Living with technology

In today’s world of smartphones and gadgets, children are losing interest in learning and writing, devoting most of their time to surfing the internet. Even young school children these days fiddle around with their pods, tablets, and other gadgets. Certainly, there needs to be some sort of balance.  

A few days back when I was at one of the hospitals in Sharjah, I met a young boy. The boy was very honest in telling me that his mum had come to visit a psychologist as he spends a lot of time on the net and less on studies.

Parents and teachers everywhere are struggling to find ways to manage today’s children both at home and in the classroom.  With the ongoing pandemic, it’s going to be a different atmosphere in terms of teaching styles, once schools resume.

The advent of technology has caused profound changes in children’s development and their ability to learn. While parents spend most of the time in their offices trying to make both ends meet, they don’t know what their kids are doing at home. Everything is on the internet these days. What is not possible at the click of a button?

As children spend more and more time connecting with technology, human relationships are disconnecting at a very rapid pace. While TV and computers may be compelling and interesting, burying our heads in technology is causing sensory deprivation and a “disconnect” from the real world.

As a society, parents, teachers and professionals need to work together to address how they can assist children in striking a balance between the virtual and real world.

Mathew Litty — By email