Impact of technology on adolescents--the great debate

By Melissa Yonelunas
College of Education
Long Island University, C. W. Post
March, 2011

The debate today on whether technology had a positive or a negative effect on adolescents was a lot of fun. I almost wish we had more time to discuss the different aspects of it because there is so much to talk about, and I feel that we only started to scratch the surface with our discussion.

The one point that kept coming up during the debate was this idea of parents allowing their children to abuse technology. While technology itself opens the door to so many opportunities, like anything else, the misuse of it can be devastating. Not only with things like cyber-bullying, or the fear of inappropriate media being accessed, but also things like kids not going outside as much, not socializing with friends on a face to face basis, or leaving too much information out on the web for anyone to see. I think a lot of what we were saying about the negative effects of technology had to do with this idea that technology can, and is, being used as a babysitter.

Parents, who are so busy and have so much to do, see technology as a form of entertainment for their children. They allow them to have the latest games, IPods, or computers because they keep the children occupied and out of their hair. There is nothing wrong with wanting some time child free to get things accomplished, but parents can not just leave kids open to the dangers that exist out there. They should be concerned with what their children are doing on the computer, or what they are watching on TV. Instead of blaming the media for exposing their children to these things, parents should be keeping an eye out on the children, and talking to them about what they are doing. Parents should check their kids’ facebooks and see what is going on. They should listen in on their kids as they play games online with their friends and see what is being said. They can’t just allow their children to do whatever they please and then blame anything bad that results on the technology being used.

I also think parents need to balance the amount of time kids spend in front of a TV or computer screen, with the amount of time they go out or do other things. As I mentioned in class, the kids I babysit know that they get an hour a day for TV or video games and that is it. All of them love to read or to be outside. They are still active and intelligent. It goes to show that proper parenting, and a healthy dose of technology, can be a healthy balance for children. When parents take the time to teach their children how to use technology in a productive way, the less of a chance the child will abuse the power they have at their fingertips as they grow up.