We are currently in the age of technology. It seems that every day a new product is being released that has better abilities than the product released the day before. But just because we have access to these new technologies, does that mean everyone should be in constant interaction with them? Many parents have expressed concerns about the effects of young children using technology without limits. Children have mass access to technology since it is virtually everywhere- schools, cars, homes, etc. Studies have shown that "the years of early childhood are deeply important and should not be misused" (Blanning 57).  Although technology has some great benefits, young children should have limited access to technology because it is harmful to their social skills, can lead to attention deficits and learning disabilities, and interrupts the parent-child relationship. 

Technology seems to be harmful to young children in many different ways.  However, it has some benefits. First, when used properly it can be a great tool for learning. There are certain programs and apps that have already been developed or are being developed to try to cut out the negative aspects of technology and increase the ability for technology to help children learn. In a TedTalk titled "3 Fears About Screen Time for Kids", Sara Dewitt discusses how she has seen technology improve learning for children.  For example, she says "WGBH created a series of Curious George games focused on math" and "we could see earlier on that these games were actually helping kids understand some key skills" (Dewitt). This is important because these games help to build a foundation for children and help them to apply the skills they have learned in the classroom. Also, people may argue that technology is a great way to entertain children and give parents a break. Sara Dewitt explains this concept in her "3 Fears About Screen Time for Kids" TedTalk, explaining that new technological developments allow parents to interact with their children as they are using their technology (tablets, phones, computers).  Through these new developments parents receive notifications on their phones telling them what their child is learning about on their device, so that later the parent can hold a conversation with the child and continue to entertain and interact with them. As the parent "gets a break", the child is entertained, and this is beneficial to their relationship as a whole. Finally, technology helps children to expand their horizons, "technology exposes children to things they can’t see every day" ("10 Benefit of Exposing"). With technology, children have access to information about new topics and they are exposed to more new ideas. For example, a kid who lives in the city and has never been to the beach, has access to pictures of the ocean and all of the animals that inhabit it. This new information will spark a new interest for this child and help him to become more excited about learning. 

The benefits of these new advances to technology are greatly outweighed by the negative effects it has on the social interaction of young children. Early childhood educator and researcher, Nancy Blanning, has first-hand experience in observing the actions and tendencies of young children in the classroom. She has pointed out that "parts of the brain that are used repetitively develop the most. Parts that are unused prune away; whatever potential that may have rested in unused pathways is sloughed off and gone" (Blanning 57).  Thus, if a child is independently involved with only a device, their social interaction skills are disappearing and will eventually become obsolete. Giving young children access to technology limits their social interaction with those around them and "screen time engages the child's eyes, ears, and fingertips, but the rest of the child- body, brain, and emotions- remains passive" (Blanning 57).  As children grow older, their ability to connect to their body, brain, and emotions become crucial. Without social interaction at a young age, many of these children will grow older and not know how to build relationships or carry on a conversation with those around them. Social interaction is a crucial aspect as children grow into teenagers. The article "Social Interaction is Critical for Mental and Physical Health" explains, “People who feel more connected to others have lower levels of anxiety and depression. Moreover, studies show they also have higher self-esteem, greater empathy for others, and are more trusting and cooperative with others” (Brody). As children grow older and many things begin to change, often they gain anxiety, depression and low self-esteem. Therefore, the use of technology will only hinder them even more by limiting their social interaction. The American Academy of Pediatrics recommends that children over the age of two be limited to only two hours of screen time and children under the age of two have no screen time at all (Daugherty). If parents implement this guideline of only allowing children two years and older a maximum of two hours screen time, children would greatly increase their time interacting socially with their peers, friends and family. Enforcing this recommendation would benefit all involved and help to develop social skills that will be needed in their near future to be successful. 

