Mass and Social Media Desensitization

Are we entering the age of desensitization, or are we already in it? Have kids been abandoning traditional toys such as and board games for handheld electronic devices and video game consoles? More importantly, have kids been desensitized, and are they more likely to spend time in front of a screen as opposed to being outside and exploring their boundaries? Many parents often overlook this situation and consider it as a mild misunderstanding. But have they been desensitized? Author Diane Levin suggests that, “people who are ‘good parents’ are completely desensitized by the violence they’ve been exposed to and are thus unable to foresee that violent movies and toys could lead to their own children to violence.” Violent media can easily influence a child's mind and cause them to lash out in certain situations. Who is there to help mold the children’s lives and who is regulating the usage time? Exactly how far has technology gone, and will it continue to erode the social values gained from face-to-face interaction? In some cases, constant and frequent technology use can be linked with addiction and minor phobias. It's always nice to remember that you're a human, and regulation is a great thing to keep in mind while using any kind of technology.

Modern toys and games often have a vulgar display of violence. Combative toys such as the “Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles” series have led to multiple accounts of physical violence amongst elementary school children. At a national conference, Author Diane Levin and her colleague Nancy Carlsson-Paige analyzed more than 70 elementary and preschool teachers on classroom incidents. The teachers linked to the Ninja Turtle toys, movies, and TV programs, and more than 96 percent of the r...

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...hing has changed now. Children are asking for tablets, smartphones and video game consoles, rather than begging for a bike or a new doll. Traditional toys are flying right out the window literally and metaphorically. Technology purchases have been spiking very high annual amounts within the past couple of years. In 2011 alone, Americans spent $9.9 billion on video games and consoles such as Playstation 3, Xbox 360, and the Nintendo Wii, as well as accessories for all these devices. The total expense on accessories for the consoles and PC games topped $1.2 billion in the year of 2011, based on a market research firm from the NPD Group. Modern life is changing right in front of our eyes. Real life social skills are fading away slowly due to the mass desensitization from technology. But the real question is, what are we as humans going to do to regulate technology use?