Research Proposal:The use of Modern Technology among Young Children in the United States

Research Proposal:The use of Modern Technology among Young Children in the United States

Introduction

Use of technology among children has increased rapidly in the recent past thus raising questions of the potential impacts such technologies may have on children. According to the Office of Research at United Nations International Children’s Emergency Fund (UNICEF), the question has now evolved from if children are using digital technology to answering the questions on how, why and what effects such technologies have on children. Digital technology offers potential benefits to children across the globe, allowing them to connect with their peers from various platforms of educational resources or entertainment.

On the other hand, there are viable concerns around who children interact with by use of such technologies and whether they are also victims of cyberbullying or parties to the access of illegal online contents. Researchers have tried to establish the relationship between the time children spend using digital technology and the impacts on their lives. Some researchers have also gone ahead to navigate whether screen-based communication can jeopardize the social development of children or their overall well-being.

This research recognizes the importance of the social, biological, psychological and cognitive development of children in the period when most of them are exposed to modern technologies. Some researchers argue that if parents do not take control of their children and censor their media contents, some of them may develop rogue characters which may be difficult to deal with in the end. Therefore, child monitoring at this stage is mandatory. Children go through critical developmental stages where they are in constant wars with their identities as they want to build strong friendships while stuck in the innuendos of the social media content as a result of improved technologies in this digital age. Also, some researchers argue that today, many children frequently contact their mobile phones more than they interact with each other. Consequently, they may miss out on crucial socio-development stages and experiences.

The world today has been reduced into a global village due to the adverse impacts of technology on the lives of various people. Improved technology is for the good of development of the world as a society because it comes with a lot of advantages which ease the normal procedures of undertaking responsibilities. Nevertheless, technology has also had adverse negative effects on people with regards to the approaches and the way such technologies are used. Children have become numerous casualties because the majority of them are exposed to these technological advancements at tender ages. According to the research done by the Office for National Statistics 2013, several children in the United States were found to be exposed to various technologies at home. In this research, 18.2 million families in the United Kingdom were found to be exposing their children, some as young as two years old to various aspects of home technologies. This research proposal will do a dearth of research that gives the full accounts of the impacts of technological advancements on children in multiple contexts of technology. As a result, this research will tend to explore both sides of the increased use of technology among young children in the US.

Aims:

1. To evaluate why there has been an increase in the use of modern technology among young children in recent years.
2. To assess the potential effects of advanced technology on young children.

Hypothesis: The more, the younger children access technology, the higher the use amongst them.

Literature Review

Impacts on Children’s Health and overall well-being

Some research and cross-section studies have revealed a positive association between phone and internet use and feelings of depression. Nevertheless, there were small sizes of the effects and the associated depressions. Similar findings have been outlined in more robust and complex studies such as the one carried out by Ferguson (2017) using 6000 children (Ferguson, 2017). The overall outcome showed a small positive correlation between screen time and delinquency and depressive disorders. In a separate longitudinal study by Selfhout et al., there is the providence that depression is closely associated with digital technology in young children regarding how long children spend on the digital platforms (Selfout et al, 2010). The trend in high depressive symptoms among children is higher in the past decade than the period between the 1960s and 1970s. Technology has changed the various aspect of our society from the way we socialize to the way we work. The way children play and interact is one of the most evident difference according to (Cain & Gradisar, 2010). Children today are not engaged in many physical exercises as they used to do before technology took over them. Physical activities are recommended for some therapeutic benefits which a child should not necessarily miss in the process of growth. When children get home from schools, technologies such as computers, phones, and televisions encourage them to be sedentary when they should be engaging their bodies and playing with other kids. Rosen et al, attributes the rise in child obesity rates to the sedentary nature of children (Rosen et al, 2013). In 2012, the child’s obesity rate in the US was measured to be 18 percent which is 11 points higher than the rate in 1980.

The recent studies reveal trends that most kids do not get enough time to experience the benefits of outdoor time. Spending some time outdoors has related health benefits and many positive outcomes to the body (Cowan, 2018). For instance, spending time outdoors provides the child with exposure to sunlight which is vital for effective bone formation at young ages. Additionally, sunlight helps in fighting skin infection and keeping it healthy all the time. Moreover, Strasburger asserts that regular exposure to sunlight helps in maintaining a regular sleep cycle of the child by influencing the production of melatonin in the body (Strasburger et al, 2013). In recent studies, screens from devices such as tablets, smartphones and laptops emit dangerous blue rays which can cause harm to the eyes, and eventually cause headaches in young children. Moreover, the blue rays also disturb sleep when children are exposed to them in the evening due to the suppression of melatonin. A point worth noting that most children get exposed to these modern forms of technology in the evening hours after school. When melatonin is suppressed, the sleep cycle is not regulated effectively to prepare the child for a long night sleep before embarking on the usual business of the day. The recent trends in technological advancements have put many children under siege when little efforts are put in place to salvage the future generation. In general, there are close to no benefit of the increased use of technology among children regarding their health.

