Harry Gill

Ms. Eaker
ENGL 1102
March 13, 12014

Round Table

Whilst looking into the world of technology and if we use it too much I have
found that there are three main groups of people that talk about their views on what
and why the problem is what it is. The first is teenagers and children, the generation
most effected by new age technology; another is physiologist as they are looking
into the problem and the after effects. My final voice is parents of the generation
involved; do they know there is a problem? Are they to blame?

Children
The ones that use the tech too much how do they think it effects them.
Children these days think that being social is playing Call Of Duty online with 16
other friends yes you can hear them and communicate with them however you are
not getting that face-to-face time that defines you as a human being.
Some children prefer a world without technology as they think it can be a
distraction from the real teaching in a classroom. At one school in CA there is no
technology used at all. Students say that this makes them learn more
communication skills and how to interact with real people rather then just a screen,
which will help them in the working world. (Silicone Valley)

Physiologists
Children are spending 8+ hours a day on tech looking at social media,
watching TV and playing games, this is coursing social problems with them, as they
dont know how to act in public only from behind a screen. (Children, Adolescence
par.2)
Another problem, according to Thurkle, is that you can make yourself out to
be who ever you want on the Internet you can make yourself seem sociable when in
fact you are very shy. (Less Connected, Par. 4) In fact you could take this one step
further and say that children are at risk on the internet of people who pretend to be
their friends when in fact are predators.

Parents/teachers
Are parents the real reason that kids use technology too much? Are kids
being introduced to it too early in their lives as a form of distraction so that parents
can do their jobs around the house in peace? A third of parents with children under
8 say that they give their child a phone or iPad to play with to keep them
entertained. (Parenting in the age, Page 4)
Another group that might be giving children technology too early in their life
is teachers. Tech is being introduced as a teaching tool for kids as young as 5/6 years
old (Younger age) this to me means that there whole learning age children think
that tech is the way to do it when sometimes a book and paper method is needed to
hone in some skills needed for later life.
There are many different view points on this subject depending on
your profession and even from different generations: older people might see it as a
bigger problem then younger people as they grew up without and dont see why kids
say they cant go without when thats all the older generations know.
Works Cited
Wartella, Ellen. Rideout, Vicky. Lauricella, Alexis. Connell, Sabrina. Parenting In The
Age Of Digital Technology. June 2013. Web. April 2014.

Strasburger, Victor. Hogan, Marjorie. Children, Adolescents, and the media. October
28, 2013. Web. March 21 2014.

Ostrow, Adam. Is Social Media Actually Making Us Less Connected?.
March 1 2013. Web. March 28 2014.
Richtel, Matt. "A Silicon Valley School That Doesnt Compute." The New York Times.
The New York Times, 22 Oct. 2011. Web. 5 May 2014.
<http://www.nytimes.com/2011/10/23/technology/at-waldorf-school-in-silicon-
valley-technology-can-wait.html?pagewanted=all&_r=0>.

"Children being introduced to computers at a younger age as schools incorporate
technology into the classroom."Gainesville.com. N.p., n.d. Web. 5 May 2014.
<http://www.gainesville.com/article/200910