Patel 1

Ruhi Patel
Malcolm Campbell
UWRIT 1103
2 November 2016
Toddlers and Technology: Is our new generation suffering or succeeding?
A two-year-old child, barely able to speak and still stumbling when she tries to walk, is
able to efficiently navigate an iPad by swiftly moving her tiny, uncoordinated fingers across the
smooth glass surface of the backlight screen. The lights flash and the bright colors pop, enslaving
her senses and captivating her easily impressionable mind. She is completely absorbed in the
device laying across her lap, way too big to be used by someone so delicate and small. This is a
scene we see far too often today. Parents use these electronic devices to pacify their screaming
child, who comes to love the connection he or she has built with this object so much that they no
longer desire human interaction. Children go to the park and yet are still seen glued to
technology even under the bright blue sky. They are surrounded by others their age and people
who love them, and yet they have grown to neglect the human touch and only desire the instant
gratification that technology can provide.
At the same time, we also see these children learning to read and write at a much younger
age than developmental experts had previously imagined possible. They have mastered the
knowledge of navigating technology long before they could ride a bike and are continuously
developing and expanding that knowledge base with every ounce of exposure they receive. From
a parental perspective, its so easy to give a screaming child an iPad and instantly be blessed with
peace and silence; however, this is also positively reinforcing negative behavior. So the question
then is what is the right thing to do? Is it alright to expose young children to the technological

Patel 2
world or should we wait until they grow and their minds are less sensitive to any undesired
detrimental effects?
To see the effects technology can have, it is important to first identify the proper
milestones for development. During the first year of a childs life, nurture is the best thing a
parent can provide for a child. An article posted by the American Psychological Association
(APA) says that meeting a babys needs quickly and warmly encourages the infant to trust their
environment more and explore their surrounds. Parental involvement is important because it
helps build the foundation for social, emotional, and cognitive development throughout the
childs life. According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), by the age of
one, a child should be able to use simple gestures to communicate and mimic words and actions
performed by adults. By the age of two, a child should begin to show more independence by
being more defiant and throwing temper tantrums. They start playing make-believe games,
which continues until they are about 5 years old. Children rely heavily on their creativity and
imagination during their early childhood to fight their boredom on their own. The CDC also
placed a lot of emphasis on motor development, including the transition from sitting up to
crawling to walking and finally to running. It can be assumed from this information that it is very
important for motor development to occur on time.
It is no secret that todays youth are growing up a lot differently than we are. A
Huffington Post article published in 2013 takes a look at how imaginative playtime has
disappeared and has instead been replaced by technology, leading to increased physical,
psychological, and behavioral disorders. Some of these disorders include autism, developmental
delays, unintelligible speech, anxiety, sleep disorders, and depression. Child obesity and diabetes
have also risen at alarming rates, although it is difficult to say if technology wais a strong

Patel 3
contributing factor to this observation. A study conducted by the CDC also shows a significant
increase in ADHD from the early 1990s till now. These suggesttudies show technology has the
potential to affect us and our future generation a deeper level than we previously thought.
Juju Chang, an ABC nNews reporter, performed a study on the Klause family in New
Jersey and asked the parents to keep their daughters off of electronic devices for one month and
record their observations. The girls found they had a lot more time to pursue other hobbies
without the distraction of technology. They also had to resort to their imagination for
entertainment when playing with analog toys. If all of this is possible by staying away from
technology for one month, what would be the effects long term? To answer that question, we first
have to look at the negative behaviors technology can promote.
The National Library of Medicine published a journal written by three doctors- Daphne
Bavelier, C. Shawn Green, and Matthew W. G. Dye- who are specialists in developmental and
cognitive psychology. Their studies showed strong correlations with violence in entertainment
media and violence in children. This is because children began to accept these violent actions at
as a social norm. Violence in media also has been tiedfound to promote antisocial tendencies,
such as hostility, deceitfulness, impulsivity, irritability, and aggression (Antisocial Personality
DisorderMayo Clinic). Exposing the impressionable minds of children to violent media can
possiblyalso result in drug abuse and substance dependence at a young age. This is because
children see it all the time in movies and TV shows; they began to accept it as a part of life.
The same study also showed an increase in internet addiction, claiming that 10-20% of
youth either have or are at-risk internet addicts. While the American Medical Association does
not recognize internet addiction as a disorder, there is an abundance of scientific evidence that
claims internet-use has the potential to become pathological. This means that normal functioning

