Does technology inhibit or enhance childhood creativity? | Digital Letterpress: Part 8
As times change, the way we educate and grow changes. At least, it should change. I’ve spoken many times in this blog about the dangers of becoming stagnant and refusing to change. With the introduction of technology into society, major concerns have been raised over its affect on children and teens. Is technology restricting creativity and thinking? Is it turning children into thoughtless consumers? Some concerns are worth looking at, but to judge technology as a thought-killer altogether does a disservice to its potential impact in the development of our young people. With smart implementation, new devices, media, and social networking can enhance the lives of our children and teens. As ensuing generations grow alongside the existence of technology, that technology will increasingly influence the ways in which individuals of those generations develop.
The integration of technology at a young age offers children opportunities to learn differently from past generations. The fear that it inhibits creativity can easily be overcome by parents responsibly including it in ways that enhance learning. Educational apps that teach reading, writing, and language-skills are wonderful resources. I remember being young and my mother using flashcards to teach me reading and language. Electronic devices are the modern flashcards. They are intuitive for children and are interactive. When children feel like learning is fun and simple, they will hunger for more of it.
If consumed irresponsibly, technology can be a wasteful danger. The intellectual rewards, however, outweigh those risks. Aside from those elementary educational activities I mentioned above, what if kids are interested in a life of inventing and programming? Introducing them to digital concepts earlier will help them tremendously later in life. When a child may be the next great innovator, it’s dangerous to hinder him or her from learning how software and hardware is composed. Creativity doesn’t have to be killed by technology; it should be enhanced. In her 2011 TED talk, Shilo Shiv Suleman showed glimpses of the incredible imagination that iPads can inspire. Her interactive storytelling in no way would hinder the ingenuity of a child. Instead of seeing the iPad as a danger to children’s reading habits, she looked at it as an opportunity to evolve reading for new generation.
During their developing stages, children seek ways both discover and grow their personal identities. The development of the internet has influenced the way children identify themselves. Because of the interconnectivity, they are able to bond with people in an effort to define their place in the world. Katie Davis’s article in the Journal of Adolescent Research defines this crucial stage in a child’s life:
Erikson (1968) described adolescence as a period of identity formation during which individuals revisit their childhood identifications as they become aware of the roles valued by society. In the process, they confront for the first time such questions as “Who am I? How do I fit into the world around me?” The changes to one’s sense of self that take place during this time are influenced both by cognitive transformations and socialization processes. (Coming of Age Online: The Development Underpinnings of Girls’ Blogs)
For many young people, those questions are often answered by interactions through the internet. Being able to identify with a blogger or a friend through a message board helps cement that child’s journey. The connection provided by texting has also affected the formation of this generation’s individuals. Constant communication allows children to mold themselves based on the opinions of friends and influencers.
Just like with education, the older generation should train the younger in how to responsibly utilize technology without allowing negative influences to affect their personal development. Connection and communication can be a great asset to individual growth, but dangers exist there as well. It’s important to include technological education alongside other foundational lessons taught by parents or caretakers.
Technology, along with influencing a child’s individual development, goes a long way in placing them in society. I referenced the interconnectivity provided by social media and the internet. That connectivity defines how this new generation fits with one another and with members of previous generations. Social interactions are no longer limited to face-to-face conversation or meeting. It now exists in the digital space, in texts, in forums. It faces the same real-life challenges like bullying or peer pressure, but it takes place through digital devices. Katie Davis goes on to explain that the internet “provides individuals with even more options for identity experimentation.” Children and teens still must find and develop their identities, but now that process buds alongside their “cyber-life.” Technology, whether positively or negatively, affects the way children now grow up.
As I covered in a previous blog post, I believe it’s our responsibility now to train younger people in how to correctly use this technology. While younger people seem to be born with the ability to operate computers, phones, or tablets, they aren’t born with the do’s and don’ts of digital interaction. We should be teaching them how to present themselves on social media, how to civilly act around others, and how to treat their online personas as true extensions of themselves. Kevin Devitt and Debi Roker look at how some parents utilize mobile phones to stay connected with their children: “Overall, parents and young people saw mobile phones as an essential feature of modern life — for convenience, for safety, for managing family life and social lives” (The Role of Mobile Phones in Family Communication). Children and teens need to know that actions performed in the digital world oftentimes result in consequences in real life. Too many people act as if online interaction requires little to no decency. It takes education and discipling by caretakers to mentor children in the ways to utilize that technology.
At the end of the day, viewing technology only as a danger in child development is a bit blind. Yes, there are dangers, but the advantages outweigh them. Letting children mindlessly play countless hours of games and watch seven hours of television isn’t healthy. But finding ways to interact with educational and imaginative media can enhance a child’s development. It’s also important that the caretaker take part in the child’s digital education as well. Instead of just giving the kid an iPad and expecting him or her to be entertained for a few hours, parents should be sitting down with the child and experiencing the activity at the same time. The child ultimately needs the human interaction, or the digital enhancement will have no positive effect. That training and mentoring shouldn’t end in the childhood years. Teens and young adults should be helped in their growth both on and offline. Teaching responsibility will impact how useful technology can be in personal and societal development.
As with anything, we should be like Shilo Shiv Suleman and try to find new ways to educate young people through technology rather than shying away from it because of its pitfalls.