23 Apr Technology and the Child

In today’s world we are blessed with advancements in technology that were not even conceivable a generation ago. These advancements have helped us as humans immensely in the fields of medicine, education, finance, design etc.

There is no taking away from the fact that some technology has made people’s lives a lot easier.

However, with anything new that makes something easier there is a trade off.

I’m sure many of you might remember when you wanted to know what a certain word meant you were given an encyclopedia and told to go look it up.

It was in this practice of flicking through the pages to locate the word and then carefully reading the explanation that a lot of conscious attention was given and effort was made. This combination of attention, effort and focus allowed the brain to narrow its focus and slip into a more suggestible state where learning happens.

Nowadays one can simply press a button on a phone and “Voila” the explanation is presented to you.

This I’m sure you will agree is extremely helpful and saves a lot of time but at the expense of the old spiritual practice of getting out the encyclopedia and searching for the word yourself.

The more focused attention we hold on a subject while being in a receptive brain state the easier it is for the brain to memorize the information and the easier it can be to recall that information later on.

So you can see, there is a benefit to effort and there is also a hormonal reward for doing so.

How good does it feel to finally find the word or explanation you were searching for after minutes of searching?

Pretty nice isn’t it.

Where am I going with this you might ask?

When we remove the effort we are also removing some of the power of the reward and in turn the brain doesn’t imprint the information as much as it would have if effort was used.

If you think back to all the times you really felt the most proud of yourself and all the times you felt the most accomplishment you might find that it was often following a huge effort on your part.

We all feel better AFTER we go to the gym.

So effort is a key principle in learning, accomplishment and success.

Technology for children can for sure help them in certain circumstances but it can also limit them.

On a neurochemical level, the very impressionable and sensitive nature of a child’s mind acts like a sponge.

When a child is exposed to screens and information at such a constant and excitable level the hormones of excitability and pleasure are increased massively.

This over time has the effect of over stimulating their dopamine receptors, in other words – without effort their brains are now overactive.

The issue here is that all this is occurring in silence and is not just obvious from an outside perspective.

Until you try to take the screen away from them that is. Then you will see the hormonal change in real time as the result is often a huge emotional outburst of rage and or tears.

Over time a child literally becomes addicted to these hormones and if they cannot get their fix for whatever reason their behaviour changes.

Now we can begin to see where a lot of these behavioural issues in children are being driven from.

This is not to say all behavioural issues are due to screens and social media but on a chemical level you can see how it does help.

Children’s brains are creative by their very nature and they crave excitement. Children evolve through play and if they don’t get their mental stimulation by being outdoors interacting with each other and nature then they will use whatever tools they can find to occupy themselves.

Unfortunately, for most children today a screen is what is being provided.

Technology doesn’t need to be removed entirely, it does however need to be used consciously and it also needs to be treated with respect for its addictive power.

Just like alcohol, drugs and smoking, technology is just as addictive if not more addictive than the rest.

On top of this we must look at the quality of content that children are exposed to on these devices.

When a child’s programme or social media platform is “free” then it is YOUR CHILD that is the product and believe it or not – not all information available online for children is safe, even if it appears to be.

So if you are to take anything away from this article it might be this,

Technology has its place as a helpful tool to help children navigate certain things and learn new information but should not be at the expense of their creativity, curiosity and innocence.

Just like any tool we need to learn how it works, what it is designed for and how to use it safely before using it.

You wouldn’t hand an 8 year old an electric saw and just let them off to do as they please, so why hand them a device that can be programmed to elicit reactions in their brain that alters their belief systems and behaviours without teaching them first how to use it.

A tool is something that we should use for our benefit and not something that uses us.

It is not my intention for this article to come across as an anti technology rant but I have treated thousands of children who need help for the very reasons I have outlined here.

I say it all the time that our children are the future and whatever we find that may hinder their future in any way needs to be brought into the light and questioned.

We have an obligation to question the safety and efficacy of everything recommended and advertised to our children at least until the time they can do it for themselves.