There’s often talk of a link between an increase in mental health problems among children and their use of technology, but perhaps this is an oversimplification.
There has been a lot of discussion recently about children and technology, and specifically the negative effects it can have on children.
There’s no denying that the online world contains problems that negatively impact the mental health of both children and adults. Dark patterns within algorithms are designed to keep us engaged against our better judgment. Curtailing harmful content has become a never-ending game of “whack-a-mole.” And cyberbullying remains a concern.
But do these very real issues mean that all technology is bad for kids? Can we just ignore all technological devices altogether and expect the problems to go away?
Regulators appear to want to do just that, as efforts to ban technology from children around the world become more widespread: the US, UK and France are just a few of the countries in the debate, each proposing different and arbitrary age limits.
In the latest episode of “For Tech’s Sake,” hosts Jenny Darmody and Elaine Burke discuss the surge in debate and panic over children’s smartphone ownership, and technology in general.
In this episode, we discuss American psychologist Jonathan Haidt’s recent book, The Anxious Generation, which intrinsically links increasingly anxious children to our excessive obsession with technology, arguing that the latter is the cause of the former.
However, it’s important to note that correlation is not the same as causation, and critics of the book say this is an oversimplification of the issue. Moreover, a review in Nature magazine stated that the core arguments in Haidt’s book are “not supported by science.”
What’s more, the overall positive effects of being online are in fact backed up by a wealth of evidence. But with all this conflicting information, what can parents do?
To find out, Burke and Dermody spoke to Paula Walsh, an early childhood education expert who believes teaching positive uses of technology from an early age is the way forward.
“Children imitate behaviors they see in the world around them, but the behaviors they see first and foremost are those in their immediate environment at home,” she says. “Maybe we need to start there.”
Paula also explained how important and valuable a quality technology education is for children, busting the misconception that this is only about kids on screens.
Check out the latest episode of this season and subscribe to For Tech’s Sake wherever you listen to podcasts. You can also become a Headstuff+ community member to get access to bonus episodes of the show.
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