(In)Dependent on Technology

1130 Words3 Pages
bulb-icon

Recommended: How technology influences children

Technology is ubiquitous. Nowadays you can go to a Dallas Cowboys football game and watch one of the biggest televisions in the world, download a new song from iTunes instantly on your computer, or Google some trivia on your favorite TV show via your new Smartphone. People like getting things done in the fastest, yet most efficient manner; technology allows everyone to do both at the same time. The world needs to look beyond these tempting, positive attributes of technology and delve into the effects that are not so appealing. Children are being born into a society that relies upon technology for professional and personal reasons and they legitimately do not know a time without it. Technology is causing problems in their social skills and behaviors as well as facilitating a drastic increase in the childhood obesity rate. Are parents and people of the older generation neglecting their ethical duties?

Do you want to update your friends on the movie you just saw? A few strokes on any keyboard or phone and a click of a button can make that happen; overall the process takes only about thirty seconds. What if you want to download the new Jennifer Lopez song on your iPod? Do not worry, that process is similarly as swift as the first one. Events like these are a very common occurrence in the lives of children ages eight to eighteen today. Technology has provided them the ability to do these types of things very quickly, but this is proving to develop a bad cycle amongst young users. Leigh Goessl, a writer for the online sector of Helium with an MBA in technology, explains that technology encourages instant gratification (Goessl 2). As earlier depicted, children are accustomed to getting what they want instantly with technology, and that...

... middle of paper ...

...al troubles are plaguing children everywhere; help a child to be independent today and avoid future dependence on these machines.

Works Cited

Center for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC). 21 April 2011. Data and Statistics – obesity rate among all children in the United States. National Health and Nutrition Examination.

Goessl, Leigh. 21 Feb. 2010. Pros and Cons of Technology for Children. Helium- Where Knowledge Rules. 1-2.

Kaiser Family Foundation (KFF). 20 January 2010. M2 – Media in the Live of 8 – 18 Year-olds. Program for the Study of Media and Health. 2-39.

Skeele, R., & Stefankiewicz, G. 2002. Blackbox in the sandbox: The decision to use technology with young children with annotated bibliography of Internet resources for teachers of young children. Educational Technology Review, [Online serial], 10(2), 79 - 86.

Show More
Related

  • Goffman and Stigmatization: The Stigma That Obese Individual Suffers From

    2594 Words  | 6 Pages

    "Treating Obesity Vital For Public Health, Physicians Say." Science Daily. 2006. Web. 10 May 2014. .

    Read More

  • Influence of the Media on Eating Disorders

    2668 Words  | 6 Pages

    Strasburger, Victor C., Amy B. Jordan, and Ed Donnerstein. "Health Effects of Media on Children and Adolescents." Pediatrics 125.4 (2010): 756-67. Ebsco. Web. 26 Jan. 2011.

    Read More

  • Anesthesia and the Obese Patient

    2055 Words  | 5 Pages

    "Prevalence of Obesity Among Adults: United States, 2011–2012." National Center for Health Statistics. N.p., n.d. Web. .

    Read More

  • Childhood Obesity in Monroe County, Kentucky

    1894 Words  | 4 Pages

    Obesity has been identified as one of the risk factors affecting directly and indirectly the health outcome of the population. Even though many approaches and programs have been conducted in order to reduce the obesity rate, this health issue is still a big headache and keeps being put on the table. According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), overweight and obesity rate have been increasing significantly in the past two decades in the United States with more than 35.7% of adults and almost 17% of children and adolescents from 2-19 years olds being obese ("Overweight and obesity," 2013). As Healthy People 2020 indicated, in the period from 1988-1994 to 2009-2010, the age adjusted obesity rate among U.S adults aged 20 and over increased from 22.8% to 35.7%, which means increased by 57% while the obesity rate among children and teenagers from 2 to 19 years old increased from 10% to approximately 17%, witnessing the increase of 69% ("Nutrition, physical activity," 2013). Obesity has impact both on economic and health of the nation. Obesity is the risk factor of serious chronic diseases, including heart disease, stroke, type II diabetes, certain kinds of cancer, and other leading causes of preventable deaths ("Overweight and obesity," 2013). Moreover, obesity continues to be economic burden in terms of medical costs for either public or private payers up to $147 billion per year which increased from 6.5% to 9.1% (Finkelstein et al, 2009). In 2008, medical spending per capita for the obese or obesity related health issues is $1,429 per year, as 42% higher than “those of normal weight” (Finkelstein et al, 2009, p.8).

    Read More

  • Leading Causes of Death in The United States

    2023 Words  | 5 Pages

    “Obesity Information.” American Heart Association Obesity Information. American heart Association, 27 February 2014. Web. 04 Apr. 2014

    Read More

  • Fahrenheit 451 Essay On Technology

    447 Words  | 1 Pages

    Although Though technology can be good, it can be worse than good, such as people always with their faces on their phones and headphones in their ears, people neglecting books and using more online text, and people wasting their lives watching TV.Children now know how to use a phone faster than they can

    Read More

  • My Addiction to Sugar

    1399 Words  | 3 Pages

    Flegal, K. M., Carroll, M. D., Ogden, C. L., & Curtin, L. R. (2010). Prevalence and trends in obesity among U.S. adults, 1999-2008. Journal of Medical Association. 303, 235-241.