Impacts on child’s education

As Ferguson (2017) outlines the depressive effects of increased technology use among children, some authors attribute improved performance and brilliance among children to technology. Technology can improve teaching methodologies in schools and consequently help young students to be helpful (Gutnick et al, 2011). There are several technological concepts integrated into the daily learning processes for a child. For example, teaching mathematics today in most elementary schools have taken a technological trend different from the methods used in the early 90s. Some of the software used in elementary levels include GeometryPad, BuzzMath and Prodigy Game (Lenhart et al, 2010). Such software has been devised, tested and proven to improve the processes for gaining skills and create a conducive environment for learning. Technology changes the way kids think and feel. The change in thinking ability is because technology often requires a lot of attention to numerous events simultaneously and thus full of stimuli. Nevertheless, Cowan asserts that technology can also affect the way kids process and encode information (Cowan, 2018). He argues that when kids are exposed to high levels of technology, they tend to think through superficial things and hence they do not develop the necessary critical thinking skills and abilities. Such kids lack creativity because everything is done for them by use of technology.

Kids engage with technology outside the classrooms because it is a very interactive platform and kids like interactive learning processes (Plowman et al, 2010). Technology helps kids to acquire multi-tasking skills and thus learn better. The recent screech by UNICEF shows that most elementary schools admit more children in the past decade than the early 1990s. Kids tend to love the schools they are admitted into depending on the technological advancements used in that particular school. Jewitt mentions that technology may perhaps become another means of soothing kids into joining schools compare to the early days when children never used to like schools (Jewitt, 2012). Today, more schools have become interesting for kids due to various technological trends. The ability of kids to learn at their own pace as a result of technology, however, calls for close monitoring by tutors and parents (Cain & Gradisar, 2010). It is effortless for kids to deviate and plunge into watching contents not meant for academic purposes if they are not closely monitored. In this regard, technology can be a disastrous tool for young children because technology has no limitations.

Problem Definition

Research Question: what are the effects of the increased use of modern technology among young children in the United States?

The recent rise in technology use among children has constantly exposed them to watching contents not meant for children. Consequently, there have a lot of health impacts, impacts on their academic quality as well as the effects on personal developments of these kids as they graduate into adulthood. With no doubt, the increase in technology has potential impacts on young children. Children can only access these modern forms of technology because they are exposed to them by adults. Technology is good for the future development of children because it prepares them to face the ever-evolving world of technology and prepare for future challenges. Nevertheless, too much exposure to technology among young children is disastrous. To begin with, technology, as mentioned before, has a lot of health impediments, and there is a need to regulate the frequency of technological access to young children. The increase in the use of technology among young children cannot be assumed to have accrued benefits only. The main problem here is that parents fail to regulate their children at home regarding the use of modern technology.

According to the recent research, most children in the US sleep later than their parents because they remain to watch various television programs which should come under parental guidance. Several contents aired on such televisions at night may not take care of the presence of young children because the general assumptions are that they are asleep. As parents assume children generally use technology for fun and socialize with their friends, some go overboard to access unethical contents which are addictive. Children always want to be regarded as one of the techno-savvy members of society — this one primary reason behind the increased use of technology among children. Some children know better than their parents when it comes to technological applications and usage. But as researches have revealed, such exposure may be dangerous to young children. Parents always want their children out there engaging friends in the playgrounds and making meaningful bonds through such interactions as opposed to indoor children who are always gloomy because they lost a computer game. Parents need to save their children from the dangerous blue rays from the user interfaces in laptops, iPads, smartphones and televisions.

Methodology

Data collection

The research methods which will be applied in this research work will be a mixed method. The means for data collection will integrate both qualitative and quantitative approach: just as many researches on the related or same topics, the techniques which best suit this type of research work is the mixed method. The quantitative approach will provide room for researchers to gather sources for existing databases and base their arguments on the previous research works as opposed to qualitative analysis which requires actual data collection and analysis. In this regard, this research will make good use of other research works in various databases such as those from UNICEF, the Office of Children and other related databases which may be considered to provide useful information to the research work. Additionally, the available data from such sources which might not have been utilized fully in the previous researches will be used in this research. Notably, previous studies have centered their hypotheses and research questions on the effects of increased use of technology among children, a different paradigm to this work. It thus implies some data might not have been fully utilized to bring the whole idea why there has been a rise in technology use among young children specifically in the US.

The qualitative approach will focus on various data collection techniques which include conducting various interviews on certain focus groups. The interviews on focus groups will be the most desirable approach to obtaining verifiable data from the participants. Additionally, the data collected from the participants will free from bias because the respondents will give their accounts with the modern technology and why there has been an increase in the use of modern technology among young children in the US. The interviews will be structured to factor in both adult and young respondents so that the analysis of the result could take a broader perspective before narrowing down to the research question and hypothesis. In this regard, the data analysis procedures will exhibit content and narrative analysis approach.

The content analysis will help in categorizing the various data from the respondents and summarizing them into tabular data. Additionally, the method will classify verbal or behavioral data into a simple classification criterion suitable for tabular analysis. Once the data have been converted into a tabular form, various tools of study which include the standard excel worksheets and SPSS software will be utilized to analyze the data and give verifiable statistics. Narrative analysis approach will be considered to suit children participants the most.  The SPSS software will be used to provide some regression analysis which will show the correlation between increased technology use and behavioral and health impacts among children.

