Technology for Kids: Understand the Pros and Cons

Did you know that an estimated 85 percent of kids use gadgets like phones, tablets, and computers?

While many of them use these devices with their families, kids also frequently use them in their schools or even have their own.

With this rise of use comes concerns about the good and the bad of technology for children. While gadgets can offer much in terms of education and entertainment, their use can come with negative effects on children’s health and behavior.

Read on to learn about the good and bad when it comes to technology for kids.

Benefits of Technology for Kids

Technology can offer kids much in terms of communication, health, education, and development.

Kids can use mobile devices to call, video chat, and message family members who live far away. They can also use the devices to stay in touch with their teachers in online classrooms and complete projects with classmates.

If you want to motivate kids to move around more, smartwatches can help them become more physically active and healthy. As a side benefit, these watches can help parents monitor your children’s location and keep them safe.

When a child uses technology, they can access instructional materials that help them develop skills and learn better. For example, schools sometimes use online textbooks with instruction manual drawings that help kids learn visually. Kids can access such materials and even full online courses through their tablets and phones.

Screen time can also help kids become better coordinated, improve their language skills, and lead them to become creative problem-solvers. 

Downsides of Too Much Screen Time

While technology for kids offers many benefits, problems can happen when kids get too much screen time.

Instant gratification through gadgets can cause kids to become impatient and have a worse attention span. This can hurt them in school and in their future careers.

Kids may also lose some of their creativity when they use gadgets too much. Rather than coming up with their own ideas and projects, they may use technology as a crutch to entertain them.

Technology use can also potentially harm kids’ health. They can become less active if they spend hours a day on gadgets rather than regular play. Eye issues can also become a problem.

Kids’ socialization skills could also decline with frequent screen time. While gadgets allow kids to communicate with others, they still need to spend time with people in person for the best development. 

Further, technology use comes with the risk of addiction even with kids. This can mean a spike in anxiety and behavioral issues when kids can’t use the devices.

Have Kids Use Technology the Smart Way

To help get mainly just the benefits of technology for kids, you can take steps to plan for healthier usage.

For example, you should come up with limits for your kids’ screen time and closely keep an eye on the sites and apps they use. Encourage plenty of offline activities too such as board games, outdoor play, and art projects.

For more technology tips for your family, check out our other posts.