1. Essay theme

1.Essay theme/

Media technology is here to stay and has become a permanent part of our lives. But there is great concern about how it may be affecting our children. I believe we can learn to embrace its advantages, reduce its adverse effects and raise children who can still relate heart-to-heart with people, appreciate and participate in the beauty and wonders of nature and grow up to be well-rounded, healthy, caring and compassionate adults. The challenge for parents is to understand the benefits and pitfalls of children’s technology use and to help their children create balance in their lives.

The amount of time children spend using media technology, including computers, cell phones, video games and MP3 players among others, is setting off alarms. The fear is not only that this technology is replacing physical and imaginative play, but that it also may be diminishing development of social skills, heart connection and empathy for others.child at computer

Children and teens between ages eight and 18 spend an average of seven hours and 38 minutes daily playing video games, going online and watching TV, and most have no household rules governing how much time they’re allowed to spend doing these things, according to the 2010 study, “Generation M2: Media in the Lives of 8- to 18-Year-Olds,” conducted by the Kaiser Family Foundation. Add to that the time spent eating, sleeping and attending school during the week, and little time is left for anything else such as playing outside or at the playground with other children, participating in athletics, socializing with friends and family or engaging in afterschool and weekend activities.

Text messaging can also be a developmental tool. Researchers from Coventry University studied 88 children aged between 10 and 12 to understand the impact of text messaging on their language skills. They found that the use of “textisms” could be having a positive impact on reading development and a positive effect on the way children interact with language, rather than harming literacy.

There is also media technology available today designed to significantly enhance social and emotional learning, which is critical to the development and future success of children. HeartMath developed a scientifically validated hardware/software system (emWave®) that teaches children emotion-balancing and coherence skills that can improve their academic performance, relationships with family and friends, heart intelligence and empathy, and even their ability to make wiser choices in their lives.

The technology world is a place for parents and grandparents to interact and communicate with children, even though the learning curve can be a challenge for many of us. It’s important to enter into the world where our children are increasingly spending more and more time. By learning to navigate that world with them, we can better guide them on how to manage themselves and their time within it.

As mindfulness trainer Maya Talisman Frost told TechNewsWorld: “The key to managing kids’ technology use is to establish clear ‘tech-free’ zones,” she explained. “This means recognizing times when the present moment is the priority and technology is given a secondary role. Kids need to learn that there are times when paying attention to those around you is of primary importance, no matter what type of urgent phone calls or instant messages might be coming their way.”