Emily+Choi+RP+Post+2


 * 1.** Will technology truly cause the downfall of first-world societies?


 * 2.** The Impact of Technology on the Developing Child


 * 3.** Cris Rowan


 * 4.** [|URL]


 * 5.** Huffington Post online (May 23, 2014)


 * 6.** SOAPSTone
 * Subject:** the negative effects that technology has had on developing children of today's era
 * Occasion:** a response to the current generation's developmental trends
 * Audience:** parents raising their children in a generation "bombarded" by technology
 * Purpose:** to warn parents not to let their children be exposed to too much technology, and get them to perhaps make changes to their own lifestyles as well
 * Speaker:** pediatric occupational therapist, middle-aged woman
 * Tone:** informative, somewhat conversational, touched with veiled, disdainful criticism


 * 7.** In this Huffington Post article, Cris Rowan discusses what she feels are the ramifications of an overuse of technology on today's generation of growing children. She encourages parents to take a proactive approach in steering their children away from a technological sensory overload and instead play with them as what happened in the "good old days".


 * 8.** Technology has caused extreme negative effects in the development of young children, and parents must work to steer their children away from this technological bombardment and instead allow them to engage in forms of play more familiar to the "good old days".


 * 9.** "Correlation does not imply causation" is the first rule of correlational studies. Though correlations can be drawn between two given variables, one cannot simply draw any conclusion from the correlation and say that "X causes Y" when Y could very well be causing X, or a third unknown variable could be causing both X and Y. Such is the glaringly obvious issue that plagues this unfortunate article. Many conclusions are made, but absolutely no rationale nor proof is offered. The only sentences that seem to clue in on some kind of proof are incorrectly drawn from correlational studies; for example, high use of technology is positively correlated to the incidence of mental disorders such as depression, anxiety, and autism, but the author of this article fails to realize that it may not be technology which causes these disorders (which is in fact not possible, considering autism is a disorder with which one is born, before one even has a chance to touch a computer), but the other way around: people with these disorders are more attracted to the screen, where they feel safer and can more easily gather with like-minded individuals. Cris Rowan then goes on to make bizarre connections that "Nature ... has a calming influence on children", but as one would expect, absolutely no proof nor rationale is offered as to where these conclusions even came from. Rowan repeatedly refers to vague analyses and studies, but none in specific are cited, leading the reader to believe that she is making these conclusions from thin air. Personally, I could cede very few points to this author, and those points were the ones that were simply statistical regurgitation: "elementary aged children use on average 7.5 hours per day of entertainment technology", and so on, so forth. It is hard to argue with facts. Any argument made that was backed up with factual information was believable to me. However, for the most part, this article is mainly incorrect conclusions drawn from vague, possibly nonexistent correlational studies. This article is not at all convincing, but may be useful as a naysayer source.


 * 10.** "Reminiscing about the good old days when we were growing up is a memory trip well worth taking when trying to understand the issues facing the children of today. A mere 20 years ago, children used to play outside all day, riding bikes, playing sports and building forts. Masters of imaginary games, children of the past created their own form of play that didn't require costly equipment or parental supervision. Children of the past moved... a lot, and their sensory world was nature based and simple." //-Typical Generation X and Baby Boomer reminiscing.//

"A 2010 Kaiser Foundation study showed that elementary aged children use on average 7.5 hours per day of entertainment technology, 75 percent of these children have TV's in their bedrooms, and 50 percent of North American homes have the TV on all day." //-Hopefully solid statistics.//

"Diagnoses of ADHD, autism, coordination disorder, developmental delays, unintelligible speech, learning difficulties, sensory processing disorder, anxiety, depression, and sleep disorders are associated with technology overuse, and are increasing at an alarming rate." //-Where did this conclusion even come from? One does not simply say correlation implies causation.//

"Young children require 2-3 hours per day of active rough and tumble play to achieve adequate sensory stimulation to their vestibular, proprioceptive and tactile systems. Tactile stimulation received through touching, hugging and play is critical for the development of praxis, or planned movement patterns. Touch also activates the parasympathetic system lowering cortisol, adrenalin and anxiety." //-Interesting factual information worthy of looking into.//

"Young children who are exposed to violence through TV and video games are in a high state of adrenalin and stress, as the body does not know that what they are watching is not real." //-Probably incorrect, but I shall look into this. Actually, the phenomenon taking place with children and media violence can be seen in the Bobo doll experiment, which is something else entirely: modeling. Also, mirror neurons could be related to this as well.//

"Children who overuse technology report persistent body sensations of overall 'shaking', increased breathing and heart rate, and a general state of 'unease.'" //-This is extremely interesting, as I have never heard anything like this before. I will definitely look into this further.//