Negative Effects Technology Children, Research Paper Example

The internet and other modern communications technologies have an enormous amount of potential to entertain, inform and educate. Their potential is seemingly limitless, but with that potential comes the risk of certain perils. The potential harms associated with the internet and other digital technologies include exposure to sexually explicit content, exposure to violent content, social underdevelopment and depression, online harassment and cyberbullying, privacy concerns, and lack of physical activity on the part of young people who spend too much time online. Sorting fact from fiction reveals that while the risks of some of these concerns may be overstated, others are very real problems. Families should be informed about the real risks as well as being aware of the hyperbole so that they can make the best and most sensible decisions based on their values.

Although the internet can be very useful and helpful, it has harmful effects on children too. One of the more obvious of these effects is pornographic content, of which the internet has a lot. As Strasburger, Wilson and Jordan explain, pornography is a business that makes nearly $13 billion every year in the United States alone (251). This makes it very easy for young people, in many cases, to find access to this kind of offensive material (Gallo 80). According to Gallo, children see pornography for the first time by the average age of 11 (80). By the age of 15, 92% of guys and 84% of girls have been exposed to the adult magazines Playboy or Playgirl (Strasburger, Wilson, and Jordan 251-252).

There are some findings that indicate that young people who seek out adult content are less satisfied in their lives and have less social support from family members and friends that are not online (Gallo 74). While some findings are conflicting about this and it is not clear that adult content always does the same things to young people, there are indications that it may have a shaping influence on behavior. In particular, young people who turn to adult content for satisfaction may be less able to enjoy their lives and be happy. They may be less socially adjusted, and they may also be more compulsive types of people (Gallo 74-76). There are also reports of young people discovering pornographic materials and deciding to try to imitate what they see (Gallo 76-77). Such sexually risky behavior can lead to pregnancy (Gallo 76-77).

Some adult content (although not all) is also violent, and this has raised many concerns about the effects on young people (Strasburger, Wilson, and Jordan 253). There are indications that seeing depictions of violence can lead to more aggression, especially in men, and seeing violence and sex together in the same context can lead men to potentially be more aggressive toward women (253). Thus, the presence of adult content on the internet is a potential risk that families should be aware of.

Violent content is another potential issue. Strasburger, Wilson and Jordan explain that violence is complex and has many causes: “no single factor propels a person to become violent” (146). Factors that can influence violence are many, and include both neurological and hormonal imbalances as well as cognitive deficiencies (146). Exposure to family violence during adolescence is itself a risk factor for later violent behavior in adulthood (146). Societal forces, such as poverty, drug use and the availability of guns, all seem to influence violent behavior as well (146). With all of this in mind, the question of whether or not the internet and other media influence violence is a contentious one, and it is one that must be phrased in light of the plethora of influences already known to impact tendencies toward violent behavior.

It is widely believed that violent media, including violent video games, movies, television shows and even song lyrics, have an impact on real-world violence (Strasburger, Wilson, and Jordan 146). The real-world picture is a somewhat complex one. It is true that some researchers have found indications that violence in a variety of media, including video games, television, movies etc., can have antisocial effects—or at least is correlated with antisocial behavior (Strasburger, Wilson, and Jordan 146).

On the other hand, there is reason to think that the link between violence in the media and violence in real life has been overstated. As Dr. Markey of Villanova University explained, while it is true that violent media—specifically video games—can lead to hostile and aggressive behavior temporarily, it is quite a leap to say that there is any connection between this and deadly violence, as in gun violence (Markey). Dr. Markey also pointed out that violent video games in particular have become much more popular recently. Within the past 15 years, video games overall have become so popular that 97 percent of young people play them, and many (though by no means all) of those video games are violent (Markey). If there was any connection at all between violent video games and real-world violence, Dr. Markey says, one would think that real-world violence would have increased. What has actually happened is exactly the opposite: all kinds of violent crime have decreased in this period (Markey).

Thus, violent content on the internet and in other media may not be the harm that it has been suggested to be. On the other hand, overuse of such media may lead to negative social effects other than aggression. There are concerns that children who spend all of their time online may fail to make enough connections in their daily lives, leading to isolation and depression (Jackson, vo Eye, and Biocca). This may well be the case in some instances, but it is also true that the internet in particular facilitates making connections that would otherwise be difficult if not impossible to make. For example, it is very easy for young people to make friends with others in different parts of the country or even the world. Because the internet allows highly affordable and near-instantaneous communication, young people can keep in touch with friends and family living in other parts of the world (Jackson, vo Eye, and Biocca).

Other risks are much, much clearer. Cyberbullying and online harassment are both very real problems, and families must guard against them assiduously. Cyberbullying means using online communications to intimidate, belittle, embarrass, frighten, or harass someone else (O’Keeffe and Clarke-Pearson). One form of cyberbullying is flaming, a form of heated, often insult-laden argumentation that typically does not last long but can be very intense (Willard 5). Common places online where flaming occurs include discussion boards, chat rooms, and MMORPGs (massively multiplayer online role-playing games). Flaming is nasty and very offensive, but it is generally characterized by a certain balance between the two individuals or groups engaged in it: both are trading insults and nasty remarks, and neither one has an overwhelming social advantage over the other (5-6).

