- by Cris Rowan on September 10, 2013 in Child Development, Technology and Children
Mounting research indicates unrestricted use of technology (cell phones,
internet, TV) by children is resulting in negative impact on physical and
mental health, social wellbeing, and academic performance, suggesting a
cautionary approach toward the use of technology in school settings. As
rates of technology addiction soar, children and youth are presenting with
problematic behaviours and disorders that are not well understood by health
and education professionals. Obesity, developmental delay, sleep
deprivation, anxiety, depression, aggression, social phobia, and inability
to pay attention or learn, are all associated with technology overuse
bringing into question “Are the ways in which we are educating and raising
children with technology sustainable?” Â This article will profile recent
research on the impact of education technology on attention and learning,
review technology evaluation and screening tools, and propose school-based
technology guidelines and interventions to achieve Balanced Technology
Management in education settings.
Recent Research
Both Canada and the US report declining academic performance in literacy,
science and math. Why? South Korea recently coined the phrase “Digital
Dementia” to describe what is becoming a worldwide phenomenon in youth,
permanent memory loss and inability to focus, causally linked to technology
overuse. Journal of Computers and Education recently reported that
multitasking on a laptop poses a significant distraction to both users and
fellow students and can be detrimental to comprehension of lecture content.
Mounting research indicates eminent dangers of WiFi and cell phones on human
health, as well as escalating rates of mental illnesses associated with
technology overuse, such as ADHD, autism, technology addictions. Further
studies demonstrate that children who have unrestricted technology use at
home, often come to school sleep deprived impacting academic performance,
yet research indicates that parents and teachers continue to favour
unrestricted technology use.
Neuroanatomical Changes
Gary Small¹s research showed pruning of neuronal tracks to frontal cortex in
children who overuse videogames, bringing into question, what are the
effects of unrestricted technology in the school setting? The brain triples
in size in the 0-2 year old through synaptic connection formation, heavily
influenced by environmental stimuli, or lack thereof. Prior to entering
school, young children are wiring their brains to be stimulus/response
mechanisms, devoid of empathy, impulse control, or executive function.
Whether parents and teachers want to admit it or not, we are witnessing the
de-evolution of the human species as a result of prevalent and unrestricted
technology overuse, and both primary and secondary causal factors for
technology addiction need to be considered in order to reverse technology¹s
destructive process.
Evaluation and Screening
Families with technology addictions are already seeking professional help,
as soon will be whole schools. A study by Japan¹s Ministry of Education has
concluded that over half a million Japanese children aged 12-18 are addicted
to internet activities, and consequently is seeking government funding
assistance for interventions such as outdoor ³fasting camps² and other
strategies to reduce the use of cell phones, computers, and hand held gaming
devices. Assigning qualified counsellors to treat group-based addictions
will break our already strained health and education systems. Restricting
family technology use cannot be regulated or legislated by government,
although maybe school technology use can. Creating sustainable futures for
our technology addicted culture needs to include broad sweeping initiatives
which screen and address technology addictions, and build family and school
capacity. Despite this growing research showing the down-side of
technology, many education professionals continue to escalate education
technology use, while failing to evaluate the efficacy of technology
programs toward achieving long term academic goals. Continued use of
non-evidenced-based technologies in school settings could be considered an
unprecedented experiment of epic proportion, one which may result in
pervasive illiteracy in a whole generation of children. Teachers also fail
to evaluate individual student appropriateness for specific technologies.
Children who are high users of entertainment technologies, such as video
games, pornography, Facebook, and texting, are already attention deficit,
indicating the need for restricted technology usage in school. Schools fail
to routinely screen children or youth for technology overuse, and
consequently fail to provide necessary technology education and reduction
strategies for students and their parents.
Guidelines and Interventions
Educational focus in the primary grades should be on achieving literacy,
considered the foundation for learning. As technology prohibits attainment
of literacy (computers don¹t teach children to print), technology
restrictions should be in place for grades K-3, and used judiciously for
grades 4-7. Teaching children to print has proven to enhance literacy, as
well as extend to enhanced performance in all subjects. Knowing how to
produce letters and numbers subconsciously, allows the brain to focus on the
specific academic tasks such as spelling and math. Yet, 5% of primary
teachers don¹t teach printing at all, and the rest spend an average of 14
minutes per day on printing instruction, which is insufficient to achieve
printing skill. Children who can¹t print demonstrate poor letter recognition
for reading, and produce slower output for math, spelling, and sentence
production. If teachers are expecting children to print, (90% of graded
output in elementary settings is produced with a pencil), they better start
teaching it.
The need for universal education regarding the negative impact of technology
on attention and learning is imperative, and requires a collaborative
approach by both education and health professionals. Zone¹in Programs Inc.
offers both live workshops and recorded webinars by trained occupational
therapists to help students, parents and educators better understand the
negative impact of technology on child development and learning, These
Foundation Series Workshops/Webinars also offer a variety of useful tools
and techniques to evaluate and screen students for technology overuse. The
Foundation Series Workshops/Webinars follow the Balanced Technology
Management concept where adults manage balance between activities which
promote optimal growth and success, with technology use. Examples of
handouts are the Technology Guidelines for Teachers, Technology Screening
Tool, Technology Schedule, Technology Diet, Technology Rx Pad, Unplug¹in
Parent Brochure, and Ten Steps to Unplug Children from Technology. Cris
Rowan, CEO of Zone¹in Programs Inc. has also recently published ³Virtual
Child  The terrifying truth about what technology is doing to children²
available on Amazon.com for health and education professionals. School media
literacy programs are a good place to start with student technology
education. Zone¹in Programs Inc. offers schools the Live¹in Resource Guide,
as well as the Unplug¹in Game as technology education tools for students.
These two programs advocate for schools to participate in a one week unplug
from all technology, and provide numerous innovative and fun ways for
students to build skills and confidence in activities other than technology.
One important consideration by schools is to enhance their existing
playgrounds to entice students to play at recess and after school. Diverting
funds from computers toward building play grounds with age appropriate
equipment would improve motor development, reduce obesity, and enhance
social skills. The majority of playgrounds challenge only the younger
grades, indicating need for inclusion for the 7-18 year olds e.g. skateboard
and bike parks, zip lines, large climbing structures. Community initiatives
to counteract the effects of technology could focus on beaches and parks,
including addition of benches, picnic tables, covered fire pits, and adult
exercise equipment to attract the teens and parents. Destination nature
trails of varying lengths with tree houses, covered fire pits, and spiritual
centres at trail end would attract the more adventurous families. Free
admission to recreation centres for 0-18 years would also entice children
and youth off technology. These suggestions were provided during ³Tech
Talks² offered to grade 4-9 children and youth in First Nations communities
(sponsored by Vancouver Coastal Health) when asked the question ³What would
make you put down the device and go outside²?
Cris Rowan is a pediatric occupational therapist, author, and educator on
the impact of technology on child development, behavior and learning, and
can be reached at info@zonein.ca
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