Children from the cradle onwards are brought into contact with new technologies. By now, videos of toddlers deftly handling tablets and smartphones and of proud parents showing off their children’s skills are all the rage on the Internet. And this is precisely the crux of the issue that remains to be unraveled and that accompanies the transformation of society into a mediatized society: we mistakenly regard technology as a neutral factor and take it for granted that the now “digital natives” who are “mobile born” fully understand the world they are immersed in simply because they were born into it. But they do not.
In my book “Children of Apps,” I addressed how much the effects of technology affect children’s lives and in particular the consequences related to hyperconnectedness. Statistics show widespread use of mobile devices; now almost one hundred percent of the population owns a smartphone or tablet, children come into possession of a mobile device from the age of five to six, but they have already been using their parents’ devices almost continuously. This issue is causing public discussion.
Journalist Paolo Aruffo wrote an article, published in Il Fatto Quotidiano, in which he explained what is happening.
Apparently on TikTok there are some Generation Z users (those born between 1995 and 2010) who criticize Generation Alpha (i.e., those born after 2010). In particular, those being criticized are mainly the parents of Generation Alpha because they allow their children to use technology so much. Generation Z believes that this is not acceptable.
We talk about “iPad children,” that is, children who-from a very young age-use tablets without rules and without time limits.
Talking about it Gabe Escobar, content creator followed on TikTok by 3.1 million followers, who said, “I need everyone else in my generation to promise that we will not raise ‘iPad babies.’ Please. They probably won’t have imagination because their brains have not been forced to process any creative and original thinking.”
He made an appeal to peers, “Gen Z, please, when it is, we should not give iPads to our children at the table. When I am in a restaurant and I see other parents next to me and they have an iPad on the table, in public…. (I wonder, ed.) what the hell is that? Can’t you make your child behave for more than five seconds by spending a dinner without an iPad? Can’t you converse with your child yourself? Why do you have to give your children an iPad to keep them quiet? What are you doing?” Her video got 6 million ‘likes’ and nearly 100,000 comments.
The Quotdiano Fact also reported on a Focus study, conducted by researchers at the Universities of Waterloo, Calgary and the Alberta Children’s Hospital Research Institute, “in which it is pointed out that leaving a young child (2-3 years old) to spend a lot of time in front of a screen could delay the development of cognitive skills that are fundamental to language, problem solving, interpersonal relationships and motor coordination.” The data are alarming, but it is not known “how much, was tablet use alone and how much, other factors that may be more or less related to the tablet itself (sleep quality, fewer direct interactions with people etc.).”
Children adapt to the pathways that technology constructs. There are a number of critical elements for which the adults to whom the leadership role goes are responsible, having to first understand the impact of technologies and their use as a tool to support children’s growth.
We are entering the era of robotics, artificial intelligence and the Metaverse the human-machine relationship is being profoundly transformed. We have not yet understood the dynamics and their consequences; letting technology replace humans even in primary functions, such as childcare, is a serious risk. Just think of what happens at beaches during the summer months. Little ones do not arrive at the beach with a bag full of shovels buckets and molds. Little 5.0 swimmers are focused on their tablets and smartphones. Parents criticize them but provide them with the tools to be in peace: tanning, chatting, or occasionally taking a swim. Mom and dad equip them with the latest generation of video games and we see them under the beach umbrella with their tablet or cell phone. In fact, companies are gearing up to make the lives of children under 10 more and more technologized as they have captured pre-teens and teenagers.
Therefore, I think it is right not to ban or demonize new technologies. Adults need to prepare and train themselves to connect with young people and cannot continue to live as “adultescents.”
The article “iPad babies” stop crying only if they are connected comes from TheNewyorker.
