Abstract
Internet is becoming a most usual thing in every household. Many internet enthusiasts support the use of internet in household, but there are also some internet alarmists who think that internet is not good for the cognitive, social, and psychological development of children. Internet is like a sea of knowledge and data. As the sea contains many types of fishes, some of them very little, some very big, and some of them very dangerous and lethal, internet is the same kind of technology where there are many good and bad resources of media and data. In this study, we will try to understand the pros and cons of internet and their effect on children.
Pros and Cons of Internet & its effects on Children
Introduction
Today we are living in the information technology age, and the impact of the internet could not be denied. No matter where we are, we are using the internet at a usual rate. We cannot deny the fact that internet has now made a place inside our society and home so deeply that we won’t live without it. Social networking sites like Twitter and Facebook have become a medium of instant friendship on the internet. There are many internet enthusiasts who have become addicted to these social networking sites so much that they cannot live without logging in for an hour. These addicted enthusiasts keep updating their information on these sites every hour. Children, specially the teenagers are becoming so much engaged in internet usage that now they are becoming a part of research interest due to high level of informal internet usage found in many countries around the world (enGauge, 2003; Pitman, et al., 2002; Aisbett, 2001). But studies also suggest that in some cases internet is developing the cognitive and psychological abilities of many children of low-income groups. So to investigate the actual potential of the internet, we first have to understand its impact on the children of various age groups and its long term social implications.
We know that every human being has a different kind of nature and behaviour. Internet is a technology where a person is influenced by his friend circle and his living surroundings. Studies proved that the searching and browsing patterns of a child depend upon his influence by his friends and his parents. If they are giving him positive information then, the children will follow them, but if they are misguiding him, he or she would involve in searching and browsing unusual sites.
Internet as a tool for Children
Psychologists say that children have an enthusiasm point in their mind and because of this they try to learn every new concept and idea. This is the natural instinct of children that should be supported for their proper growth and development. Childhood is the age of exploration, and we must give children proper resources for this exploration. Internet is a good medium for them to learn and experience new ideas and concepts without getting outside. The whole universe of knowledge is just under few clicks and types away on the internet for the children who want to learn something new and open new windows of innovations and discovery for themselves. Today online classes, internet education and home schooling has been adopted worldwide in many schools and educational institutions, perhaps internet education has become a mandatory course in many schools. Many children in the low-income family groups lack behind this information technology race due to limited or no internet access. But the internet also has some cons that must be analyzed before giving the children its full access.
Benefits of using Internet
- Increased resources of learning: -- Earlier when there was no internet, students had to spend a lot of time in researching for a particular topic for learning. They had to spend a lot of time in searching a book in the library for making a thesis for a certain topic and then making a note of it. But now the internet has changed the whole scenario of researching. Many informative resources are just a click away on the internet and you can easily make a note of them on your word documents. Students can really save their time in searching for a book in the library by the use of the internet. Search engines give preference to original content, so students don’t need to research for the relevant information on internet, and they should get it on the first page of search results.
- New possibilities of earning: -- Internet has opened new sources of earning for the people who somehow are unable to get out for earning money like house wives, students, and retired people. With the advent of the internet, many freelancer sites are providing online jobs to people who are serious about earning through internet. These sites have discovered a new way of earning that sometimes is beneficial for the people who need extra bucks in urgent situations.
- Increased cognition abilities: -- Researchers have found that many online games can improve the cognitive abilities of a person like memory, spatial knowledge, and attention.
Positive Impacts of Internet on Children
- Helps in Cognitive Development of Children: -- The impact of cognitive tools is in two ways: physical e.g. printing press and psychological e.g. shared symbols. Cognitive tools have a profound impact on the development of human cognition and society. Internet can be used as a psychological, cognitive tool to increase the cognition of children. With the help of internet, you can increase the exposure of information in children that improves their quality of learning and cognitive abilities like spatial understanding, memory, logical problem-solving, and critical thinking. The children who use the internet have shown a great improvement in these abilities. Their abilities to use a thesaurus and dictionary also improve by use of internet. Some online games are also beneficial for the cognitive development of children. Online games increase the attention and perception in children.
- Increases in overall knowledge: -- Psychologists says that children have a natural enthusiasm point, and they want to learn every new information. Parents cannot provide each and every information to them because they are engaged in their official works. But the internet can work as their friend and give them enough information to increase their ability as a student. Use of internet for educational purposes by the help of animations and pictures are even helpful for the kindergarten children to improve their abilities and performance. In the case of teenager children, many questions arise inside their mind, and they look for their answer enthusiastically. Researches prove that internet can increase the level of dopamine in these children when they search something new on internet that interests them.
- Consciousness about future education: -- When children use the internet, they can understand their interests and disinterests properly that should help them to choose their future higher education group. In earlier times it was in the hands of parents to decide the occupation and higher education options for children, but with the advent of internet, children are becoming more conscious about their choice of future higher education. This very concept is making them more confident in choosing their future. Now every information about higher education, fees, and courses is available on the internet at one click and children can choose them very effectively.
