Technology and Its Impact on Children

Times are changing. Modern technology is becoming increasingly important in day-to-day life. That can be felt most by the youth and middle-aged generation. As children get older, they are under a bigger influence of technology. So, seeing young people on the edge of puberty and in it on a playground is getting less common.

Education had to adjust itself to stay up-to-date and satisfy the needs of the modern world. The traditional way of teaching is not adequate anymore. Technological literacy is, nowadays, needed in most areas of life, and with time that need grows.

How does modern technology affect children and youth? Answering this question is not easy, because there are positive and negative aspects. We will analyze both of them.

The positive sides are educational development, logical thinking, and child development. Exposure to PCs and mobile phones has to be controlled and restrained. Information is more accessible than ever before; it is distributed quickly, so it is easy to get wanted information. If children have certain knowledge about a subject, the probability that they would be motivated to find out more about it increases. Social media and mobile phones make communication easier, so friendships over the line are getting more frequent. Playing video games develops logical thinking. and problem-solving ability.

The negative sides of prolonged exposure to modern technologies are mostly in terms of health and social aspects of life. Long sitting in front of a screen can harm a child’s posture, eyesight, concentration, and undeveloped motoric skills, which are mostly visible in fine finger movement. Seclusion, disinterest, laziness, and lack of empathy can also be negative effects of uncontrolled exposure to modern technologies. Unfortunately, some research has shown that children spend too much time in front of a computer screen or mobile device, mostly playing video games.

In order to stay up to date, especially during the COVID-19 pandemic, the teaching process and education system had to digitalize and adapt. Research has shown that learning through information and communication technologies is up to 30% more effective than traditional teaching methods, as it maintains students’ focus and helps them retain information longer. The old teaching programs were not sufficient anymore, to satisfy the needs of the modern world, to follow children’s skills in using a computer and using the internet, so it had to be reformed.

Thanks to being technologically equipped, schools, teachers, parents, and children can work more effectively and interact more freely. In Serbia, during class, the use of smart boards, mobile phones, classrooms with computers, “digital classrooms,”, “digital notebooks”, etc. is becoming more extensive. In order to give children the necessary set of skills to live in the modern world, elementary schools added a new subject – The digital world. Besides, using a smart board as a regular blackboard, for writing and drawing, it can also be used as a tablet, for showing PowerPoint presentations, research and interaction. That way, students get to know more about modern technologies, computers and programming, via classes of the informatic and digital world. A classroom with computers is often used for other subjects, as well. Thanks to them, students can easily visualize geographical landscapes, historical events, rare or very small organisms in biology,, and so on. Digital notebooks make learning and additional material available in digital form, by scanning QR code on a physical notebook. On the other hand, the digital classroom is a platform with connected computers to the main (teacher) PC. Like that, professors can see how students solve given tasks. It also allows teachers to send students, tasks, and materials, and even to mark their work, making remote work possible. Some teachers support students in using mobile phones in the classroom, so they can send them homework, follow the class, and find information. Using technology during the class makes the process of learning more interesting and engaging, than traditional frontal teaching. When children see or do something themselves they remember it easier. That way, teachers, and students are more efficient. Furthermore, thanks to technological achievements, the negative aspects of skipping class are minimal.

Interesting research about what students in Serbia think about the use of modern technologies in education can be found. Interestingly, children in rural areas seem to trust technology less than their peers in urban areas. Only 23,7% of questionnaires from less populated areas think technology has a significant impact on their education,, while 39,2% of children from cities have the same opinion, which is less than expected. Researchers think the reason lays in the fact that children are not informed enough about opportunities PCs can provide in learning new things. Research also shows that children mostly use the internet while studying. Especially in urban areas.

Developed countries went even further. They use robots, artificial intelligence, and artificial reality devices in education, thus allowing students to visit other historical periods, different places they learn about, and even different worlds. In addition, some schools use automation tools, which help in momentous marking, and finding data and sources. These tools save educators a lot of time, which they can use to help students. Some automation tools enable professors to have a statistical overview of students’ development, allowing them to adjust lessons to current and future students.

Teachers should use technologies as a helping tool in education, but in no condition as the only method of teaching. Too extensive use of technology in the classroom may cause boredom, further causing failure of discipline. In order to use technology the right way, and to transfer knowledge to students, educators themselves must be skilled in using technology. However, often that is not the case.

With time, like everything else, education is changing, mostly thanks to modern technologies. The teaching process evolved, and the results are pretty good. Children are more interested, they learn faster in a way they enjoy. Skipping classes is not creating such big issues as it used to. New generations are getting ready to live in an ever-changing world. Research has shown that kids themselves want a bigger presence of technology in the classroom. Educators who use technology adequately in a classroom do their job more easily and efficiently.

Source for statistical research:
http://www.ftn.kg.ac.rs/konferencije/ITOP17/Radovi/Marko%20Bursac,%20Goran%20Trickovic%20,%20Radislav%20Vulovic.pdf