DOES IT BOTHER YOU? Kids forget how to be kids
Kids spend too much time on technology, it’ll only get worse as they get older.
December 18, 2018
Does it bother you that today’s children are constantly exposed to technology and negatively impacted by it? Kids no longer rush home to play make believe outside, build tree forts in the backyard, or draw with chalk in the driveway. Today, kids run home to their Xboxes and cellphones. I understand that technology is more innovative and cutting edge than ever before, but it bothers me that at as early as 9 years old, kids are becoming fully absorbed with a virtual world and not engaging in ours.
When I was younger, my days were spent playing games I made up with my older sister like Pet Shop and Restaurant. Now, I watch my little sister become overjoyed when new skins are released for Fortnite. For hours, she’ll sit in front of a screen playing video games, at only nine years old. Not to mention, she’s had an Xbox since she was 7. Instead of having playdates, her friends tell her to “get online” where they play duos together and talk over mic.
Video games are not the only culprit behind kids unhealthy exposure to technology. Cellphones are something every child seems to have now as well. Every child has a phone, so if you don’t it’s like you’re left out.
This makes it especially hard for parents to decide what is and isn’t too much exposure to technology for kids.
On one hand, you don’t want your child to miss out on their childhood by being distracted by all technology has to offer and on the other, you don’t want them missing out or being branded an outcast for not being up to date.
With cell phones come an entire other area that kids are becoming wrapped up in: social media. Social media introduces children to a world of outrageous expectations and ideals. Little girls are taught what their bodies should look like and little boys are told how to act to be “cool.” All of this negative exposure is incredibly detrimental to impressionable kids. Having cellphones at such a young age allows them to be exposed to this sort of thing when they are the most vulnerable to it.
It bothers me that everything I loved about being a kid has completely shifted in today’s newest generation. It bothers me that I rarely see my little sister playing in the backyard or asking her friends to go play outside somewhere. Technology is slowly but surely taking over our youth and it seems like we’re powerless to stop its approach. And that really bothers me.
