with video games, and aggression and prosocial behavior.
Of the 36 references, few are research articles printed in
the past decade. Ferrie et al. (1994) documented 50 cases
of video gameinduced seizures reported worldwide. .(Villani, 2001)



Use of internet and social media

The use of computers and the Internet has not been
studied using research techniques to date, yet 89% of
teenagers report using a computer, 61% report surfing
the net, and 14% report seeing something that they do
not want their parents to know about (Princeton Survey
Research, 1997). The speed and easy access to the
world through the web of cyberspace will clearly have an
effect on the growth and development of children just as
other forms of media have contributed. Although it is
likely that it will have both positive and negative effects,
further research is indicated to delineate each. .(Villani, 2001)

With colossal social intricacy, IT, especially the Internet, has not only had
universal positive impact on contemporary societies, but also has caused various
societal concerns about privacy, security, pornography, digital divide, Cyber
crime, virtual community, intellectual property right, etc. As Katz and Rice (2002)
mentioned, IT seems another double-edge weapon that has intense positive and
negative social consequences. It unites huge technical and social complexities
and this distinctive blend makes youths understanding of IT both significant and
challenging. (Hashem, 2009)

the addiction to it through spending
prolonged periods of time over its IT programs leads to wasting much valuable
time, building shallow and harmful relationships, and, eventually, causing rather
than alleviating, users depression, loneliness, social isolation, and withdrawal
among other things, particularly to our youth (Peled, 2000; Griffiths, 2001; &
Sanders, 2000). (Hashem, 2009)

Pew Internet Research studies
have found that children have begun to enter these numbers in a big way. Thirty-eight
percent of twelve to fourteen years olds have some form of online account, while
sixtyone
percent of twelve to seventeen year olds use social media to send messages, fortytwo
percent of which do so every day (Kaiser Family Foundation).

As society become more connected through the internet, cell phones, and social
networking, privacy for children is becoming a major concern, and one that is difficult to
find a solution to.

Health

Furthermore, the potential for a sedentary lifestyle ranges beyond the traditional
technology we automatically think of, such as video games and the television. Today
children are riding in cars instead of walking, and using elevators instead of stairs
(American Physiological Study). As with video games, pieces of life are becoming more
automated, and as such require less activity out of the individual. (Hatch, 2011)

According to several studies, childrens sensory skill development is
being put at risk through overuse of technology.

Developing children require human interaction
in order to properly develop. Young children require between three and four hours a day
of physical activity and human touch. According to Dr. Ashley Montagu, infants that
are deprived of this amount of human touch and play exhibit more agitation and anxiety,
and may become depressed in early childhood (OTLine). (Hatch, 2011)

Exposure to media violence has become a health risk in itself for many children.
When concerned parents think of their children playing video games, their thoughts
automatically stray to the threat of violent video games. Games today are more realistic
than ever, and as such, as is the violence incurred to people, animals, and creatures
within (Hatch, 2011)


The view that technology is destructive of childhood is frequently mentioned in both
academic and popular discourse. Ever since Postmans classic text on The
Disappearance
of Childhood (1994), a number of social commentators (Winn, 1977 and 1984; Elkind,
1988; Meyrowitz, 1985; Tobin, 1998) have raised major concerns about the impact of
electronic media on social life and how it has eroded the line between childhood and
adulthood. Stella Downey
Noirin Hayes
Brian ONeill

An area that attracts a great deal of attention and controversy is the topic of childrens
exposure to inappropriate content, sex and violence through computer games, videos or
television. Reflecting on the role that violence plays in media entertainment and why
viewers are drawn to it, Goldstein (2000) argues that the audience relationship is a
complex, multilayered one that needs to be studied in context. (Stella Downey
Noirin Hayes
Brian ONeill



Educators and parents
have been cautioned about the negative impact of background
television (Kirkorian et al. 2009; AAP 2011b), passive
use of screen media (AAP 2011b), and the relationship
between media use and child obesity (White House Task
Force on Childhood Obesity 2010; Birch, Parker, & Burns
2011; Schepper 2011). Possible negative outcomes have
been identified, such as irregular sleep patterns, behavioral
issues, focus and attention problems, decreased academic
performance, negative impact on socialization and language
development, and the increase in the amount of time
young children are spending in front of screens (Cordes
& Miller 2000; Appel & OGara 2001; Christakis et al. 2004;
Anderson & Pempek 2005; Rogow 2007; Vandewater et al.
2007; Brooks-Gunn & Donahue 2008; Common Sense Media
2008, 2011; Lee, Bartolic, & Vandewater 2009; Campaign for
a Commercial-Free Childhood 2010; DeLoache et al. 2010;
Tomopoulos et al. 2010; AAP 2011a, 2011b). .(NAEYC)
Screen media























Conclusion

The challenge to adults who deal with children, either
personally as parents or professionally, will be to monitor
media use in ways that foster curiosity and the positive
aspects of the ability of media to teach, yet simultaneously
protect children from spending too much time with
media at the expense of human interactions, from being
overexposed to material that cannot be adequately processed
or understood, and from having their value systems
shaped in negative ways by media content. The cost of
ignoring the impact of the media on children and adolescents
will be enormous, both in absolute dollars and in
the immeasurable cost of human pain and suffering.(Villani, 2001)

Technology and media should never be used in ways that
are emotionally damaging, physically harmful, disrespectful,
degrading, dangerous, exploitative, or intimidating to children.
This includes undue exposure to violence or highly sexualized
images (NAEYC 1994; AAP 2009).
Just as early childhood educators always have been encouraged
and advised to monitor and apply the latest research
findings in areas such as health and child development, so too
should they continually monitor and assess research findings
on emerging issues related to technology, including 3D vision
and eye health, exposure to electromagnetic fields and radiation
from cellular phones (EMR Policy Institute 2011), toxins
from lead paint or batteries, choking hazards involving small
parts, child obesity, screen time, or any other potentially
harmful, physiological, or developmental effects or side effects
related to the use of technology.(NAEYC)