Hello fellow steemians , hope you are all enjoying the season 2 of Steemit engagement challange . Today I choose to write a task set by steemkids which is about impact of technology on Kids. Let's begin :

Write an overview of how technology has impacted the world as a whole.

We live in an era of science and technology and the impact of technology on society depends upon the usage of technology. Nothing is immune to adverse effects. In other words, we can say that nothing in the world has only a positive impact. As technology is growing exponentially for the benefit of mankind, its adverse impacts are also increasing at an equal pace.

As for the positive impact of technology is concerned, I'll be only mentioning the name of the sectors that have been revolutionised so that a detailed post explanation can be provided in subsequent sections. Technology has revolutionised the Education system, health sector, agriculture, artificial intelligence, Industrial sector, entertainment ( sports and music /film), space technology, automobile industries, electronics and communication, mechnical sector and many more. We can say that technological advancements have been seen in every field that we can imagine. In some fields, it has advanced more than others but improvement is seen in every field.

We cannot deny the fact that deleterous effects of technology have also been seen. The destruction caused due to wars fought with modern arms and ammunitions is much more than it would have caused otherwise. The Mechanization of every sector due to technology has promoted a sedentary lifestyle that has deleterious health effects and caused a dramatic increase in certain diseases affecting physical and mental health.

Unemployment due to the mechanization of every field has struck the youth globally and increased suicide rates. Online crimes in the form of money laundering, vital data leakage, cyberattacks etc have grown due to the easy availability of the internet and outburst of information. Other impacts shall be discussed below.

Share with us some of the positivity and negativity of technology in kids' lives.

As mentioned above, technology has positive as well as negative impacts on all of us and the same holds for kids as well. Let's discuss them one by one.

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Positive Impacts of Technology on Kids.

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For a while let's turn blind eye towards negative impacts and glorify the positive impacts of technology on kids . Here we go:

Education

Due to the boom in technology, the education system has seen a dramatic thrust in the positive direction because of availablity of educational content in various forms like audiobooks, videos, ebooks, PDFs etc. We have well structured courses available for different age groups catering to a diverse range of subjects which may or may not be part of the school curriculum of kids.

During the covid 19 pandemic, we have seen that the education system of the world was saved from collapsing due to the availability of the Internet and online technology in the form of Microsoft, YouTube, zoom and other learning platforms. We cannot imagine the adverse effects of lockdown, had it been imposed 20 years ago - during our school time.

I would like to especially mention the role of YouTube in promoting education among kids. We are all aware that kids have basic knowledge about letters, numbers, colours, rhymes, general knowledge etc before being admitted to schools.

Tech Savvy Kids

Exposure of kids to gadgets like laptops, computers, iPad, MacBooks, and smartphones helps them to explore the working of different tech-oriented softwares and gain knowledge and skill about these gadgets. So our kids are becoming tech savvy. It is a matter of common understanding that kids who are well versed with these technologies at a younger age are liable to operate and acquire knowledge about technologically advanced tools with ease in future.

Multi - tasking

Kids often indulge in games that involve focusing on multiple things at the same time and we have seen kids can play these games very well. Such games promote multi-tasking skills among kids and also help in the development of better coordination among different body parts like hands and eyes which is beneficial for kids in future.

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Negative impacts of Technology.

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Addiction and Behaviour changes

Kids are so much dependent on technological gadgets like smartphones and computers that they have developed an addiction to these gadgets. It is quite often seen that kids are never willing to drop these gadgets on their own when asked by parents. When these gadgets are snatched from kids, they often express irrational behaviour like anger, mood change, abnormal body moments etc.

Being a health professional, let me tell you what's the logic behind behaviour change in kids. When kids are exposed to these technological gadgets, it acts like a rewarding stimulus to them and releases a chemical called dopamine in their body. Dopamine in turn suppresses the citrus hormones in the body and therefore gives a pleasant feeling to the kids. When these gadgets are taken away, kids perceive it as an unpleasant stimulus and the body responds by the release of stressors that cause mood swings and abnormal behaviour.