Harassment, on the other hand, is far more serious. With harassment, the bully sends offensive messages to a particular target, the victim, with the aim being to hurt them (Willard 6-7). While flame wars are generally short in duration, harassment is much more long-lasting, often occurring as a long-running targeted campaign of the victim (7). The victim may try to retaliate with offensive messages of their own, but with harassment the victim is unlikely to be able to hurt the perpetrator at all, and they will be simply trying to make the communication stop. Also unlike flaming, harassment may entail the recruitment of large numbers of outside bystanders to the cause. There are many young people who have far-reaching contacts made online, sometimes with people in far-flung parts of the world, and in some cases such young people have successfully recruited such contacts to help them harass someone (Willard 7).

Another insidious form of cyberbullying is denigration. Denigration is not unlike harassment in that it involves cruel communications about a person, but it differs in that the victim is the butt of a long-running joke carried on between other people (Willard 7). Denigration might include unflattering, unkind and cruel jokes, anecdotes, rumors, gossip, and outright lies disseminated about a person with the aim of undercutting them. There have even been cases of young people starting websites to denigrate someone (Willard 7). Whereas with harassment the victim receives unwanted communications, with denigration they may not receive any messages at all. The hurtfulness of the practice derives from being the victim of a campaign of nasty rumors, which if successful will generally make the hapless individual so targeted a social pariah (Willard 7).

Privacy is another very serious concern. Many interactive websites require logins so that users can post under particular ids, and this usually entails users giving out some personal information (Strasburger, Wilson and Jordan 79). In the United States, the 1998 Children’s Online Privacy Protection Act (COPPA) requires all websites that are specifically targeted to children younger than 13 to have a prominently-displayed link to their privacy policy (79). The link must explain clearly how personal information users give the site is collected and used (79). However, the law has not been very well enforced, and there are still many sites that are not in compliance. Notwithstanding COPPA, survey results indicate that plenty of young people are very willing to give out personal, private information to a website. In fact, in a nationwide survey of 10- to 17-year-olds, “31% reported that they had given out personal information to a Web site” and a full 45% said that they would do so for a free gift (79).

Overuse of the internet and other media can certainly have negative impacts on physical health. After all, young people who spend all of their time online or on their mobile devices are not as likely to spend enough time exercising (Patrick). In essence, time cannot be spent twice: if someone spends time playing a video game, they cannot spend that same time going for a walk, or playing a sport with their friends, or learning how to fly-fish, or anything else. What this means is that young people who spend too much time on the internet, or playing video games, or engaging in other media may be at greater risk for becoming obese. Using these media too much can lead to a very sedentary lifestyle, one that revolves around time spent with eyeballs glued to screen (Patrick). Because of this, young people can miss out on the many benefits of a healthier lifestyle for both body and mind.

The internet and other digital technologies have much potential: they can allow people to access enormous amounts of entertainment and informational content that would otherwise be unavailable to them. These capacities can be used for good ends or for ill, and there are a number of examples of the latter where the wellbeing of young people is concerned. From exposure to sexually explicit content to harassment and cyberbullying, there are real risks associated with the use of such digital technologies. On the other hand, some dangers may be overstated: violent video games do not seem to lead to real-world violence. Rather than endorsing moral panics or a creed of unequivocal libertinism, families should seek to be informed about the real risks of the internet and other digital technologies, and then make sensible decisions. By so doing families can avoid the real pitfalls of the internet and other technologies, while still enjoying them for their more pleasant and beneficial uses.

Works Cited

Gallo, Conchetta. The Effects of the Internet on Social Relationships: Therapeutic Considerations. Bloomington, IN: iUniverse, 2011. Print.

Jackson, Linda A., Alexander vo Eye, and Frank Biocca. “Children and Internet Use: Social, Psychological and Academic Consequences for Low-income Children.” APA.org. American Psychological Association, Dec. 2003. Web. 27 Oct. 2014. http://www.apa.org/science/about/psa/2003/12/jackson.aspx

Markey, Patrick. “In Defense of Violent Video Games.” USNews.com.U.S. News & World Report, 29 April 2013. Web. 27 Oct. 2014. http://www.usnews.com/opinion/articles/2013/04/29/no-link-between-violent-video-games-effects-and-school-shootings

O’Keeffe, Gwenn S., and Kathleen Clarke-Pearson. “The Impact of Social Media on Children, Adolescents, and Families.” Pediatrics.AAPPublications.org. Pediatrics, 1 April 2011. Web. 27 Oct. 2014. http://pediatrics.aappublications.org/content/127/4/800.full

Patrick, Josh. “Physical and Social Effects of Internet Use in Children.” Livestrong.com. Livestrong.com, 13 Mar. 2014. Web. 27 Oct. 2014. http://www.livestrong.com/article/516549-physical-and-social-effects-of-internet-use-in-children/

Strasburger, Victor C., Barbara J. Wilson, and Amy B. Jordan. Children, Adolescents, and the Media. 2^nd ed. Thousand Oaks, CA: SAGE Publications, Inc., 2009. Print.

Willard, Nancy E. Cyberbullying and Cyberthreats: Responding to the Challenge of Online Social Aggression, Threats, and Distress. Champaign, IL: Research Press, 2007. Print.