Sunday, May 25, 2014

10 Reasons Why Handheld Devices Should NOT Be “Banned” for Kids Under 12


Cris Rowan’s Huffington Post article entitled “10 Reasons Why Handheld Devices Should Be Banned for Children Under the Age of 12” has been all over my Facebook wall, having been shared over 350,000 times at this writing, and has gotten a good bit of traction.  I’m sure a lot of parents go way overboard with technology, and end up using TV, tablets, computers and smartphones as knowing or un-knowing crutches for actual parenting involvement.   I’m also fairly sure that the number of people actively trying to prove that their 6-year-old being constantly glued to Angry Birds is “healthy” for their development are the same types who try desperately to prove that diets of purely chocolate and beer are somehow good for them in the long run.
But still, BANNED?   “Banned” is a really strong word to use on technology.   So, I took her article as food for thought, and wanted to offer my own thoughts on the matter.
To recap, her basic 10 points were:
  1. The rapid brain growth of kids ages 0-2 would be impaired by lack of environmental stimuli, owing to over-exposure to technology.
  2. Technology overuse leads to delays in physical development
  3. TV & video game use correlates with epidemic obesity
  4. Sleep deprivation due to parents allowing kids to take electronic devices to bed unsupervised
  5. “Technology overuse is implicated as a causal factor in rising rates of child depression, anxiety, attachment disorder, attention deficit, autism, bipolar disorder, psychosis and problematic child behavior.”
  6. Exposure to violent TV & video games engendering aggressive behaviour in kids.
  7. “Digital dementia” leading to attention deficit and inability to learn stemming from media over-exposure.
  8. Addictions to video games & devices, and at the same time, parents becoming less attached to their kids
  9. Radiation emissions from devices
  10. “It’s unsustainable” to raise & educate kids with technology.

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