Participants

The primary participants in this research will children aged between 2-10 years. The other participants will the parents to these children and their academic tutors. The research is seeking to include the academic tutors because the general understanding of increased technology use among children is highly associated with scholarly works. Some of these tutors also use various technologies in the classroom works with a view of providing better understanding among children. Indeed, most schools in the US at the elementary levels use various technologies in the modern world to even issue home assignments to children. The research will cover five states in the US. It is quite expensive to conduct research which will take care of all the states in the US. Such finical constraints may be beyond the financial capabilities of the facilitators of this research. The inclusion criteria for children will fill the above-mentioned age gap. Consequently, the exclusion criteria for children will be age cohorts which fall outside the given range. For adults, the inclusion criteria will require they be parents to the children participants. Otherwise, we will arrive at the exclusion criteria for the adults. The tutors will those across all the grades at the elementary levels, not necessarily those who teach the participant children.

Ethical Issues

Increased use of technology presents various ethical issues which will be the subject to ethical considerations in this research. As technology takes root in our society, we must be cautious about the ethical impacts. Technology may impede academic honesty among children. Because technology makes work easier, most children may resolve to use it even when not required. Smartphones provide various academic sources online which young students may be tempted to use in doing their assignment thus presenting major ethical issues. There are also ethical issues concerning the social fabric which may be significantly compromised by the use of modern technologies. Some contents on the online platform are not for the consumption of young children. But the fact remains, they can access such materials. Internet today is full of nude contents which are a disgrace to the young generation. The probability of these children accessing such sites is high. These ethical issues are also connected to research ethics. For instance, the respondents who are children may fear to reveal to the researcher they accessed some dirty sites for fear of punishment from parents. This will only happen if the researcher violates the ethical considerations in a research process.

Every type of research requires some great ethical considerations. This is a critical aspect of research which if overlooked, may result in research outcomes which are insufficient, unreliable and contains a lot of bias. Ethics in research are the norms and standards which help an individual in a research field to distinguish between good and wrong. In this regards, ethics in research helps in distinguishing between acceptable and unacceptable behaviors. Consequently, this research will adopt codes and policies that will guide the researchers. These codes will address issues such as honesty, social responsibility, and objectivity of the study, confidentiality and respect for intellectual property. This research will make good use of the human subjects to address its concerns. The ethical consideration thus will be centered on ensuring the safety of the human subjects and also ensure their rights are not violated. No information will be shared among the respondents without the consent of the respondent.

Conclusion

To conclude this proposal, this research will ensure it follows the right channel to address the aims and come into a verbatim conclusion as to that of the hypothesis. The research aims at evaluating the reasons behind the increase in technology use among children as well as evaluating its potential impacts on the young children in the US. The anticipated hypothesis for confirmation states the more, and the younger children access technology, the higher the use amongst them. The various literature review sources provide the background information for the research and hint at the research problem. The rise in the use of technology among children is highly associated with technological advancements in the education sector and the constant exposure of young children to these modern technologies. Parents and teachers in schools have a role to play to save children from the harmful effects of modern technology thus this explains the inclusion criteria for the various participants.

References

Cain, N., & Gradisar, M. (2010). Electronic media use and sleep in school-aged children and        adolescents: A review. Sleep medicine, 11(8), 735-742.

Cowan, R. S. (2018). The “industrial revolution” in the home: household technology and social    change in the twentieth century. In The Routledge Companion to Modernity, Space and   Gender (pp. 81-97). Routledge.

Ferguson, C. (2017). Everything in Moderation: Moderate Use of Screens Unassociated with Child         Behavior Problems. Psychiatric Quarterly, in press.

Gutnick, A. L., Robb, M., Takeuchi, L., & Kotler, J. (2011). Always connected: The new digital media habits of young children. In New York: The Joan Ganz Cooney Center at Sesame     Workshop.

Jewitt, C. (2012). Technology, literacy, learning: A multimodal approach. Routledge.

Lenhart, A., Purcell, K., Smith, A., & Zickuhr, K. (2010). Social Media & Mobile Internet Use     among Teens and Young Adults. Millennials. Pew internet & American life project.

Plowman, L., McPake, J., & Stephen, C. (2010). The technologisation of childhood? Young         children and technology in the home. Children & Society, 24(1), 63-74.

Rosen, L. D., Whaling, K., Rab, S., Carrier, L. M., & Cheever, N. A. (2013). Is Facebook creating             “iDisorders”? The link between clinical symptoms of psychiatric disorders and technology            use, attitudes and anxiety. Computers in Human Behavior, 29(3), 1243-1254.

Selfout M. H. W., Branje S. J. T., Delsing M. et al. (2010). Different types of Internet use,            depression, and social anxiety: The role of perceived friendship quality. Journal of   Adolescence, 32, 819–833. doi:10.1016/j.adolescence.2008.10.011

Strasburger, V. C., Jordan, A. B., & Donnerstein, E. (2010). Health effects of media on children and adolescents. Pediatrics, 125(4), 756-767.