Sunday, February 12, 2012
Does technology affect social behaviors?
My six year old son attended a video game themed birthday party yesterday for his eight year old friend. Most of the guests were neighbors and school friends of the birthday boy; my son was the only child from out of town. A giant arcade on wheels arrived in front of the house, where the invitees played Wii, PS2 and Xbox360 for two hours. When the children filed back into the house I noticed that many of them, whose ages ranged from four to eight, were toting iPod Touches and iPads, FaceTime-ing each other, playing music and more video games, as if two hours in the traveling arcade weren't enough. They stopped using their devices only to eat pizza and cake. The children who had devices had no desire to share them with children who didn't have their own. I also noticed that children had a general attitude of "I don't care" and disrespect for each other, the party hosts, and the other parents present. Most of these children are with each other in school every day, so I found myself wondering if that contributed to their behavior, or if it was in some way tied to their obvious obsession with social technology. I plan to research this on my own, but first I would like to know if any of you have had experiences with very young children, their behaviors, their technology or any combination thereof? Students in high school right now did not grow up with iPads and iPodTouch devices, so how might this upcoming generation differ from current teenagers? How might our combined experiences and observations transfer to the classroom?
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Laura, I completely agree with technology and children's social behavior. When I go out to dinner with my girlfriend, there always seems to be a family that has their children's attention occupied by some sort of device. Whether it be an ipod, smart phone, portable DVD player or game device, the children are completely disconnected from the family conversation. And it seems parents are the reason for this. They just find it easier if the children are babysat by these devices. In my late 20's I don't consider myself old but there is a definite disconnect between my generation and the younger generation because there is no way my parents would have allowed my or my siblings to have a electronic device at the dinner table or in a restaurant. Also we have to blame the parents for in my opinion just being lazy. They seem to take the easy way out and just let these devices rule their children's world. This behavior is so ingrained in the children that if the devices were to be taken away, they would not be able to interact with the parents. They would pout, mope, make a scene, or just make ignore the parents out of anger. Attention spans seem to be shorter than in years past and that is something that we all need to figure how to keep their spans for a longer period of time.
ReplyDeleteLaura,
ReplyDeleteI did find your post to be asking increasingly important questions of all of us as we become educators that are surrounded by students who have an obsession with technology. As important as it is that technology is present in education and our society as a whole, the most disturbing aspect is that it creates such an evident disconnect between students and their learning. It distances them from teachers as sources of learning, it distorts who they believe they can learn from, and what they are internalizing based upon their level of disconnection. I do consider that my generation is very much distanced from younger generations in that there is this social need to conform that is unlike anything I ever experienced. When I was in grammar school and high school, there were the obvious pressures to fit in and be like everyone else, but students today have this pressure magnified in forms that are quite unlike the forms we had to deal with. I do agree with Ryan that this disconnect is formed at younger and younger ages all the time. At extended family dinners, I have recently observed that 6 and 7 year olds hardly engage in regular conversation and practical joking. Instead, they are warped into primarily conversing via text messages or tiny chats and other social media that I am completely unaware of. I have no idea where we can begin to bridge this disconnect as teachers because by bringing in technology, we are in some sense distancing ourselves from our students already. Hopefully there will be some clarity to help us as we progress through these challenges as educators.
Ryan and Girard, it sounds like we all agree that today's youth are not likely to ditch their devices any time soon, and we as educators need to find ways to embrace the capabilities of portable technology. Work with it, not against it, right? If students love to use iPods, iPads and similar gadgets, they will be more likely to actively engage in academic learning through these platforms. I suggest doing a few internet searches for apps related to your subject area. Many are free or very inexpensive. I found some great ones for art which will be included in my group's Interactivity #3! If our students can use a fun app for learning, then post their work to a blog or other interactive site so they can see and comment on each other's work, we just might be able to keep them interested in learning.
ReplyDeleteLaura, thanks for the story. In regards to your comments above, what would you do if the iPods and iPads were not readily accessible in the classroom?
ReplyDeleteKevin, that's a great question. The high school where I substitute has a "no phone usage" policy with the students. However, they are beginning to let them use their devices to listen to music during study hall, as a sort of measure of the students' reliability in using their tech gadgets as allowed. The administration hopes to expand the allowances for usage in small increments. In a situation where students are not allowed to use their devices in school, I would arrange homework assignments around them, making sure that whatever platform, software or apps were needed are available for home computers as well. Of course, in order for the whole class to be successful I would have to make sure they all own or have access to these technologies, or arrange for group work. If group work became the only option, I could appeal to the administration to allow students to use their devices in my class.
ReplyDeleteI am glad you posted about this, Laura. It seems like an increasing problem that children always have a piece of technology in their hands and communicating with every person they could on it. It is difficult to divert their attention from iPods, cellphones, and game devices. We can also raise the issue of disrespect where many of them no longer listen to adults when they kindly ask of them to put the phone away, or stop listening to music just so there can introduce some verbal communication. We also have the issue of the technology damaging them physically where children, who have not fully developed yet, are listening to music on earphones with the music all the way up or texting and playing games with tons of flashing lights and bright colors which I am sure contributes to eye problems down the line. Bringing those issues into the classroom, we already have the problem with many students texting in class or listening to music. It is hard for anyone to break that habit that the children are already so accustomed to. It might be another issue of classroom management, but definitely something the students need to realize on their own. This entertainment technology is taking away from what is really important.
ReplyDeleteAs I've been reading your thoughts and watching those around me some more, I began to think that the parents of today's children did not grow up with the technology available today. It seems worth mentioning the fact that parents have to work extra hard to determine whether these portable technologies are helpful or hindering to their children. The difficulty is that they can help and hinder different developments in kids, but they are also extremely useful for mom and dad. Young children always mimic their caregivers, so it's left to the parent to navigate their children's usage of the devices. What are your thoughts about parents stumbling through this new world?
ReplyDeleteLaura,
ReplyDeleteI agree with your last comment where you say that adults today have to discern whether these technologies are helping or hindering the childern's development. I think that adults are taking more time learning how to use these technologies. An example I have is that my brother has an iPod touch. He is nine years old, and reads news, watches viral youtube videos, and communicates with friends. He is a very universal person, and I don't know how he does it on his iPod. I think the issue that rises here is that we need to keep up with the technologies that arise if we hope to even have a chance in integrating the proper technologies into our classrooms.