Patel 4
is reduced because these individuals invest a significant amount of time using technology and
have difficulty returning to reality. Unfortunately, it is difficult to see how such pathological use
develops, so it is not yet possible to see if technology has a direct impact on this problem.
A study was conducted at the Barnard University Toddler Center by Dr. Tovah Klien, a
pediatric social and emotional development specialist, in 2014 looked at the distractibility in
toddlers when performing certain activities. The test was an observational study where toddlers
were given traditional toys and iPads to play with. When they were playing with the iPads,
almost all of the children were completely absorbed in their devices and oblivious to their
surroundings. There was no communication between them and they were unresponsive to the
questions and comments from their supervisor. When the children were given the traditional toys,
they became verbal, social, and creative again. It was also observed that their vocabulary
significantly increased when they played with the analog toys. Another study published by the
National Library of Medicine in 2010 showed extensive exposure to technology and multitasking
between devices leads to attentional deficiencies. This is because individuals are less able to
filter out distracting information from the environment and hads difficulty paying attention to
one task. As a result, visual memory, imagination, and sleep decrease.
While the evidence for the negative effects can seem overwhelming, there have been just
as many studies that show positive effects. One of the main effects developmental psychologists
and pediatricians look at are educational and learning enhancements. Children have more access
to information than any generation before them. Free programs like TED talks and Khan
Academy provide thought-provoking lectures and tutoring. The adolescent brain also has a
higher plasticity and is more susceptible to adapting and learning. Studies have proven that
children exposed to educational media at a young age have higher language literacy and develop

Patel 5
basic mathematical skills earlier. This media, however, must engage and elicit active
participation. Certain television programs also help children deal with conflict resolution and
show them how to foster healthy relationships with their peers (Bavelier, Green, Matthew).
It has been proven that technology canAnother effect of technology is can it help develop
strong interpersonal communication skills. One NPR reporter spoke to Dr. Georgene Troseth, a
cognitive development specialist at Vanderbilt University. Dr. Troseth has conducted a study
about how Skype and video chat can impact a baby. Her results showed that Skype can help
babies learn to communicate because it mimics live interactions with people. It isnt like TV
because it requires participation, which is key to learning. Therefore, it can be concluded that
media can be educational and beneficial if it relies on the childs response or participation.
Some of the studies that prove the positive effects of technology completely contradict
the studies that proved the consequences. For example, Dr. Patricia Greenfield, a developmental
psychologist at the UCLA, published a journal article that said mindless action video games can
result in an improvement of attention to detail, motor, and visual skills. Another study performed
by Dr. Jay Giedd, a child psychiatrist at UCSD, said violent video games actually reduce
violence in youth because while it does desensitize their minds to violence, it allows them to
release their aggression without actually harming anyone. These studies shows that results are
subjective and can be conducted derived to show either result.
Despite the conflicting studies, it can be concluded that anything can be good when used
in moderation. The studies that proved the negative effects took advantage of extensive and
unlimited exposure to technology while the positive effects relied on closely monitored and
limited exposure. The official AAP recommendations say children under the age of two should
not be exposed to technology, but there is no evidence that can firmly prove electronic devices

Patel 6
are bad when used in moderation. Parental discretion is the most important aspect in determining
how technology will affect a child. In the end, a clear conclusion cant be derived because
evidence is limited. Technology hasnt been around long enough to create one solid statement
about the long-term effects. To ensure the best environment for the development of a child, it is
very important to take a break from electronic devices every now and then and nurture creativity.
Hands on activities and personal involvement are the keys to a bright future and can be achieved
with or without technology.

Patel 7
Works Cited
Antisocial Personality Disorder. Symptoms and Causes. Mayo Clinic, 02 Apr. 2016. Accessed
08 Nov. 2016
Bavelier, Daphne, C. Shawn Green, and Matthew W. G. Dye. Children, Wired- for Better and
for Worse. Neuron. U.S. National Library of Medicine, 09 Sept. 2010. Web. Accessed
15 Oct. 2016.
Child Development. PBS Parents. PBS. Accessed 07 Nov. 2016.
Developmental Milestones. CDC. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, 18 Aug. 2016.
Accessed 07, Nov. 2016
Generation iPad: Could It Hurt Toddlers' Development? ABC News Productions, 20 Nov.
2014. Web. 17 Oct. 2016.
Giedd, Jay N. The Digital Revolution and Adolescent Brain Evolution. The Journal of
Adolescent Health: Official Publication of the Society of Adolescent Medicine. U. S.
National Library of Medicine, Aug 2012. Accessed 12 Oct. 2016
Greenfield, Patricia. Technology and Informal Education: What Is Taught, What Is Learned.
National Center for Biotechnology Information. U.S. National Library of Medicine, 2
Jan. 2009. Accessed 08 Nov. 2016
Parents and Caregivers Are Essential to a Childs Healthy Development. APA. American
Psychological Association, 2016. Accessed 07 Nov. 2016
Rowan, Cris. The Impact of Technology on the Developing Child. The Huffington Post.
TheHuffingtonPost.com, 29 May 2013. Accessed 05 Oct. 2016
Swing, E. L., D. A. Gentile, C. A. Anderson, and D. A. Walsh. Television and Video Game
Exposure and the Development of Attention Problems. National Center for
Biotechnology Information. U. S. National Library of Medicine, 5 July 2010. Accessed

Patel 8
08 Nov. 2016