Nowadays, the pace of technological development is unprecedentedly rapid. Humanity is entering a new era, and technology, having become an integral part of everyday life, accompanies man from cradle to the grave. Devices, such as mobile phones and tablets, permeate every aspect of life, including child rearing. Invariably, children born in the last decade have been growing up in the company of gadgets. To this day, it has remained highly controversial whether this development has a benificial or detrimental impact on the new generation’s intellectual and phychological development.
On the one hand, the presence of technology at the early life stages is inarguably helpful, as it facilitates acquiring digital skills which have become a requirement for any member of modern society. Moreover, a close familiarity with such devices as mobile phones provides a young user with the unprecedented opportunity to learn about the world at large. Last but not least, the obvious fascination that the majority of children have for such devices provides their parents with more free time for themselves.
However, the easy accessibility, entertainment-orientend nature of online content, and the ubiquitousness of internet access might cause shortening attention spans and even certain learning disabilities. What could represent an even more concerning issue is the fact that children who are spending the majority of their time interacting with their devices are deprived of interpersonal communication and human contanct, and thus may suffer from lack of social skills and maladjustment later in life.
To summarize, whilst early familiarization with the digital world might facilitate certain learning processes and simultaneously ease the parents’ burden by keeping children safely occupied, the general effect of early contact with electronic devices might be detrimental to both social and intellectual development.