When you think of the word "childhood" what comes to mind? Playing outside, perhaps the idea of imagination? Is the first thing that popped into your head internet? For many people I would have to say the answer would be no, but on the contrary the internet is becoming something a child's world revolves around. In elementary school it was exciting to come up to the overhead projector and clean off the transparencies, but more likely than not you won't find that in today's classrooms. In classrooms while some are being taught "the golden rule" others are being taught internet etiquette. What is internet etiquette? Internet etiquette is all about how to teach children how to act responsibly using computers. I, personally was taught to treat others the way you would want to be treated face to face, I wonder if maybe internet etiquette should be taught to the older generations as well.
We know that smoking is dangerous or at least now we do but it wasn't always like that. I knew that smoking was dangerous and disgusting which is why I never knew at a young age why a certain family member would be furious with me when I flushed their cigarettes down the toilet...oops. Smoking, drugs, and alcohol, things society considers addictive behaviors but the computer? Many stand "wowed" at the idea that the computer can be addictive and in turn dangerous. Korean students at the mere age of six years old learn how to use the computers responsibly through songs that tell them: "While chatting first greet happily" and "I am the internet guardian angel, I want to be the first to protect". An elementary school in the mid 1990's located in Merrick, NY was teaching me catchy songs about respecting your neighbor and how to clean up, it seems we've come a long way. You might be thinking, "Well what is so bad about this?" Nothing is bad about this if the computer must be a part of their six and seven year old worlds but why does it have to be?
Have you ever heard of an Internet Rescue School? When I first watched the PBS documentary "Digital Nation" and came across this I laughed at how ridiculous it seemed, but the fact of the matter is in some cases this course of action is obviously necessary. How sad it is that people are being sent to these places and being detoxed from the internet, it sounds unfathomable but it's unfortunately true. Is it necessary at such a young age to be exposed to the harsh addictive reality of the internet? What happened to the times where you wanted to go bike riding and be outdoors? Now all you here is, "So and so made me go bike riding." This world is changing fast enough and kids are growing up faster than ever before even without the internet, but with the internet they might as well skip from six to twenty. I fear that with computers being the prime source of interaction children won't be able to interact naturally face to face. I wonder if something so simple and natural as talking to someone next to you, will the idea of that in ten years be absolutely mortifying?
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Computers are no longer a resource item to obtain valuable, factual information. It's not just a virtual library anymore. Library? What's a library??? Case in point. Traditional means (as we once knew it...aehhmmm "back in the day") of learning and even entertainment have taken on a whole new body of its own... computers have spawned into a means of communicating, learning, sharing, and basically our sole means of connecting with fellow human beings. Telephones, face to face interactivity, gatherings, are all pase and old-school methods yet, they are the most meaningful, memorable, and productive. Putting a child, whose brain has moldable qualities like play-dough, in front of a computer with instructions to use that as their primary means of connecting to the outside world is shameful, abusive and destructive. The internet unfortunately breeds forces that potentially harm children. While this is a fact of life, why introduce them to it at such an impressionable age? Why show them that life is a mere click of button or surf of the web to find the answers... looks like we're training the next generation of robot thinkers and not inventors who use their imagination to create.. P.S. the internet was once an idea from someone's imagination that was fueled by thought and desire... action and God's will...
ReplyDeleteInteresting topic. The internet is like a double-edged sword. It can be both so good and so destructive all at the same time. Your post makes me think of a few things...like being out in the fresh air is good for everyone and six-year olds can't get on the computer unless someone in charge allows them to do so. It's just like so many other things...moderation and responsibility are important.
ReplyDeleteIt's terrible that this world is coming to only interaction from the computer and internet. When you put someone in front of the computer to do their homework they say, "Oh, let me just check my Facebook first!" and they end up just surfing the web for four hours and their homework never gets dont. What happened to playdates? Now kids are more into video games than even their friends.
ReplyDeleteWhen you mentioned, quote, "Smoking, drugs, and alcohol, things society considers addictive behaviors but the computer?" all I could think about was my family and my own computer addiction. I'm happy to say that you've opened my eyes and I will definately be spending less time on the computer and more time with my friends and family.