Any professional educator is aware that the internet has changed just about everything when considering the delivery of knowledge. We use the internet almost without pause for one thing or another throughout the day as means to engage and communicate with our students. We have incorporated digital literacy into curricula along with digital citizenship and anti-bullying. The fact is that the education system has a tough time keeping pace with the always rapidly changing digital world. It is safe to say that we are doing the best we can.
One subject that is tough for educators to tackle is internet addiction or over use. We need help from parents for this one. As a father of five children, I am closely connected to this topic myself. I believe most parents near my age would agree that young people have a greater access to information and entertainment than we had as children. We all know that kids can find anything they want with just a few clicks. This is both wonderful and dangerous. Like most innovations, there are two sides to the internet – a cost side and a benefit side.
The benefits are an amazing wealth of information at the fingertips, faster and smoother communications, and a common platform for new knowledge to be gained. The costs are a detachment from surroundings, sensory processing derailment, diminishing executive brain function, and information overload. All of these costs are associated with addiction or overuse. There is an old saying about enjoying everything in moderation. This adage is absolutely true when considering the use of the internet.
Studies have shown numerous times that brain function changes in children who overuse the internet. The frontal lobe of the brain becomes inactive, diminishing executive function in the brain. Executive function helps a child pay attention and manage time among other things. Both of these are valuable in school and in life. Brain scans of addicted teens have shown that the only area of the brain firing properly is the occipital lobe where visual processing occurs. Naturally this would be the case since digital media is viewed. The concern is that no connections are being made beyond that area, meaning that the thinking parts of the brain are not being engaged. The more time the brain spends in this state, the harder it becomes for full engagement to happen. These concerns are real and need to be dealt with in an appropriate manner. While it is true that today’s young people learn differently than they did a generation ago. The fact remains that, like anything else, too much of one thing will hurt everything.
So what can a parent and teacher do to help the situation. There are lots of simple things that can be done. Start with monitoring and limiting aimless internet and social media use. Use the internet together and create discussion requiring kids to make connections with what was seen in some way with other relevant parts of their lives. This promotes executive function in the brain, making thinking fire up. Experts suggest that children under the age of seven years should be disallowed internet use. Other thoughts can include centralizing computer use in the home, making at least one room a “no screen use room.” Parents and teachers should keep an eye out for the signs of addiction which can include changes in hygiene, social detachment, mood changes with the absence of the internet, and lack of attentiveness or time management skills.
As our society becomes more and more based in instant gratification, it becomes more and more important to do everything we can to improve executive function rather than diminish it. Kids have so much “noise” in their lives that they have to be able to listen through that it is becoming more and more difficult to make it happen for them. The honest truth is that it is incumbent on the parent to become engaged with their child. Take the time to have discussions with your child regarding the internet and its uses. Keep track of their time on the internet and limit it; it certainly shouldn’t be used for babysitting. Set the example and the expectation for your child. After my nineteen years of parenting the one piece of wisdom that I know to be true is that a parent is the one who influences the child the most. That makes it our responsibility to form our children into the best adults we can. It’s our job to do!
Click on the link below to check out some videos regarding the above discussion. They are very short and very informative.
