In the modern world, internet forms a center stage for nearly all activities and aspects in the social, political and economic dimensions of the society. For example, it plays an imperative role for schools, governments, business enterprises and individuals. It has transformed the global culture creating a new cultural experience not only for corporate firms, government and adults, but also children within homes and at school. It has been adopted in schools as a learning enhancement tool and as a means of communication transforming social interactions in the society. Additionally, it has been used as a means through which people take advantage of greater opportunities through acquisition of new knowledge improving fulfillment of life and productivity.
The internet provides an unparalleled channel where immeasurable amounts of knowledge, art and culture facilitating accessibility to information and communication. With increased globalization, it has led to the removal of barriers of communication between nations promoting the democratization process. Although the internet is predominantly used by adults, children and teenagers have also adopted the trending technology. For example, the use of television and phones has been part of the young people’s lives opening a platform which for further research, communications and interactions all around the world. This paper seeks to establish the impact of internet on children whether it has promoted creativity and smartness or a tool that has improved the way people interact.
For the majority of the children, the use of internet has become a norm just as watching the television and talking on the phone. It has become part of their daily activities enabling them to do further research and interact with the rest of the globe. It has been a tool creating an environment where the students engage in academic curiosity revolutionizing education and enabling the student to explore the world in a new way. The internet also provides a framework where students not only gather new information, but also express themselves through various platforms such as blogs. There has been numerous researches in regard to the effects of the internet on children some stating that it has had numerous benefits on their growth. However, it is imperative to recognize that excessive exposure of children to the internet also have shortcomings.
The interesting twist in regard to the use of the internet is that the majority of the children who can benefit from its use do not have access to the internet. This is explained through the classic digital divide in the globe where the majority of the children in developing countries have no access to the internet. With the development of technology and availability of modern technology to children, have become smarter. For example, preschool children have learnt how to navigate themselves through iPads and phones and explore different sites such as YouTube.
Children have high levels of curiosity demanding to know everything in details. This can be helpful as watching new things have the possibility of increasing their IQ and expand their levels of thinking. For example, the use of the internet has been found to improve the standardized reading scores. Additionally, it has been found that the internet encourages children to develop self direction in learning. However, the ability of children to benefit from the internet is based on what the children are using the internet. For example, they can be using the internet for socializing or to learn new knowledge and insights. It is essential to note that children in the modern world spend more time on their electronic gadgets such as phones, laptops and television, more that they spend with playing and meeting people.
It has been found out that more than 90 percent of American teenagers frequently use the internet to gather information for their homeworks. However, significant time is also spent on social media sites such as MySpace, Chatrooms, Facebook, Twitter and sending emails. There has been numerous concerns about the impact it has had on the children especially on their social skills. For example, the use of the internet and other electronic devices reduces the time children spend with their peers and parents. However, the social sites have enabled children to communicate with distant relatives and establish new friends and retain communication with old friends. It encourages shy children to of their shell and communicate with people, which may have an impact on their ability to communicate with people physically.
The use of the internet by young people has the potential to improve their communication skills equipping them to appreciate other people. They are also able to find intriguing information that they find difficult or embarrassing to ask other people. There has been questions in regard to the psychological impact of children using internet such as effects on self esteem and ability to cause depression. However, research has found that the internet does not affect children in terms of causing depression and self esteem. Rather, it has been found to improve visual and spatial skills, which are essential in learning and development. They also improve reading abilities, but there has been no significant change on their mathematical capabilities.
The internet has also been essential in enabling children to access information privately, which might be good as well as bad based on the content they access. For example there has been cases when children access adult videos, which they are not mentally prepared to handle. This has led to the introduction of various measures by regulatory authorities aimed at regulating the accessibility of internet in schools and other public places. For example, Children’s Protection Internet Protection Act required that all schools, public and private libraries to block obscene websites. There has been cases when children are influenced by strangers they meet on the internet, which can be harmful. Excessive use of the internet can be addictive especially the social media sites where the young people socialize with other people. Therefore it is essential for parents and guides to provide guidance to children on the usage of the internet. Depending on the guidance or lack of it provided to children technology can be a blessing or a bane. Children must be guided on how to recognize good and evil on the internet.
The ability of using the internet is the factor that will determine whether the children will be positively impacted. If children excessively use the social media sites for communication, there is a high possibility of making them more social rather than smarter. However, there is vast information on the internet and children not only visit the social media sites but also numerous information required for their homeworks and general information. The internet is a collection of many minds, based on their arguments and opinions which may not be a reality. However, people do not view the internet as a source developed by people and their opinions and arguments can be disproved. The internet can make a person smarter only when one is pursuing a specific goal searching different topics and expand understanding on that specific topic.
Therefore, for children the internet enables them to understand their topics more clearer through searching different sites on the same topic expanding their understanding of different concepts and ideas learnt from the classroom. There has been numerous studies showing that there are many instances in which internet makes people smarter and children are not an exemption to these studies. The use of the internet has been found to improve the decision making process and memory of people. This has been based on research findings that the use of the internet improve the brains especially in the parts of brain associated with complex reasoning.
In conclusion, the internet is a common and a daily aspect of people in their day to day activities in social, economic and political activities. It has become a common phenomenon in the modern world to use the internet just as people commonly talk on their phones. Although it has highly been associated with adults, children have also adopted the use of the internet for social interactions and gathering information related to their studies. The increased use of internet has attracted numerous researches where they have established that it has a great impact on children’s level of smartness. It has been found to improve the ability of children on standardized tests, increasing memory and activity of the brain in complex reasoning parts of the brain. However, whether the internet will increase socialism or smartness in a child depends on the guidance of the child from guardians and parents.
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