The world we live in is different than anything any generation has experienced before. Previously,  a mother would read a book to her child before bed. Now an IPad reads it for them. Toddlers are becoming more versed in using smartphones than the parents that give these phones the them to keep them quiet at the dinner table. A time where being polite and attentive at family meals were important have since evolved, and we currently live in a world where a distraction is one of the best things a parent can offer their child. Yet, if we continue to allow these distractions to become apart of everyday life at such a young age, children are going to start recognizing the consequences, and soon realize that perhaps the smartest way isn’t through a phone.

The problem is already bad enough, but it seems the consequences start early. Researchers now believe that spending an extended amount of time as a young child on an IPad or any related screen can cause decline in the amount of words a child can retain. This is due to the fact that children spend more time using the visual aspect of their brain, and less of the auditory. The biggest difference the study saw in children who use such methods of entertainment at a young age was that in their arcuate fasciculus. This part of the brain connects two regions of the brain: one that has to do with forming words, and one that has to do with hearing and decoding sounds. When this is not exercised, children cannot obtain or utilize as many words as previous generations have proved to mastered, causing worry in those who understand what this may mean for this generation collectively. 

In addition to the criticism on young children who use such technology, the impact it is having on teenagers of the world is equally as astounding. In schools, most homework is done via the internet and phones, or similar technology, are encouraged in classrooms. While such resources can have an incredibly positive impact if utilized correctly, that tends to not be the case with many adolescents. Instead of an additional source of information, smart phones have become distractions to something, causing attention span and motivation to decrease significantly. Instead of reading a book, kids are looking for the shortened version on YouTube, or finding the answers on websites such as SparkNotes. There has always been an easy way out but at least in previous generations there was still a bit of work involved. Now, any answer is a click away, and while this is incredibly helpful it in no way promotes growth or development.

This is not to say all technology is bad, but simply to remind us that taking a second look at the negative impacts it can have on society would not be a bad thing. There is no way to stop a technological take over, we can truly only contain it. Instead of allowing a toddler to have an IPad, perhaps we should revert back to good old fashion books. This way, when they grow older they will be less keen on finding the easy way out, and more keen on finding the right information.