Kids today are clued in to technology like never before; and email, video games, MP3 players are constantly at their finger tips.
Tufts professor and researcher Maryanne Wolf is worried about what this does to our minds. According to her:
- Some positive skills do emerge from technology but the emphasis is on instant gratification and entertainment. This is preventing kids from developing the ability to think deeply.
- Young people aged 8 to 18 years of age consume more than seven and a half hours of media every day.
- There are concerns about how this affects a developing mind.
- Children are not learning to concentrate properly and are learning in ways that are more superficial and less active.
- It may not yet be clear whether digital media as against the print media affects analytical abilities; however digital information seems to be grasped more quickly before moving on.
The doctor recommends parents limiting access to digital media, teaching children to think, play and have fun as a family; without electricity being involved! She herself ends her day free from internet use, email etc, and with literature that uplifts and consoles. “I want to begin my day and end it with a pause button of my own choice, “she says.
