Technology is Good. What?!?

 Children’s use of media, technology and screen time (MeTS) has risen drastically over the last 10 years. If you Google search topics related to benefits and harms associated with MeTs, which MeTS to use or how children engage with MeTS your search will return over 1.5 billion resources. In academic databases can find an additional 41,000 sources  on children and MeTS. Technology is here to stay, so it is imperative we look closely at this topic and make educated and informed decisions about technology use. Parents, teachers and care givers are interested in addressing major concerns such how much time children should be allowed to spend on MeTS and possible impacts screen time could have on behavior. Some would argue that technology inhibits child development. However, studies report that technology enhances child development socially, emotionally and cognitively,  therefore, we must integrate technology use in an appropriate manner to maximize potential benefits.

One of the biggest concerns surrounding MeTS is the amount of time children are spending in front of a screen. A survey of 1.000 parents found that young children spend about 2 hours a day with screen media (1:58), which is almost the exact amount of time they reported their children play outside (2:01).  Additionally, the percentage of children using screen media for entertainment is 83%- which is very close to the percentage of children who are reading or listening to music 79%. Of the surveyed parents of young children that watch T.V. , 87 % reported that their children imitate positive behaviors learned from television programming. Most parents also reported that they have media-related rules that set time limits for media use.  Based on these statistics, we can see that the average amount of time spent on screen technology is still yielding positive behavior. 

Research determined that 72% of parents find that computers are “mostly helpful” in assisting children’s learning. Research confirms that technology use has a positive effect on the social and emotional development of children.  In one study, researchers found that children on the computer talked to their peers nine times the amount of time they spent talking to peers while assembling puzzles. Additional studies show that children working on computers prefer working with at least one to two other partners and tend to seek help from peers instead of their teachers. These collaborative benefits extend beyond the walls of the classroom with access of the internet, giving children the opportunity to connect with children in other cities, states, and around the world. Technology gives children the ability to expand their horizons in ways that were unavailable to many of us as children. 

Scientific studies confirm a multitude of cognitive benefits of computer usage as well.  Positive results include improvement in nonverbal skills, manual dexterity, long term memory, and structural knowledge. In addition, the study revealed that children using open ended computer programs developed and solved their own problems,  positively assessed their own work, and worked collaboratively with partners. Over all, children using computers also displayed higher levels of hypothesizing and wondering. One study also suggested that interaction with digital media supports learning in multiple ways, such as increased concentration, expansion of knowledge, adult observation, persistence and understanding of the world. If all of these outcomes are a result of technology use and people claim that technology is inhibiting child development, then what can we consider to be child development? These cognitive benefits of technology use promote child development.

Choosing appropriate forms of technology and the amount of time that is beneficial to children is similar to the decision making required of care givers in a variety of aspects: what is in a child's diet, what activities to allow them to attend. and which friends they spend time with. Adults need to educate themselves and make informed decisions on many things when it comes to caring for children; technology use is no different. We can not claim technology is preventing child development when research proves that technology use promotes and enhances child development when used appropriately.