Antisocial Networking, children and technology

In the NY Times Article “Antisocial Networking” by Hilary Stout explains how friendships with teens and pre-teens develop through technology. Today’s teenagers develop their friendships through cell phones, text, instant messaging, and social media instead of face to face time. Technology is also affecting their behavior. It is a major influence in kids these days. Children are often left to sit and play with their IPad, watch television on their own, and listen to music. Children age 8-18 tend to spend an average of 7-8 hours a day using an electronic device. In teens these electronic devices end up becoming an obsessive behavior.

They have strong feelings when the devices are taken away or no longer work and causes them to have an “anxiety” like attack. It is easier to control smaller children to the exposure of these devices because they are easier to handle. Technology is a major influence on kids. They mimic the behavior that are in the media. In today’s fast-pace society children are growing up very quickly at an alarming rate and experiencing adult hood activities at a young age. Shows use to be innocent and lessons were learned. Kids today are watching the shows that are acted out by adults; the younger the audience ages 7-12 are being influenced by older actions. There has been a remarkable change in the image and roles of children. Some children are publicly pretending to act out sexual behavior.

Children are bombarded by the media and are exposed to more negative scenarios than positive ones. According to the article National Association of Independent Schools, 70 % of seventh graders have accounts to social network sites such as Facebook, YouTube, and Twitter. These children are frequently exposed to cyber-bullying, sexual exploitation, privacy issues and sexting. Television shows are detrimental to children in this society; no subject is off limits. Recently, reality shows have become very popular and have introduced many negative images such as exposure of excessive drugs, alcohol use and mockery marriages. Shows on Disney Channel teach young children to have boyfriends and girlfriends.

A report by the Psychological Association states that some cartoons on average contain 80 acts of violent per hour. Also the TV has pressured young boys and girls the need for a perfect body. A major negative influence that manipulate children’s attitude to imitate adult like behavior is fashion. Children are paraded with tons of make-up, fake eyelashes and wigs promoting them to believe physical appearances is vital value. An example is Toddlers and Tiaras it’s a television show on TLC based on families and their children competing in beauty pageants for money. These young girls are dressed in outfits inspired by sex symbols, get their teeth bleached and waxed eyebrows. These young girls change their outfits multiple times, dance and do all sorts of tricks on TV. The effects of shows like Teen Mom have on the teen pregnancy rate in the United States.

These shows try to teach teens the struggles of teen parenthood. The actors and/ or role models on TV shows and magazines are style icons for most children. Retailers are also responsible for the adult like clothing in children’s department. Social media is like peer pressure to young girls. They have tried to portray to society that being thin and skinny like a model is better than average weight, and that plastic surgery is the way to go. Depending on what party of the world you’re in, your perception of what society seems to be beauty changes. There is a lot of negative information out there that influence how we should look and how we should be. It baffles me to watch kids these days worrying about what are they going to wear for school rather than doing their homework.

Today’s culture is changing rapidly, just because things such as cell phones, high heels and make-up are available does not make it appropriate for a child. Despite the fact, humans went from handwritten work to manual typewriters to electrical typewriters to word processors to personal computers to laptops and Ieverythig and having answers to every question with just a push of a button within seconds besides world peace. Technology has allowed humans to function easier in daily life, it has also made many original foundations obsolete.