Kids and Their Devices, Are We Destroying Their Childhood?

Kids and their devices, are we destroying their childhood? School activities nowadays force some semblance of social interaction that a child needs for growth. Memories are nice to visit sometimes. This brings back happy times when we are with our loved ones. Or obstacles we have triumphed over. A connection. An accomplishment. A relationship. Childhood memories are ones that most adults hold on to. On those times when their lives are not really that idyllic. But what sort of childhood or memories would the children of this generation have? With kids and their devices, are we destroying their childhood?

Today’s technology has opened up for a whole lot of potential for our world. With it also potential harm. The way we connect and communicate has changed. So has the way our children participate in school activities, play and get their information. Kids with their devices, gadgets and cell phones, what sort of childhood will they remember? 

Pictures of old were full of meaning and makes us smile when we remember stories behind it. Pictures now are of breakfast made this morning. It lacks meaning. It also lacks connection and relevance. Even a month from now we wouldn’t remember the importance of that picture unlike the ones years ago. 

Children when they get home or even between classes they are glued to their gadgets and devices when they should participate in school activities or socialize. Social connections suffer when children are transfixed on their gadgets. Our experiences shape our brain. And no new experiences means no new connections. Without new connections our brains become stagnant. We lose the skills we once had. That includes social skills. 

The lure of gadgets and the internet to our children is such that most 2 to 10 year olds have smartphones on their wish list. What we can do to limit their use of devices is to teach and regulate it that they may find time to learn something different everyday. 

Children often do as they are told, even if only grudgingly. Parents can help find a hobby, an interest that a child will stick to doing. Some children and teens will bond over their shared animosity for parent interference. When they learn cultivating friendships and mischief, their use of devices might lessen. There might be some semblance of childhood they can experience and look back on.