Pros and Cons of Tech for Kids

In the spirit of Cyber Awareness Month, we thought it might be beneficial to address a few of the pros and cons of the availability of technology for kids these days. Much of our society has witnessed the accelerated advancement of technology within a short span, (i.e. vinyl > 8 track > cassettes > CDs > digital players > streaming…), and as the pace increases how can kids be encouraged to use technology responsibly?

Technology Marches On

Society as a whole seems to be having trouble agreeing on what to do with emerging technologies like AI, but these are technologies that many kids have access to and will be part of their growth experience. For the vast majority of people, and for the foreseeable future, technology is going to play a large role in day-to-day life and as we make decisions about the role and amount of technology that we think is best for kids it is beneficial to consider a balanced approach.?

The adage "Fire is a tool, neither good nor bad" applies to technology as well. Today we enjoy unprecedented levels of access to information, connectivity to the rest of the world, and devices that increase productivity, all provided through technology. This produces enormous advantages, but also pitfalls, especially for those who are growing up in this age of rapid technological advancement. Without the benefit of lived experience, kids could use some guidance concerning how to integrate technology with the best chance for success.

Pros and Cons

So, here are a few pros and cons that may be helpful to think about when making decisions regarding how you want to tackle the question of kids and tech in your situation.

Pros:

- Access to information

- Niche community

- Force multiplier

Cons:

- Access to "information"

- Screen time

- Can foster less critical thinking

Pro

• Access to information - Today kids can find information on any topic and can watch tutorials for any project they care to undertake. This is an amazing resource for encouraging learning, exploration, and creativity in kids.

Con

• Access to "information" - Children are sometimes surprised to learn that not everything they read or see on the internet is true. Without a cultivated skepticism, or instruction in verifying information, kids might be getting wrong answers.?

Pro

• Community - Whatever hobby or interest a child would like to pursue, there is an online community dedicated to that thing. Forums and channels can allow like-minded kids to share and learn together.

Con

• Screen time - While online communities are beneficial for fostering a child's interests, they can come to replace face-to-face interactions and stunt in-person social growth. Some instruction in finding a good balance between these will serve them well in the future.

Pro

• Force multiplier - Technology available to kids today can assist them in tasks that would have been nearly impossible only a decade prior. Kids can achieve truly remarkable feats from 3-D printing to app development through the creation and release of new technology.

Con

• Critical thinking - While the potential results kids can produce have increased in quality and quantity, the effort required to achieve those results has decreased. As a consequence, kids often do not need to develop critical thinking skills to succeed in the short term.

What Do You Think?

In the end, the caution “all things in moderation” is probably the most appropriate advice. We are all living through the trial runs for a lot of these technologies, so our procedures and methods for how kids interact with them will adapt. Providing guidance as they navigate technology arms them with knowledge, confidence, and preparedness to handle ever evolving situations as they arise.?

So, what do you think? Exploring this topic and sharing ideas and points of view will help us all better prepare the next generation for whatever comes next.

Resources

Here are a few resources that can be helpful for encouraging responsible technology use for kids:

Edutopia

Great resource for strategies, tools, and articles regarding how to responsibly incorporate technology in a kid’s academic life.

https://www.edutopia.org/technology-integration

Cyberpatriot

Aimed at inspiring K-12 students, they have resources for teaching kids about technology, summer camps, and cyber defense competitions.?

https://www.uscyberpatriot.org/Pages/About/What-is-CyberPatriot.aspx

Scratch

“Scratch is the world’s largest coding community for children and a coding language with a simple visual interface that allows young people to create digital stories, games, and animations.”

https://scratch.mit.edu/about