Williams 1

Destiny Williams
Professor Cuddy
Written Communication II
February 19, 2019

Technology is Ruining Young Kids

We are currently in a time where technology is running the world. The point in which

people are introduced to technology is getting younger and younger. Technology includes the use

of materials, tools, techniques, and sources of power to make life easier or more pleasant and

work more productive.(Alghamdi 3) Through great study of research performed by various

universities of the adverse effects of technology in elementary school classrooms, it is obvious

that young students should not be dependent on technology in the learning environment at such

an early age. By investigating the difference in social skills and academic success of students in a

technology centered classroom versus those who are not, it is possible to prove that

technology-based learning at the primary level is ultimately not beneficial to the mind of the

young scholar.

Technology is seen as a way to enhance a student's learning experience.(CITE

HERE)These advances have wedged their way into our society and have truly begin to takeover

resulting in a backfire of the efforts to implement easy access learning. Easy access learning is

when every bit of information that the child needs is at their fingertips, resulting in them having

to do little to no critical thinking. Our society insists on trying to fix things that were never

broken. A traditional approach to learning was quickly modified to make learning more

convenient. This has been a perennial problem, an issue with a very orthodox method of

learning.(​Gunter 1​) Incorporating technology as a learning tool has caused technology to take the
 Williams 2

place of learning facilitator. So, what is the purpose of the teacher? Babysitter? There was a point

in time where teachers were the ones in charge of classroom and all that it entails, but this is no

longer the case.

When we analyze student performance from before time when technology was

represented in a much different manner than when technology was included in the classroom.

According to Khanlarian and Singh, students tend to get frustrated when technology is heavily

apart of their lesson. When there were no technological advances within the elementary school

classrooms students would catch and remember the curriculum a lot quicker than the students of

today's time. This fact is believed to be true due to the short attention spans that the devices used

are creating within young kids.(Khanlarian and Singh 4) The more that technology advances, the

lack of motivation students receive. So many young students often say that they dislike school

and research shows that this is a negative effect that technology is having on kids. Technology is

beginning to give students less confidence in their own learning abilities. (Flanagan 22)

Technology affects students grades kindergarten to Fifth most via their social skills.

Being that this age range is where they are learning basic social skills it is so easy to offset this

development. Social interaction in the classroom can be student to teacher or just between

students. Educators are taught that human connection usually has the greatest impact on the

students. If not careful, technology will begin to be the head of the classroom. There will be

absolutely no need for teachers to teach. Students will do everything on their devices causes our

society to become even more robotic. (West 6) Now, another huge part to this is the idea that

students tend to follow and develop certain behavioral patterns. The fact that these young minds

are being granted limitless screen time at home and quite a bit a school is causing their behavior
 Williams 3

to be off.(Alghamdi 10)

In order to solve this problem, the reset button should be pressed in efforts to go back to

the basics. Students should be guided in strengthening their basic skill sets in order to see

improvement in all areas in support of their academic success. Personal technological devices

that belong to the scholars should be prohibited in the classroom as a way to break the constant

dependency of these items. Lastly, schools should encourage the parents to limit the screen time

that their students receives while at home. These are all strategies to combat the adverse effects

that technology have had on the young minds of K-5 students.

 Williams 4

BIBLIOGRAPHY

Alghamdi, Yasser.Negative Effects of Technology on Children of Today. Research

Gates, 2017

Bavelier, Daphne et al. “Children, wired: for better and for worse.” ​Neuron​ vol. 67,5

(2010): 692-701. doi:10.1016/j.neuron.2010.08.035

Flanagan, Jennifer Lyn, "Technology : The Positive And Negative Effects On Student

Achievement" (2008). Education and Human Development Master's Theses. 254.

Gunter, S.C (2002). Integrating technology in the classroom. Canada: Thompson:

Learning

Khanlarian, Cindi. (2015). DOES TECHNOLOGY AFFECT STUDENT

PERFORMANCE. Global Perspectives on Accounting Education. 12. 1-22.

West, Darrell. What happens if Robots take the Jobs?. Technology Innovation, 2015