Teachers often want to be seen as "hip" or "cool" to their students, so they will do anything to try and incorporate a student's everyday life into the lesson. With technology growing, and almost everyone adapting to this new way of life, schools all across the world are making the change and starting to include technology into the studies of young children. Rebecca Harper, from Georgia Regents University, states, "In my mind, education has to move with time, adapting to the world that our students are living in" (6). Although Harper has a good point and has many reasons to back up this statement like, the use of technology can be beneficial to a child's learning habits or that children should grow with time and not be left out on an everyday human act; I do not agree with her. Growing up I did not have a phone, and I did not always have the newest gaming console. My childhood did not revolve around technology and media, unlike some children today. Technology should not be used in a classroom setting for many reasons; it causes a distraction in the classroom, there is no human interaction involved, children could grow up with development issues, and the media that ultimately always comes along with technology is sometimes harmful to a child's well-being.

Technology often comes with many distractions in the classroom. If a student is told they are allowed to use their phone or laptop to do research you will often find them texting a friend, or checking a form of social media. It is hard to control what a student has on his or her electronic device during class, unless the teacher does not allow it at all. "A 2010 Kaiser Foundation study showed that elementary aged children use on average 7.5 hours per day of entertainment technology ... " (Rowan). Although the distracting part of technology is not the largest and most thought about issue, it is still growing. People today can usually not go longer then twenty minutes without checking their phone and seeing what the latest news or gossip is. Technology is addicting and it not only effects us, it also effects the people around us.

The social aspect of technology is also called into question when talking about children. Children growing up in this century are being exposed to technology at a very early age. They are being over stimulated, and overall it is effecting their neurological development (Rowan). The use of electronic devices can be detrimental to a child's brain and the constant stimulation from the screen could lead to neurological problems. There are four critical factors to achieve healthy child development, one being human connection. With media not only effecting us, but also our children, parents play a huge role in their child's healthy development. Inattentive parents will neglect this part of their child's development and not realize the harm this neglect is ultimately causing in their child's life. Everything we learn is through experience, or trial and error. A child growing up with a parent who is constantly on their phone all day, may think that is normal (Howcast). So, if they are constantly on their phone and playing all the new video games, there is a chance your child has not got the proper face to face stimulation needed to fully develop their social skills. Another critical factor to achieve healthy child development is sensory stimulation. Children require 2-3 hours of play and activity per day to receive the proper amount of sensory stimulation (Rowan). The act of touch and being with your child also helps decrease the chances of your child having anxiety in the future (Rowan).

Along with social skills technology is effecting our child's independence. C. Steven Page, Georgia Regents University, says "All of this being said, can technology cause our students to not fully develop intellectually. I think by not allowing them to become more intellectually independent is dehumanizing and it causes them to become more dependent on others" (16). Page says this because, as a teacher he gets emails daily from students asking him question after question about an assignment they have gone over multiple times in class. Page has become aggravated with the fact that these students are so dependent upon him in every thing they do. Page continues his statement by saying "This leads me back to the point I made earlier that I believe text, emails, and chat can lead to students not taking the next steps to becoming intellectually independent" (15). I agree with Page on this point. As a student, I am very dependent upon my professors. If I am unsure about an assignment, merely because I did not pay attention in class or I have just forgotten the details I never hesitate to email my teacher. It is their job. But the topic goes much deeper then just emailing your teacher about a simple assignment. People have become totally dependent upon others, and technology. When we do not know the answer to a question, there is always someone around with their smartphone who will look it up. We have all the answers we need right in the palm of our hand. It is hard to be independent when that is how we were raised and taught. Technology is great, but it is making the human race look as if we do not know anything and are solely dependent up on technology to do everything for us in life. 

One of the most talked about negative effects technology has in the classroom is bullying. In the last few years this issue has been growing and becoming known world wide. The act of bullying has been around forever, but now with new forms of media, and with such easy access to social media cites children all around the world are getting bullied through their social media accounts. Two main types of cyberbullying are, "Harassment" and "Denigration" (Triggs). "Harassment" is defined as "the repetition of sending vulgar and insulting messages after the initial situation has occurred" and "Denigration" is "using social media to disrespect someone by posting horrid rumors and/or embarrassing pictures to hurt the friendships and reputation of the bullied" (Triggs). These two forms of bullying have been increasing ever since the use of social media has become so easily accessible. The use of social media and technology is effecting how children and teenagers think. Children look down on their peers due to the type of phone they have, or how many followers they have on Instagram. Children also use social media and these two forms of cyberbullying to hurt others, by commenting rude things on their peers pictures, and making others feel inferior and weak. The use of social media can only be monitored by parents when the student, or child is home. In school, teachers should not allow the use of technology, because in the end some child will get hurt. Whether they can not afford to have the coolest phone, or because they are getting made fun of on Facebook. The use of technology in school will always be up for debate, but this issue is becoming more serious then anyone would have ever expected. 

