Week 4: Media Ecologies and Communication
How indispensable are mobile devices in your life? Are they an "extension" of you?
This week, I chose a video artifact of a news story depicting the effects of technology on social communication skills in children. We all have heard that social media and other technologies can negatively effects kids' communication and social skills, and yet, most of us do not do much to limit the use of it in our children. You can find the link to the news story here.
In my personal life, I can admit that I do have problems with excessive use of my smartphone at times. I use it for everything, including texting, social media, gps, interacting with my students' parents, and I always have Google at my fingertips. My smartphone is such a handy tool that makes my life much more convenient. That being said, there are times when I have found myself "lost" in my phone, the time wasting away as I sedentarily scroll through the apps on my phone. I am even ashamed to admit that I am guilty of pulling out my phone when I am in an introverted mood and pretending to be busy so that I do not have to interact with strangers around me (for example, in the nail salon to avoid awkward conversation with my pedicurist).
Because I am a teacher, I obviously have to remain physically social with my students and colleagues, so I feel that my face-to-face social skills are not lacking as they would probably be if I were to work in a secluded office setting. When I am with other people that I know, I try my hardest to put my phone away and physically interact. My husband and I have a strict "no phones at the dinner table" policy because we use that time to recap each other on the happenings of our day. We are currently expecting our first child and we have agreed to limit her technology time, hoping that she will grow up to have better social skills than others her age.
Currently in my classroom (Pre K4), I have a student who lives for technology. He is 5 years old and has had a cellphone (with an active cellular plan), an iPad, and a Leap Pad since he was 2 years old. This little boy spent the entire school year with me reading books out loud while the other children were learning the alphabet for the first time. He read books that were up to a 3rd grade level with extreme ease. The problem with this child is that he had absolutely no social skills whatsoever. He never said a word the entire year to another student, unless he was repeating what they said. He was unable to hold a conversation, or even answer a question that required an opinionated answer (Example, What is your favorite color?) I had multiple conferences with his mother to discuss his social development, and on numerous occasions, she pulled out her phone to check it in the middle of our conversation! I knew instantly why his social skills were so lacking. Immediately after school, he would be glued to one of his many devices for the remainder of the day, sort of like his devices were being used as a babysitter by his parents. I cannot imagine the loneliness that student is experiencing at home while he's lost in his technology, and at school when he is unable to communicate with his peers (Turk, 2014).
As parents, it is so important to model proper social behavior for our children. In this particular news story (beginning at around the 4 minute mark), child psychologist Erin Waltz mentions the importance of not only setting limits on your child's technology use, but also your own technology use, so that your child will see you model those behaviors. What they see from you is exactly what they are going to mimic. Make sure you are an example of what you want your child to be someday.
References:
Turk, G. (Director). (2014, April 25). Look Up [Video file]. Retrieved May 31, 2017, from https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Z7dLU6fk9QY
Turkle, S. (2012, February). Connected, but alone? [Audio blog post]. Retrieved May 31, 2017, from https://www.ted.com/talks/sherry_turkle_alone_together/transcript?language=en
Warner, H. (Director). (2015, February 3). How Technology is Affecting Kids Socially and Academically [Video file]. Retrieved May 31, 2017, from http://fox43.com/2015/02/03/how-technology-is-affecting-kids-socially-and-academically/
This week, I chose a video artifact of a news story depicting the effects of technology on social communication skills in children. We all have heard that social media and other technologies can negatively effects kids' communication and social skills, and yet, most of us do not do much to limit the use of it in our children. You can find the link to the news story here.
In my personal life, I can admit that I do have problems with excessive use of my smartphone at times. I use it for everything, including texting, social media, gps, interacting with my students' parents, and I always have Google at my fingertips. My smartphone is such a handy tool that makes my life much more convenient. That being said, there are times when I have found myself "lost" in my phone, the time wasting away as I sedentarily scroll through the apps on my phone. I am even ashamed to admit that I am guilty of pulling out my phone when I am in an introverted mood and pretending to be busy so that I do not have to interact with strangers around me (for example, in the nail salon to avoid awkward conversation with my pedicurist).
Because I am a teacher, I obviously have to remain physically social with my students and colleagues, so I feel that my face-to-face social skills are not lacking as they would probably be if I were to work in a secluded office setting. When I am with other people that I know, I try my hardest to put my phone away and physically interact. My husband and I have a strict "no phones at the dinner table" policy because we use that time to recap each other on the happenings of our day. We are currently expecting our first child and we have agreed to limit her technology time, hoping that she will grow up to have better social skills than others her age.
Currently in my classroom (Pre K4), I have a student who lives for technology. He is 5 years old and has had a cellphone (with an active cellular plan), an iPad, and a Leap Pad since he was 2 years old. This little boy spent the entire school year with me reading books out loud while the other children were learning the alphabet for the first time. He read books that were up to a 3rd grade level with extreme ease. The problem with this child is that he had absolutely no social skills whatsoever. He never said a word the entire year to another student, unless he was repeating what they said. He was unable to hold a conversation, or even answer a question that required an opinionated answer (Example, What is your favorite color?) I had multiple conferences with his mother to discuss his social development, and on numerous occasions, she pulled out her phone to check it in the middle of our conversation! I knew instantly why his social skills were so lacking. Immediately after school, he would be glued to one of his many devices for the remainder of the day, sort of like his devices were being used as a babysitter by his parents. I cannot imagine the loneliness that student is experiencing at home while he's lost in his technology, and at school when he is unable to communicate with his peers (Turk, 2014).
As parents, it is so important to model proper social behavior for our children. In this particular news story (beginning at around the 4 minute mark), child psychologist Erin Waltz mentions the importance of not only setting limits on your child's technology use, but also your own technology use, so that your child will see you model those behaviors. What they see from you is exactly what they are going to mimic. Make sure you are an example of what you want your child to be someday.
References:
Turk, G. (Director). (2014, April 25). Look Up [Video file]. Retrieved May 31, 2017, from https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Z7dLU6fk9QY
Turkle, S. (2012, February). Connected, but alone? [Audio blog post]. Retrieved May 31, 2017, from https://www.ted.com/talks/sherry_turkle_alone_together/transcript?language=en
Warner, H. (Director). (2015, February 3). How Technology is Affecting Kids Socially and Academically [Video file]. Retrieved May 31, 2017, from http://fox43.com/2015/02/03/how-technology-is-affecting-kids-socially-and-academically/
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