Is Technology Robbing Children of their childhood

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The advent of technology has truly revolutionized each and every sphere of life. The computer and the internet have been major technological tools that have facilitated this revolution. Ranging from productivity and efficiency in any activity, to virtual connectivity amongst people, the benefits of technology can hardly be underestimated. However, just like every coin has two sides, technology has also placed some roadblocks in people’s paths to social and intellectual development. I feel that one of the biggest banes of technology has been that it has robbed children of their simple childhood and innate innocence. With the growing addiction to computer games, online networking and aimless browsing, playing outdoor sports, reading informative books, and spending time with one’s family and friends have become rarities and alien concepts. When one visits any park, playground or open space, the sight of a few children playing can be depressing. A person from a previous generation, be it one’s parents or grandparents, may tell you that their life-defining moments were experienced on a playground and not within the confines of a closed room. No computer can teach someone how to get up after a fall. No computer can make a child experience sunshine, rain or snow. No computer can teach a child to walk or talk. These teachings of life can only be experienced by venturing out in the open world and spending time with one’s family and friends. Computers have thus robbed children of some of the most simple and pleasant experiences of childhood. In my opinion, books are the biggest source of information and enlightenment for adolescents. The genesis of a curious and intellectual mind is the assimilation of thoughts resulting out of thorough reading of books and conversations with people. While articles can be read on the computer as well, computers offer a plethora of other distractions and make diligent reading of articles an extremely arduous task. Reading books at an impressionable age always stands one in good stead. Addiction to social networking, video games and similar other technological fascinations has made today’s children and adolescents rather mechanical and disconnected. The love, affection, warmth that emanates from family members and close childhood friends is often instrumental in moulding a child’s social skills and future. One may have a thousand friends on Orkut, Facebook and other networking websites, but there is nothing more gratifying than playing or spending time with a school friend or locality friend. As a matter of fact, most of my best friends today are my childhood friends. There is no doubt that technology should be used to aid children and adolescents in their endeavors, but in no event should it hinder their social and intellectual development and rob them of some of the most defining experiences. Technological fascination such as computers and video games should never replace sports or the printed word. If parents and teachers fail to strike the right balance between exposure to technology and exposure to the simple, often defining, experiences of life, they would be unwittingly stymieing the all-round development of today’s children and adolescents.