Children are born in the age of technology where remote learning and experiential education is critical for the acquisition of core skills.
While we work from home and manage our businesses and work affairs using Zoom and other varieties of communication media, why do we exempt and deprive our children from the opportunity to learn how to connect globally through technological mediums?
“If we teach today as we taught yesterday, we rob our children of tomorrow. John Dewey”
Screen time and its effects on behaviour is a myth. There is no direct correlation between children’s negative behaviour and technology with the exception of one critical variable: content. Depending on what a child is “viewing” on the screen, a direct reaction to the visual cues will be expressed. If a child is interacting with technology then the fear of “Screen Time” is irrelevant since they are not watching cartoons with implicit ideologies or shows with insidious significance. Their brains are not dormant when they are required to create, manipulate, and interact with the programs on their tablet or screen.
Children of the future
When my child was 16 months old, he walked up to our family tv and starting swiping to change the show. Our TV was not a touch screen (as evidenced by the millions of little finger prints on the screen at night). However, our baby was born with the inherent knowledge of how to manipulate technology through touch. My 9 year old will teach me, often, how to use the digital remote control to turn on the various equipment connected to our TV. She is frustrated when she can’t use gestures to tell the TV what to do (because mommy disables it). Here is the truth: Children are born into a world equipped with artificial intelligence everywhere in their environment then they are asked to not utilize these powerful tools at their fingertips. Instead of hindering them from their natural fluency with technology, we should be empowering them with knowledge on how to use it to further their learning. Children are not limited by the same laws and principles we learned whilst growing up. Their minds are fertile and capable of harvesting incredible ideas that can provide solutions to everyday challenges in a pragmatic and often simple way. It is vital to harness the power of their inquisitiveness and genius and coach them on how to better their world and future using these tools that are part of their current reality.
If we don’t coach children on their facility with technology then we rob them of a future where their proficiency with technology will determine their success.
