Excessive access to portable technology is said to be one of the factors that contribute to the recessive development of intellect amongst people. It is especially so amongst children in the 21st century, owing to the increase in the number of technologies to which they are exposed. Research into the effects of excessive exposure can explain the effects that the technologies have on the developmental process of children. Several resources support this research in the quest for further knowledge on the possibility of improvement. As opposed to the positive contribution, excessive exposure to portable technology is reducing the intellectual capacity of human beings.
Noticeably, children are increasingly spending their time on digital devices. The quest for instant gratification from technologies, online education, gaming, and other needs necessitate spending time on various digital devices. Unknown to many, modern technologies are reducing their abilities to perceive things right and process various pieces of information appropriately (Cho & Lee, 2017). Researches done on children are especially proving this phenomenon. The ability of children to adjust is especially being threatened by early exposure to the devices. Children in elementary school, for example, are highly unlikely to perform as per the right standards in adjusting their emotions if they have too much access to the technologies (Hosokawa & Katsura, 2018). Spending more than 60 minutes every day or spending roughly the same time on portable devices every day has several adverse effects on the children as explained in this research.
Delayed language and cognitive development
Increased screen adversely affects the development of linguistic and cognitive abilities. Kids who spend a lot of time with screens perform dismally in developmental screening tests. According to Rocha & Nunes 2020, the welfare of a child’s development is affected by their parent’s choice of entertainment. Older mothers are especially poor at determining the period that their children spend in front of screens. Stressed or depressed parents are also known for the wrong choice of entertainment. Exposing children between the ages of 24 to 36 months to too much screen entertainment is, for this reason, common amongst the parents who have such disturbing issues (Kılıç et al., 2019). Of concern is the effect they leave on their children. Such mothers are highly likely to have children with cognitive development issues. Their kids may be affected by the challenges of depression and unemployment. Similarly, they may find it hard to learn and grasping languages effectively.
A related aspect of the same is the need for parental guidance. Children who are younger than 2 years need the guidance of parents or guardians to develop appropriately. Their motor senses, language, and emotional self need the assistance of more experienced persons to develop in the right way. The toddlers do not possess the skills needed to make the right progress in learning from digital media (Rocha & Nunes 2020). For this reason, spending too much time on technological devices is unhealthy growth that is unlikely to assist them to follow the right course of growth. On the contrary, the children find it hard to develop the real-life skills needed for surviving and thriving. The inability to think symbolically, memorize and direct attention may be considered as a cognitive inability. Children who lack or are inadequate in the same are unlikely to succeed in several areas of life. The failure of parents and guardians to direct them effectively during their younger years may be considered as the main cause of the dissonance that occurs in their lives.
Disruption of Circadian Systems
The behaviors of the children who are excessively exposed to the technologies also experience retarded development. The capacity of children to behave pay attention to experiences problems owing to the interruption of thinking patterns (Hosokawa & Katsura, 2018). One of how their behavioral patterns are affected is through the disruption of sleeping patterns. The use of devices before bedtime has been associated with sleeping difficulties. Sleep disturbances are especially common amongst children when they use the devices a short moment before getting to bed. They experience hyperarousal and increased automatic activation of the brain, thereby experiencing sleeping difficulties. Children also experience difficulties interacting with others, owing to the consumption of violent content. Playing games that involve violence, for example, redirects their thinking patterns to a violent course. Others experience fear and anxiety, owing to interaction with gruesome content. Seemingly worst amongst the affected lot are the children who find themselves in danger of contracting lifestyle diseases, owing to a sedentary lifestyle. They tend to assume a lazy lifestyle in which they can hardly perform any duties that are commensurate with their ages.
Behavioral difficulties lead to the classification of children as difficult. In school, kids who have been excessively exposed to the various contents for a long have high chances of experiencing difficulties in being attentive. Attentional difficulties are common amongst the ones who have been seeking stimulation from various devices (Hosokawa & Katsura, 2018). The technological devices tend to be better sources of constant stimulation than what they get in books or other things within the realm of education. The instant accessibility of the devices, as opposed to educational materials, tends to lead to the quest for instantaneous gratification. It is for this reason that their education tends to be harder than it is for other less exposed persons. Being labeled as difficult may mark the beginning of a child experiencing hardships doing well throughout their educational life. Early childhood education plays a pivotal role in the educational welfare of human beings. It is for this reason that children who undergo such experiences at their young ages may experience educational difficulties both in early childhood development and other higher levels of education.
Inability to think individually
Digital devices are associated with the inability of children to think individually. According to Danet, (2020), a significant number of parents complain about their children’s tendency to take control of digital devices as opposed to more important matters. The inability of parents to take control of the usage of technological devices at home is a cause of fear amongst a large number of parents. The most affected lot are the parents who use the devices for reassurance when their children cry or behave in other unwelcome ways. They affect the development process of children in that they minimize their ability to follow guidelines. Similarly, the children experience difficulties formulating and following rules. Children of school-going age experience difficulty, especially in balancing their early education, owing to the inability to create and follow individual rules in various engagements.
Related to this is the failure of the children to engage in meaningful activities. A noticeable difference exists between children who take time engaging in several activities and those who spend excessive amounts of time on digital devices (Kılıç et al., 2019). The former is likely to learn a lot from the numerous activities while the latter is unlikely to make meaningful progress in the development of various skills. Contrary to expectation, digital devices offer minimal lessons. It is for this reason that children rarely achieve the right level of progress if they only learn from technological devices. Social isolation resulting from spending too much time with devices reduces their chances of learning from other children as well as other people in society. For this reason, taking steps towards the development of individual cognition is hard for kids who have minimal contact with the world outside technology. Encouraging children to spend too much time alone on devices is, for this reason, likely to have a disastrous result for the isolated kids. They are, for this reason, unlikely to acquire lessons that are unlikely to guide them through life, such as solving conflicts using violence.
Weakened parental guidance
Excessive use of technological devices amongst children also affects the performance of their parents and guardians. Some parents feel that technological devices may be interfering with their families as well as their parenting activities (Danet, 2020). Digital parenting, at times, affects the welfare of the adults. They question their ability to govern the actions of their children as they seek to earn more about the welfare of the children in their quest to do well in the parenting activities. The influence of the devices at times leads to worries about the same. Some parents seek to have ways in which they can control the content that their kids’ access. Others feel obliged to control the amount of bullying that takes place in the various online media to which their children have access. Some feel that they have not done their best to protect their young ones from the negative influences that take place on online media. It is for this reason that they are worried about their effectiveness as parents or guardians in doing their work.
A similar aspect of parental ineffectiveness is the failure to effectively supervise their young ones. Encouraging or deliberately allowing children to spend too much time on modern technological devices minimizes the time available for parents to guide their children (Danet, 2020). Kids need sufficient time with their guardians and parents for supervision. It is especially so when the young ones are performing tasks and chores that need guidance. Failure to assign them tasks in favor of on-screen entertainment may be considered as a weakened aspect of parenting. Similarly, the neglect of duty by parents and guardians in guiding the children is a disservice to the role of parenting. For this reason, it has an aspect of weakened parenting. Parents and guardians are better poised to do well in their parenting activities if they assign matching roles to their children and guide them in performing various tasks whenever need be.
Conclusion
The current era of massive technological revolution exposes human beings to the threat of reduced mental capacity. This effect is manifest amongst children, whose capacity for development is reduced in various ways. Accessibility to portable devices at a young age delays the development of language and cognition, reduces attentive ability, reduces the ability to think individually, and weakens the influence of parents and guardians over children. Further research from other resources may explain more of the effects.
