Discuss about the Cognitive development and acquisition of language.
Debate on the Positive and Negative Effects of Screen Technology on Cognitive Development
Cognitive development is the construction of thoughts through solving problems, recalling past activities, and decision making from tender age through adolescence to adulthood. Screen technology has both negative and positive effect on the child cognitive process (Moore, 2014). Children love playing video games for many hours. Many have looked down upon this act though there are some advantages to children involved in playing these games. Cognitive of the children developed as they see on the image on the screen and thinking on what to do with it. Research says that this process helps children to recognize images in general which is essential in nonverbal communication (Moore, 2014).
Aside from games, another positive impact on screen technology on children is that it improves the language. By accessing stories online or reading eBooks, children get to enhance their vocabulary and learn new words. The internet also teaches the children on how to pronounce new words, and that helps children to develop new skills. Technology has also made it easy for parents to teach their children since they can give them a recorded script on flashcards to use in learning (Nacher etal., 2015). There is learning software, gives children capacity to identify right answers hence helping in standardized tests or that with multiple choices in which correct answer is easily available.
During preschool age, a lot of beginning cognitive skills are developed. During this time, children are either at daycare or home. Digital technology at this stage is aimed at presenting letters, numbers, and pictures (Yilmaz, 2016). Seeing this can help children learn the order of numbers, alphabets, and names of simple items seen in the everyday encounter.
Technology screens help children in enhancing social interaction skills. As children develop language skills, they can come up with ideas, which enable them to relate to others. When technology is used appropriately, children can efficiently collaborate with other people (Krcmar and Cingel, 2014). In some schools in developed counties like US student have the chance to write and solve the problem together using technology. They can also submit their assignment online using technology. Problem solving is a vital life skill that needs to be carried in entire life hence children should be encouraged to create projects and share using technology in groups or forums
Another effect is that it leads to a higher capacity to visual attention. Children pay more attention while playing games to complete these activities and that is why children are more occupied when playing the game. Using an example of role-playing games (Steenbergen et al, 2015). In this kind of games, the child uses a character. In order to advance, the character must be moved around to calculate the next move. These synchronized activities train children to be attentive on the instructions displayed on the screen in order to accomplish the mission of the game. rough this, the child will be in a position of paying attention in ordinary life.
Finally, technology screen leads to better hand-eye coordination. Children build good coordination between eye and hand through engaging applications. This takes place when children visually follow an object on the screen and actively participate in the active application presents. When children begin school, they will use their experience in hand-eye coordination to write and draw.
Negative Impacts of Screen Technology on Child Cognitive Development
The time children spend on technical gadget and devices have increased highly. This makes many Parents worried and alarmed because there are several adverse effects associated with technology on children development (Lauricella, Wartella and Rideout, 2015). The negative effects include
First, it slows down the brain. Children spend much of their time with the garget not doing exercise. This lack of exercise is unfortunate for the physical development of the child. It is also mentally wrong since it can slow down the progress of the child. Besides, children can become dyslexic because of extreme technology. This may cause their brain not to grasp things quickly. Outdoor activities enable children to gain courage and to develop physically. Therefore, parents should watch on how children interact with technology gadgets.
Another negative effect of technology on cognitive development is that it may lead to cancer. When children use cell phones and computers for long, they get radiation emitted by this screens. This brings high chances of getting cancer in children, and that is why some cancer organizations like American Society of Cancer discourage such devices. The technology can also delay child cognitive development when used for extended period. Children aged 2 to 3 should learn and develop spatial skills, visual skills, and motor skills. These skills can only be acquired when children are doing exercise and playing outside (Park, Flowerday and Brunken, 2015). More time spent on devices will make children not to get time for training and playing outside hence their cognitive development will be profoundly affected.
Finally, children sitting in front of television or laptop for more than 8 hours according to US Center for Disease and Prevention experiences vision problem. These technology devices emit radioactivity rays that are not good for the development of the child's eye. Moreover, to this, eyestrain results in blurred vision, eye fatigue, and focus issues that can be very irritating and dangerous. Therefore, it is not good for the child to seat most of the time in front of a television or laptop.
Brain Plasticity is shown when cognitive development enables the brain to physically change itself to accommodate new information and skills received and logged in line with the development of neurons, which are developed in the area of the brain in line with the unique ability taught (Kuhn et al., 2014). Too much game will make the mind accommodate too many online skills rather than some needed child development skills. Therefore, the brain of the child will develop according to the new skill learned. Due to this, parents should monitor what kind of activities children engage in.
From the discussion, it is quite clear that there are both advantages and disadvantages of using technology for the children. It is therefore recommended that the parent should monitor a number of hours a child takes on an electronic device and a number of hours the child play outside. Playing outside will help the child develop spatial skills, visual skills, and motor skills while using technology will help the child develop positive impact on screen discussed in this paper. Therefore, for better development of the child, the two must be balanced.
References
Krcmar, M. and Cingel, D.P., 2014. Parent–child joint reading in traditional and electronic formats. Media Psychology, 17(3), pp.262-281.
Kühn, S., Gleich, T., Lorenz, R.C., Lindenberger, U. and Gallinat, J., 2014. Playing Super Mario induces structural brain plasticity: gray matter changes resulting from training with a commercial video game. Molecular psychiatry, 19(2), p.265.
Lauricella, A.R., Wartella, E. and Rideout, V.J., 2015. Young children's screen time: The complex role of parent and child factors. Journal of Applied Developmental Psychology management , 36, pp.11-17.
Moore, T.E. ed., 2014. Cognitive development and acquisition of language management . Elsevier.
Nacher, V., Jaen, J., Navarro, E., Catala, A. and González, P., 2015. Multi-touch gestures for pre-kindergarten children. International Journal of Human-Computer Studies, 73, pp.37-51.
Park, B., Flowerday, T. and Brünken, R., 2015. Cognitive and affective effects of seductive details in multimedia learning management . Computers in Human Behavior, 44, pp.267-278.
Steenbergen, L., Sellaro, R., Stock, A.K., Beste, C. and Colzato, L.S., 2015. Action video gaming and cognitive control: Playing first person shooter games is associated with improved action cascading but not inhibition. PloS one, 10(12), p.e0144364.
Yilmaz, R.M., 2016. Educational magic toys developed with augmented reality technology for early childhood education management . Computers in Human Behavior, 54, pp.240-248.
