Keys to raise awareness among children about the use of new technologies
We are worried about being late for work, but when we have been walking for ten minutes and are about to get to the subway station, we forget that we have left our mobile phone at the entrance of the house and we have to go back, even if this supposes that , now, we are going to be late to work.
Despite this, we return to the mobile, because we are not able to separate ourselves from this object in a whole morning. When you finally arrive at the stop, you enter the subway car and feel that nobody is looking at you because all the passengers are crestfallen. Children, adolescents, adults ... no matter the age, everyone is looking at some electronic device .
Parents calming the tantrums of their children by mobile or tablet, people talking on the phone, ears with helmets, people self-photographing with the famous selfies ... It seems that we do not realize that we are losing much of our life, an immensity of details that they pass in front of us and we are not able to perceive them because we are permanently fixing our attention on a screen that immerses us in a virtual reality, apparently similar to the real one, but far from being so. This context It is necessary to raise awareness among children about the proper use of new technologies .
- Related article: "How to educate children on the use of the Internet: 10 tips"
Social networks: a niche of true or false friendships?
We believe we have hundreds and thousands of virtual friends, a concept that differs greatly from that of a "lifelong friend". Friend is that person with whom you share your time walking, playing sports, visiting countless places, drinking in a bar, talking in a park ... but not the one that gives you one of your photos. Social networks, contrary to what we believe, favor the deterioration of human relationships , since we relate more with these "virtual friends" than with people face to face.
Parents make use of these technologies and make them available to their children with only a few years of life. It is not strange to see how two-year-old children use their own tablets better than many adults. The problem is that if a child who has certain difficulties to interact, since childhood is allowed to be exposed a lot of hours to new technologies, instead of helping him develop his social skills , we will be contributing to the development of a possible future internet addiction.
It is essential to dedicate time to our children from a young age and encourage the development of social skills by going down to the park, favoring face-to-face relationships, carrying out cooperative games and, more importantly, knowing how to set limits to the hours of exposure to these new technologies.
Children are eager to have a mobile phone that is getting younger and younger, but what they do not know is the amount of things that will be lost by incorporating that device into their lives. In addition, it has been scientifically proven that excessive use of electronic devices such as computers, tablets or mobile phones It can produce alterations such as sleep disorders, aggression and difficulties in the development of language.
- Maybe you will be surprised: "FOMO syndrome: feeling that the life of others is more interesting"
Risks of misuse of new technologies in childhood
It is evident that new technologies have introduced numerous advances in communication, industry, commerce and, what is very important, medicine, but we must not forget the risks that can be derived from their irresponsible use.
The disadvantages of new technologies appear when they are misused. In recent years we have heard of terms such as cyberbullying or cyberbullying, grooming, carding, phising or pharming. Well, for those who do not know them, it's about crimes committed through new technologies , which are often used as a means through which to insult, threaten, harass or swindle other people.
Many times we are not aware of the danger that social networks have in society, and even more in the lives of children. We share everything we do, where we are, where we come from and where we are going, and this involves a huge risk.
It is important make us aware that something that was created to make our lives easier, can complicate it . We dedicate many hours of our day to social networks and, for what purpose? We go to a concert and all we think about is recording the artist so we can share it online, we meet our idol in the street and instead of exchanging some words with it, we just take a photo and share it on Instagram. Do the experiment, get close to a group of friends in a bar, and see if any of them does not have the phone on the table or is using it. But is that really what we mean by enjoying? Let's stop to think and let others think.
Finally, I would like to recommend a short film that magnificently reflects the concern expressed.
