How Technology is Changing The Way our Kids Think
Technology affects the young minds in a lot of ways. The first and the most prominent influence of technology is the sedentary lifestyle that normally all the kids pursue these days. Long hours in front of the TV or in bed with a screen based device are making children inactive. According to a recent research study, most of the teenagers in the Unite States suffer from corpulence and its devastating effects. More than 42% of the school going children are overweight and suffer from diseases that are once associated with the adult population.
The Brain Areas that Suffer the Most
Recent research has shown that digital dementia is the most common effect of the escalating use of technological devices. For those who are not aware, digital dementia is a decrease in cognitive abilities of an individual due to increased use of a screen based gadget. Here are the most common brain areas that are affected by the latest inventions of the digital age.
Focus
Many researchers claim that when children engage in video games, they develop strong perception and focus. This is not true. It is quite possible that children can learn to find their center of attention by playing the complex digital games. However, if you look at the long term results of the online/video games, you will learn that children can significantly reduce their ability to focus on a certain task. In most cases, children cannot get enough of the games that they play on their tabs and find it hard to keep their attention on the crucial school tasks. In other words, children find it hard to get the games out of their heads, which leads to the inability to pay attention in school.
Information overload
In the old days, children spent most of their time in the playgrounds, playing with commercial playground equipment or helping parents with their chores at home. Today, the scenario is completely different. Apart from the digital games, there is a lot of inappropriate junk on the internet. By giving your kid complete access to the computer and other similar paraphernalia, you are giving your child a free ticket to ruin his life. Our minds are not designed to have a bulk of information in a small period of time; the brain needs its time to digest the information that it is exposed to every day. Younger minds do not have the same capacity to store and interpret data as the adults, which is why the internet can be devastating for the kids. Too much information can also lead to lack of focus and reduced short term memory.
Decision making
Another fundamental aspect that suffers the most is the decision making power. Sedentary lifestyle can lead to decrease hormonal and metabolic activity in children, which significantly impacts the brain activity that plays a key role in the decision making process. Children learn diverse information on the internet that distorts their perception and become a hindrance in the proper thought process that leads to better decisions.
Community playgrounds and outdoor playground equipment might be the answer to the problems children face today. Make sure that your child has the time to engage in both structured and unstructured activities.