    Read More

  • Childhood Obesity in the United States

    2855 Words  | 6 Pages

    According to the Center for Disease Control (CDC) about “17% (or 12.5 million) of children and adolescents aged 2-19 years are obese” (Moreno et al., 2013 P.157). “Surveys administered in 1976-1980 and 2007-2008 show that the prevalence of obesity has changed from 6.5% to 19.6% among children 6-11 years old age and from 5.0% to 18.1% for those aged 12-19 years (Moreno et al., 2013 P.157).

    Read More

  • How Technology has Impacted Parenting

    1543 Words  | 4 Pages

    Gensneimer, Jolene. “Technology and Childhood.” Parent Map. Smith, Jere. 3 Feburary 2007. Web. November 2011.

    Read More

  • Media Influences on Childhood Obesity

    1279 Words  | 3 Pages

    Recently my 13 year old brother received his second phone, an IPhone 4s. I could not believe it a 13 year old carrying around one of the best pieces of technology in our world. Since then my brother’s free time outside running around has decreased drastically. His eyes and hands are glued to his IPhone 4s. Finding him playing basketball or throwing a football around in my yard when I go home on the weekends has become less and less. This is just one of thousands of children whose physical activity has suffered due to technology. Today our society has created the perception to children that without the latest technology they are not ‘cool’ or even worse poor. Kids then beg their parents for updated technology in order to fit in. Face it even adults these days need the latest technology to stay updated with their work. The routine of most children that come home from school is eat, watch tv, see some more commercials on food and video games and continue the awful habit they’ve created. The urge to play outside or get involved in a team is less appealing then beating their record at Call of Duty while getting a sugar high. Our world is creating an environment where playing Candy Crush is more popular than playing a sport. Thirty-two percent of children ages 2-19 are overweight and seventeen percent is considered to be obese (Hingle, Dale). The media influence on the youth shows a positive correlation to childhood obesity.

    Read More

  • The Negative Impact Of Technology On Children

    813 Words  | 2 Pages

    As disclosed in the article, The Impact of Technology on the Developing Child, Chris Rowan acknowledges, “Rather than hugging, playing, rough housing, and conversing with children, parents are increasingly resorting to providing their children with more TV, video games, and the latest iPads and cell phone devices, creating a deep and irreversible chasm between parent and child” (par. 7). In the parent’s perspective, technology has become a substitute for a babysitter and is becoming more convenient little by little. It is necessary for a growing child to have multiple hours of play and exposure to the outside world each day. However, the number of kids who would rather spend their days inside watching tv, playing video games, or texting is drastically increasing. Children are not necessarily the ones to be blamed for their lack of interest in the world around them, but their parents for allowing their sons and daughters to indulge in their relationship with technology so powerfully. Kids today consider technology a necessity to life, because their parents opted for an easier way to keep their children entertained. Thus resulting in the younger generations believing that technology is a stipulation rather than a

    Read More

  • The Negative Effects of Technology on Society

    938 Words  | 2 Pages

    Technology has more negative effects on today’s society than positive. Due to technology in the past few decades Canine Shock Collars have been increasingly popular. Students in school pay more attention to texting than they do their classes. Violent addictive video games have made their way into American homes. Parents encourage their children to not text as much, but them to face the problem of constant communication. The Internet gives the students easier ways to cheat in school, and reinforces laziness. Internet Porn gives every bored male a chance to look at the seediest film in the comfort of his own home. Technology has taken the innocence and mystery away from the American family.

    Read More

  • Effects of Technology on Today's Society

    1143 Words  | 3 Pages

    Technology is unavoidable in our modern lifestyle. You wake up, you use technology; you use technology while cooking, while eating, while driving. While you’re lying in bed before you fall asleep, you use technology, technology wakes you up in the morning. Is all the technology around you good for you, or is it harmful to your health? Was our society healthier or safer before all the advancements? So many questions and concerns about all of the technology we crave, but there are very few people who know the answers. Technology affects all parts of human life. It can create jobs, motivate people to get active, and assist people in learning, but this does not balance out that there are dangers that follow the use of technology.

    Read More

  • The Effect of Technology on Children

    1973 Words  | 4 Pages

    Almost every child between the ages of eight and twelve are getting cell phones. The average home in America has as many televisions as they do people. Only 20% of American homes do not have a computer. Technology is quickly becoming a new way of life. The amount of time people are on their devices is growing rapidly. According to The Huffington Post, people are on their devices for on average about eleven hours and fifty-two minutes a day. That is almost half a day and a lot longer than most people sleep or work. People have not realized yet how they or their families are being affected by this constant use of technology. As a result of technology increasing, children are experiencing health problems, school issues, and social problems.

    Read More

  • Violent Video Games Contribute to Youth Violence

    1447 Words  | 3 Pages

    ..., DF (2010). Generation M2: Media in the lives of 8-18 year olds. Merlo Park CA: Henry J Kaiser Foundation

    Read More

More about (In)Dependent on Technology

Open Document