Anhedonia

Anhedonia is a medical term used to describe the state of an individual when they are not able to enjoy the things that they should normally enjoy. Due to exposure to gadgets, our kids are not able to enjoy outdoor activities like outdoor games and social gatherings etc.

As mentioned above, gadgets promote the release of dopamine in the body and give a pleasant feeling. During outdoor activities, the level of dopamine released in the body is lesser than that released while playing so the threshold for our body for being able to enjoy activities is not matched because the body is used to access dopamine levels.

Attention deficit

As mentioned above, during games kids are exposed to tasks that promote multitasking and therefore they need to focus on multiple things at a time. The functioning of the body is disturbed to such an extent that kids are not able to focus on a particular thing like studies or cannot keep calm too long. Such behaviour of kids can decrease academy performance of kids in schools.

Poor Health

Our kids play hundreds of games online but none in reality on the ground. Kids spend hours on screens and many times ignore meals. Studies have shown that there is a dramatic increase in obesity among young children and obesity is a risk factor for many diseases that affect the heart, brain etc. Prolonged screentime, in the long run, has deleterious effects on the eyesight of kids.

Negative Exposure

Exposure of kids to certain morally unacceptable but easily accessible activities like pornography, drugs, abusive online content like videos etc is dangerous for their future as they are vulnerable to indulging in such acts.

Poor time management

Technology is exposing kids to some online platforms that have no value in life. Some of the social media apps like Snapchat have no benefit for kids and are mere tools to waste time of kids. Similarly, addiction to games and even YouTube is disturbing the time management skills of kids from the beginning which is not good for their future.

Poor Socialization

Platforms like Facebook, WhatsApp, Twitter, Instagram etc has boosted social interaction but that's virtual. It's not uncommon to see that kids have thousands of friends on Facebook but none in reality. So a state of poor socialization in the real sense is promoted among our kids.

How would you rate the impact of technology in kids' life? Highly positive or negative? Explain.

As for the current state of exposure of kids to technology is concerned, I have no hesitation in saying that Technology has a more negative impact on kids than positive as has been highlighted above. However, that doesn't mean that we will deprive our kids of technology. In the current age of science and technology, it would be a sheer injustice to the future of our kids if they are not exposed to every sort of modern technology.

I would suggest that parents should be held responsible for the negative impacts of technology on kids. It has become a common practice that when parents are busy with the work, they hand over their smartphones to kids so that they are not disturbed and thereby parents are responsible for addiction of kids to technological gadgets like smartphones. So the way out is that under the supervision of parents kids should be exposed to various Technological tools for a limited time. The point is that rents should be able to expose kids to only positive impacts and protect them from. negative impacts.

Can you have control over the exposure of kids to certain technological products? How?"

Yes, parents can have control over the exposure of kids to certain Technological products. Let's try to find some ways out :

• Supervision of kids: It is obligatory on part of parents to supervise their kids for the activities they perform. Parents must keep a limited period for their kids in their presence during which kids are exposed to technology.

• Awareness of kids: it is the responsibility of parents to teach their kids about the negative impact of technology as well so that positive reinforcement is strengthened in averting kids.

• Outdoor Activities: Parents must expose their kids to outdoor activities like outdoor games and encourage them to socialise in real life. Parents must first be able to defend their culture. values and should be aware with them so that passive learning is transmitted to kids as well. For example,if you as a parent can maintain a balance in your life between different relations like friends, family and relatives and you can maintain them , kids will automatically inculcate these habits.

• Alternative activities and gadget : A kid addicted to playing cricket or football online must be exposed to these activities offline. Similarly, a kid addicted to a mobile phone for even study purposes cab be provided alternative gadgets like Kindle because the later is better than the former for eyes as the later is equivalent it a book.
  

Conclusion

Technology has positive as well as negative impacts on kids. It all depends upon the use of technology. In the case of kids, parents have a dominant role to play. So parents must be able to expose kids to positive impacts and save negatives.