First of all, I really enjoyed listening to Jesse Miller’s Ted Talk, he brought up so many important and relevant things to consider when it comes to children using technology, as a future teacher although the way in which technology is advancing is exciting I find it kind of scary and concerning as well. I wonder how we will be able to help students make the right decisions when it comes to not only the way in which they use technology but also having balance in their lives for how much they use it. Is this even a goal that is reachable or attainable? I’m not trying to sound negative but I kind of don’t think so. I liked how Miller brought up how many parents use technology as the “pacifier” to entertain their children. I find it sad when I go into restaurants and see children sitting there on a phone or tablet, so indulged they have no clue of anything that’s going on around them. However, it’s the parents choice to let their child use their device to be entertained and sometimes the parent isn’t aware of their surroundings either because they are on their device as well. I think many children are missing out on developing social and communication skills at early ages which is extremely important because a lot of their time is spent looking at technology. I do want to clarify that I’m not trying to put “all” children in one category as I know there are many parents out there who do monitor how much time their children spend on their devices but unfortunately there are also many who don’t. Another point Miller brought up that I can completely relate to are the selfies “look at me” photos and the amount of energy kids spend being so concerned about how many likes they get on a post. I will put a really good article below that discusses how kids brains react to getting likes on instagram and how social media often increases anxiety and depression in teens in particular. The last point from Miller’s presentation that stood out to me was how we can get kids to understand that what they choose to post on social media is there forever and is pretty much impossible to delete once it’s out there. I don’t think any 14 year old is thinking of how this will affect their future career or even chance of getting into university while they are posting one photo that could be life changing. I hope there will be a bigger emphasis on educating students of how the way in which they choose to use technology can impact their future life. However, I do believe that the way in which they choose to listen or not listen to this information is mostly up to them and out of our control.

Jesse Miller’s Ted Talk: https://www.mediatedreality.com/

Article about social media likes: https://www.mcleanhospital.org/essential/it-or-not-social-medias-affecting-your-mental-health

Feature Image by Marvin Meyer on Unsplash

I think this photo might sum it up. Photo by Pan Xiaozhen on Unsplash.