As previously mentioned, children are harming their social interaction skills, but more importantly these large amounts of screen time are harming their development. Some people may see technology as an innovative tool for learning, but in reality, it is contributing to learning difficulties and attention deficits. One of the main ways children are engaged in technology is the television. Many children come home from school and will sit in front of the television for hours or sit with their tablets and “binge watch” Netflix.  Some studies state that “children’s linguistic development is at risk because they spend too much time listening to television (receptive language) and not enough time talking with others (productive language)” (Plowman 65). This means that children are lacking the connection between the thoughts in their brains and the actual communication of these ideas, which is likely to translate into the classroom. For example, the child has been learning all week about a specific subject in class and the following week he or she has a test. They will be more likely to perform poorly on this test because they cannot communicate their ideas because of their constant involvement in receptive language instead of productive language. Also, studies continue to “show associations between excessive television viewing in early childhood and cognitive, language, and social/emotional delays” (Media and Young Minds). Cognitive delays are defined as delays relating to the mental processes of perception, memory, judgment, and reasoning, as contrasted with emotional and volitional processes. So, allowing children to sit in front of the television for hours upon hours, is allowing their ability to learn and make reasonable decisions decrease greatly. Therefore, putting them behind in school and eventually negatively affecting their future. Another study was done by Lisa Guernsey and she presents her results in her Ted Talk, “How the IPad Affects Young Children, and What We Can Do about It.” The study was done on two to three-year old’s and the group was divided into three different groups. Group one was shown a video, group two was shown an interactive video and group three was shown a live demonstration. The show consisted of three puppets and each of the puppets hid behind objects in the laundry room. After being shown the demonstration, the children were sent into a room that was an exact replica of the video. Not many of the children who watched only the video could find where the puppet had hidden. About half of the children who participated in the interactive video could find the puppets. But, the children who were shown the live puppet show, almost all the children could find the puppets. This study shows that technology is not as effective a tool for young children to learn with as many may think. This information is crucial to educators of all kinds and parents as well, as many are believing technology is one of the best ways a child can learn, when that is obviously not the case. 

A third reason that young children should have limited access to technology and limited screen time is that it disrupts the parent-child relationship. The relationship between parent and child has great significance. The parent is the provider for the child, typically shapes the future of the child, and most children would say that their parents are their role models. Many may not even notice this is an effect of young children using technology, but it leads “to decreases in parent–child interaction when the television is on and poorer family functioning in households with high media use” (Media and Young Minds). The television is a major distractor in family households, as well as cellphones, tablets, and computers. Often, the television is just on in the background and nobody is watching it, but it still takes the attention of the family away from their interacting and to the television. Frequently, a mother or father will be trying to engage in conversation with their child and the television will be taking all of the child's attention and interrupting the conversation. This simple distraction from the screen effects the relationship between parent and child immensely.  The parent-child relationship carries a lot of weight, thus, interrupting this relationship with technology is not necessary. Although times are changing, and people are becoming more involved with technology on a daily basis, children “still need what developing human beings have always needed, including real food, real play, first-hand experience of the world they live in and regular interaction with the real-life significant adults in their lives” (Plowman 64). The adults in their life are necessary as they provide guidance and support to children who are still developing and technology is pushing them away. While not all use of technology for young children must be cut out, their use of technology should not be in solitude. IEEE Technology and Society Magazine suggests “children can be introduced to technology under careful parental supervision” (Young 27).  Young children using technology can greatly interrupt the parent-child relationship, but if both the parent and the children are engaged in technology together, the relationship could be strengthened as they have increased interaction with each other. For example, if the parent and child are playing a game together on a device or watching a movie together, they will be spending more time together and interacting together which will increase the chance that they will interact more in the future. Although, interacting with technology together could be beneficial, this should be limited and other interaction without technology should happen too. Lastly, the parent-child relationship is one of the most important relationships as it helps to shape the child's future and it should not be interrupted by the use of technology. 

All in all, the benefits that technology provide are greatly outweighed by the negative effects on children. Technology is a great tool for learning, but not all children have access to the same amounts of technology, which puts them at a disadvantage. Also, technology in the learning environment is a major distraction. Technology is also seen as an advantage for parents. They use technology as a tool for entertaining their children and a reward for good behavior or to keep them from bad behavior. However, these are only a short run solution to what is creating a long-term problem of a bad parent-child relationship. Most importantly, technology can lead to learning difficulties, decreased social interaction and attention deficits. All of these issues are putting the child at risk for benefits that are not so rewarding. For these reasons, young children should have limited access to technology and increase their social interactions. 
