A child’s development is one of the most crucial aspects for the parents. Especially in today’s era when the challenges of parenting are ever growing, parents need to put a lens on the overall development of their child. One of the most difficult things to deal with in a child’s development is the Internet and aspects associated with it.
With technological exposure and advancement, social challenges, change in lifestyle, and other factors, it is for sure that the development of children has been majorly influenced by the Internet and digital gadgets. The effects of the Internet exposure on children of this generation are equally positive and negative. Let’s have a look at some of the factors in your child’s development that are affected by the Internet.
The Impact Of Internet On Child’s Development
School Performance
It is no surprise that the Internet has information in galore. This information is both positive and negative. Most of the projects and assignments need advanced research and this can be done in a jiffy through the Internet.
Children learn a lot of new things about their subject and other such concepts. They can then implement them in amplifying their performance at school. While on the other side, children can get involved in the activities that are irrelevant and this can affect their attention span. This eventually leads to poor performance and grades in school.
To make sure the child’s development is robust and they perform well in school even under the influence of the Internet, parents should filter websites and keep a check on the material their kids are accessing on the World Wide Web. This will reduce the negative side hence keeping their performance in check.
Distraction
There are so many things available on the Internet that can distract your child. The kind of distraction we are talking about here is the span of concentration or attention your child can denote to anything.
As per the research, it is now justified that the child’s brain is in the developing stages when it is exposed to technology. Psychology Today published an article by Jim Taylor, Ph.D. that said heightened technology exposure might actually be changing the way children’s brains are wired. This exposure can alter the span your child can focus on anything. They can process multiple information at the same time through the Internet and this divides their attention.
Also, talking about the generation we(parents) grew up in, we spent most of our time reading or imagining or doing only one thing at a time. This gives space to the brain so that it can concentrate on a single thing for long. But this is not the case with our children now. This visual stimulation leaves a squeezed margin for kids to imagine and grow at a natural pace.
Health Issues
The adverse effects of increasing digitization in our day to day life also includes deteriorating health. Long durations spent on the mobile or computers have affected the physical structure of kids of this generation.
Broadly, children suffer from ailments related to eyes, neck, spinal cord, hands, arms, finger numbness, hearing loss, and other such factors. To combat these issues, parents must force their child to denote some time to light physical exercises and frequent breaks in their screen time. Doing this can help in a child’s development in a proper way.
Temperamental Variations
A lot of studies and research at multiple institutions have revealed that there have been noticeable variations in the temperament of a child. One such study was by Seattle Children’s Research Institute and the Journal of Youth and Adolescence found a connection between increased aggression and simulated violence.
The brain of a child is very fragile and it cannot differentiate if the information it is getting is healthy or not. Their minds are vulnerable to the content they come across. This content can include frightening elements as well. A number of cartoons, anime, videos, or games available on the Internet explicitly suggest aggression or violence. Children who are addicted to video games stimulating agitation or violence seem to be behaving in the same manner. They become less empathetic and do not hold back from arguing with their elders or getting involved in a real fight. Furthermore, a lot of kids express different kinds of fear including being alone or nightmares or sleeping alone.
Emotional Development
Due to endless engagement on digital devices, children these days stay limited to themselves and their parents. The feelings of intimacy, love, and expressions go unknown and unnoticed by these children.
In the real world, a child’s development is influenced by the way people speak and express their views. These Gen-Z kids feel disconnected from the real world and take the events of their virtual world more seriously. In this case, kids do not feel comfortable communicating with others in their habitat. They are not emotionally active and find it difficult to manage their feelings.
Physical Activity
It is sure that we millennials grew up playing outdoor games but physical activities are very much limited to merely some minutes for this Generation Z. It is for sure that physical activities shape up the overall growth and development of an individual.
But due to the pandemic and surge of activities on the Internet, kids these days prefer to stay home and spend their time ogling at the digital screens. This hinders their natural growth and as a result limits their physical activities.
Final Thoughts
Everything in this world has its own advantages and disadvantages. The Internet is the same. Some of these effects discussed above can be neutralised if monitored strictly by the parents. Remember, it is the parents that introduce these kids to digital vulnerabilities.
Being parents, it is your duty to limit the usage and exposure of the Internet to the kids. It is advisable that you use a parental control app and do not let kids below 2 years to use the Internet.