Miller (2000) and Rupert (1993) suggest that some new cognitive tools available through internet can produce new patterns of thoughts and mental functioning. They insist that the human mind is the outcome of various cognitive tools developed and valued in the human society. At this point in time, there is much debate on the ways in which technologies may impact human mind.
Drawbacks of Internet
- Negative effect on relationships: -- A report published in the Science Daily suggests that internet has some negative effects on relationships. People who give most of their time to internet sometimes start ignoring their family and friends. A person’s abilities of conflict resolution also decrease with the use of internet. Now people have a choice to sign off from a conversation that gets heated. This way their natural ability to handle these types of conflicts decrease.
- Addiction to internet and social networking sites: -- Social networking sites are a great way to communicate with friends and family members but addiction to these sites is not good. Some psychologists like Jennifer R. Ferris believe that internet and social networking sites are an addiction with true psychological disorders and symptoms. She has discovered these symptoms similar to any psychological disorders like addiction, loss of relationships or job. But according to some psychologists like John M. Grohol, internet and social networking sites are like just any other social activity, and it could not be considered as an addiction. He suggests that internet is like a medium through which some people are trying to come out of their problems. He has discovered a theory supporting his statement and provided a model shown in the below figure that describes the model of his theory.
- Decrease in physical activities: -- The most negative impact today’s internet revolution is the lack of physical activities. Today there are many apps available on the internet for your Smartphone that should analyze your BMI or give you knowledge about your blood pressure and heartbeat, but this won’t displace the importance of physical activities. Our body is a biological machine, and it needs proper activities to remain fit. Internet can decrease your physical activities which are not good for your health.
Negative Impact of Internet on Children
- Internet Addiction Disorder (IAD): -- As we have already explained about the addiction of internet and social networking sites in our earlier section, internet addiction can be severe in the case of children. Because children are not considered as good decisions makers, they sometimes consider internet as necessary as their food, water, and air. Children, especially teenager children become so much addicted to the internet that they start to ignore their normal diet and activities. The American Psychological Association has recognized this as internet addiction disorder (IAD). They explained IAD as a major compulsive disorder in which one cannot resist himself of using the internet.
- Early exposure to pornographic materials: -- Today pornography market of internet has become a $3 billion earner. Millions of pornographic sites are today available at just typing a word “Porn” on your search engine. The material available on these sites is not good for the psychological development of children. Many cases have been seen today in which a child become addicted to these sites and was finally admitted in a rehabilitation centre for the treatment. A child’s mind is not mature enough to see the obscene images of pornographic materials. Adult mind is not much affected by these materials, but a children’s mind is affected abnormally by them. So the parents must have to take some initiative earlier to stop their children from the reach of pornographic materials.
- Lack of physical activities: -- Physical activities are as important for a child as they are for any adult human being. Lack of physical activities can cease the proper growth of your child and make them abnormal. Children who become addicted to internet games show less interest in outdoor games like cricket, football, or baseball, but these physical games are mandatory for their body to grow naturally. Overexposure to the computer screen can affect the eyesight of your children to a great extent.
- Behavioural issues: -- Many online games that are available today are not based upon the psychology of childrens’ mind. These games are so violent in nature that they cease the normal psychological development of child’s brain. When children are exposed too much to these kinds of games, they become desensitized to cruelty. They start to show more aggressive behaviour because these games impact their normal behaviour towards the society. Children start to think that violence is the only way of solution if they play these kinds of games. A childrens’ mind is not mature enough to differentiate between good and bad and sometimes the violence shown in some action games are considered original to them. So parents have to stop their children in excessive playing of these games.
Conclusion
Today information technology is performing a significant role in developing our society. As we have discussed various aspects of internet and we have also learned the pros and cons of internet, it is the responsibility of parents and educational institutions to follow a certain code of conduct in the use of internet. There is no doubt that the internet is the unlimited source of knowledge and material, but some of the drawbacks of it are also not feasible for the proper growth of our society. Internet is not only a boon; it can also work as a panacea for the entire digital information world. We know that we cannot stop our children totally or cease them to use the internet, but we can teach them ethical and moral values so that they should avoid unnecessary use of the internet. Many children use the internet to get rid of their boredom, so parents have to spend more time with their children in this case. Parents have to monitor every unusual step of their children on the internet, and they should use blocking softwares to block adult and pornographic sites. Internet has become a mandatory source of information and media. It has decreased the religious and demographic boundaries and people belonging from different demographics are providing online services to many institutions and companies. Social networking sites have increased our presence and help us to reach our friends and relatives who are living far away from us. As we are stepping towards our future of technology, we need to use the internet and its resources as a boon and not as a curse for the society. The wise use of this technology will open new horizons of success and prosperity, both for our children and our society.
References
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