Do you agree or disagree with your colleague’s conclusion(s) regarding the positive and/or negative effect(s) of technology within his or her chosen developmental periods? Whether or not you agree with your colleague’s conclusion(s), describe how one of your colleague’s stated advantages may actually be a disadvantage in the chosen developmental periods or vice versa. Address how an advantage described by your peer within one period of development might actually be a disadvantage to someone in another developmental period or vice versa. Suggest mediating factors for the influence(s) of technology that might have been overlooked by classmate.
There are a lot of notable differences between the current generation children and the older generation children; all these differences being attributed to the impact of technology on the growth of the 3-13 year old children. Children of the past experienced a lot of movements. Their sensory world was usually simple and mainly nature based. They had obligations in terms of chores on a daily basis. The current generation children behave differently due to the number of technological devices at their disposal. Technology has disintegrated the core values that held families together. The children of today depend on technology for most of their play therefore limiting their creativity and imaginations capabilities. Technology has negatively influenced the education of the young children by delaying attainment of key developmental milestones. Technology has hindered the development of sensory, motor and attachment systems of children. Education systems have detected the increase of behavior, physical and psychological disorders among children; all these being attributed to the overuse of technology. Some of these disorders include: autism, diabetes, sensory processing disorder, sleep disorders, obesity, depression, coordination disorders, unintelligible speech, anxiety and learning disorders. Technology has hindered the four critical factors required for healthy child development. The four factors are: exposure to nature, movement, human connection and touch. These factors are necessary for posture development and self-regulation foundation skills that are needed for school entry (Cris Rowan, 2013). The physical and social developments of teenagers have also been negatively affected by technology because this group is vulnerable to change. Most adolescents spend more time on electronic devices such as phones. This has made them miss opportunities to develop important social and relationship skills thereby hindering positive physical development (Turkle, 2011). Spending time on electronic gadgets such as phones and iPods increases the feeling of tiredness which eventually causes behavioral and psychosocial disorders such as the sleeping disorder. Most adolescents sleep on their phones (Lenhart, Ling, Campbell, & Purcell, 2010; Van den Bulck, 2007).