Another growing topic up for discussion is media and the violent factors that come along with it. With mass shootings, and violence becoming more prevalent in our society today some people speculate it is due to the use of media. Television, music, and video games all come into play when talking about media and violence (Agarwal). Vivek Agarwal states "Young people view an average of 10,000 acts of violence per year with 61% of the shows containing violence of some kind" (39). Television shows have the effects of teaching children aggressive behaviors, fear of violence, and desensitizing oneself to violence. These causes could ultimately lead to something way worse, like violent acts in or out of school, and we would never know when that said child would act out. Music also plays a huge roll in media usage. Often in school's music with profanity is not allowed, but almost every child has access to a pair of headphones. There was research done that proves a cause-and-effect relationship between media violence and real-life aggression (Agarwal 39). In the recent years, with the recent popularity of mass shootings, the use of violent video games has come into question each time. Some children do not have the ability to tell what is real and what is not in these games (Agarwal 39). The use of violence in video games has become more and more realistic along the years with the help of new technology and real-life affects. If children get the two confused and no longer realize that these are just games and the things done in these games should not be carried out in real life, trouble could spark and no one but that person or child knows what they are capable of. 

With all of these factors mentioned to prove that the use of technology and social media 

in a classroom is overall a bad idea and can have negative effects, there is also the opposing side 

of this argument that the use of technology in the classroom is a good thing. Advocates of the use of technology in classrooms believe that technology can help expand education by connecting students all around the world (Technology). Another advantage to technology in school is the higher GPA's it has been producing. HomeNetToo did a study that included "Children who used the Internet more showed greater gains in GPA and reading test scores ...  than did children who used it less" (Jackson). Along with other studies done by HomeNetToo there is no real evidence that came back without being inconclusive that showed technology had any true effects on a child's social outcomes. The use of technology in schools is not all bad. Children can benefit from the sources the Internet provides, like easy access to answers for class or even the use of Google Maps when driving around with friends. It is proven that some technologies enhanced children's communication and interaction with their peers, it also helped maintain family relationships, and also attributed to multiculturalism (Ching-Ting 95). I agree with this because without Facebook, or even the use of a simple application like Snapchat I have been able to connect with more people and make many more friends. Also the use of technology is now used all over the world. Starting your child young could ultimately lead them into a career that uses technology or media on a daily basis. Without technology and media, a lot of people would not have been as successful as they are today. Being a "YouTuber" is a growing profession and many people have been able to start their career by using YouTube and other forms of social media. Children using media is not all bad, and can potentially come with a lot of perks, but overall I think the cons of exposing technology to your child at such an early age out weigh the pros that could potentially come from it.

The use of technology in a child's life is ultimately up to their parents. 7 News- The Denver Channel interviewed parents on their thoughts about technology and whether or not they allow their children to use it. One parent, Dan Opids, uses technology in his job everyday, but his children are not allowed to be around technology (7 News). If a parent does not want their child exposed to the use of technology and media at such a young age they will take the actions needed to make sure their child goes to a school where technology is not used on a daily basis. Technology is something I never used when I was a child, because it was only just becoming popular. My mother did not feel it was appropriate for me to have a phone until I reached the age of 13. I was not allowed to have Facebook until I was 15 and I just got my own laptop when I came to college. It is not that my mother did not trust me, or thought that I was not mature enough to have these things, she just wanted me to know I had to work for the things I wanted. Growing up without technology and social media did not kill me, but now it consumes me. I have most definitely fallen victim to being addicted to my phone, like most college aged students. University of Denver Psychology Professor, Kim Gorgens states, that "there is no proof technology is harmful to a child's development ...  and that balance is what is really important" (7 News). The use of technology is risky and to start your children at such a young age makes it even harder to take it away from them when they are older. The common act of taking you're your child's electronic devices is a growing punishment tactic and it is sad to know that this can affect a child's life deeply.

The use of technology will always be up for debate, and no one person can decide which 

side of the argument is right and which is wrong. It is all up to the that one person. A study done on students proved this theory when the results came in and included "[m]any students who tried the hybrid course said the model fits their learning style, attention spans and life styles" (El Mansour). A hybrid class involves the use of technology at home and then coming to class and using what you have already learned in group activities. Everyone needs compromise, I just do not believe the use of technology in the classroom should need one. It causes distraction, there is not a lot of human interaction involved, the possible developmental issues that can come from it is not worth the risk, and the media that ultimately comes along with the use of technology is harmful to someone in someway. I am firm in my argument and strongly believe technology in the classroom is never a good idea.

