The internet could also be very useful for children, the internet will help children expand there knowledge on loads of different areas. Children would have access to websites books and on-line journals which they could use to help there minds grow. There are sites which are very useful to children during exams periods. These sites such as BBC bite size help children on revising for exams and helping them understand some things they might not have during school lessons.
Another part of IT which is a downfall for children is computer games. Children spend more time playing computer games than they do playing outside. This means children are more likely to be overweight and unfit, and as most people know this is a huge problem in the UK. Another reason computer games are bad for children is because ‘Children are more likely to imitate the actions of a character with whom they identify. In violent video games the player is often required to take the point of view of the shooter or perpetrator’.
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This could raise street crime in the UK. An example of this would be the Rhys Jones case which happened during the summer. Games could also be bad for health reasons, e.g. a when a child is playing a computer game they are using there hands a lot, this could lead to Repetitive strain injury. Another example is if the child is staring at the computer or TV a lot then they would have eye problems. Ergonomics also falls under this category e.g. most children have game consoles in there bedrooms, this means they would sitting on there beds playing games with no back support, this can cause problems in the future.
Computer games can also be good. Some computer games have great learning experiences for children. These sorts of games are good for children’s minds; it combines boring learning with exciting games so in a way it plays a trick on the player. Computer games could also be good for children, an example of this would be if the child starting to think about what makes a game or where it comes from then
they could pursue a career in this and games design is a career which offers good money.
Another example of IT that can be dangerous to a child is Mobile Phones. Mobile phones are used by pretty much everyone these days. I know some children who have phones at the age of eight. Personally I think a child should be fourteen or fifteen before they receive there first mobile. Mobile phones are famous in the news for the radiation they produce. ‘Radio waves form mobile phones do harm body cells and damage DNA…’; ‘Studies have suggested mobile phone radiation may have some effect on the body, such as heating up body tissue and causing headaches and nausea…’ These examples of effects of mobile phones are taken from .
Another reason mobile phones are bad for children are to do with bullying. E.g. in most schools children are always in competition with each other to be and have the best things. So children with phones that are not ‘top of the line’ are more prone to bullying, which could send some children in to depression. Mobile numbers are another way mobiles are bad for children. What I mean is that children normally are so excited about having a mobile they give there number to any one or even put it on the social networks i.e. ‘bebo’ and ‘facebook’. This means that people can torment children using there mobiles. People could also use Bluetooth to torment children with mobile phones. They could send children unwanted images or even retrieve messages and phonebook numbers from phones.
Mobiles are also good for children because they are a great way for children to communicate with people like there parents. E.g. if they needed picked up from somewhere or if they were lost.
But the main bad point about mobiles is there likeability to thefts. People always say look after your mobile, make sure nobody is watching but children wouldn’t think about that they would be an easy target for criminals.
Information Technology could also effect a child’s social development. What I mean by this is that a child would spend more time indoors than outside with friends. This means they could loose out on valuable lessons learned when growing up. They could also loose there friends, because some friends may see them as boring and move on to other people. Again this raises the issue of obese children because children wouldn’t have enough exercise and would become lazy and overweight.
Then again children who spend time on the internet could end up making friends in many different parts of the world. This would help in building there culture experiences, and there learning of different cultures and races that are in the world.
Another thing that may cause concern to children using IT is there reliability on Information Technology. Children could become dependant on things such as mobile phones and ipods. They could become used to using mobile phones to text thus meaning than when they actually need to write a letter or a piece of coursework then they could end up using text language than the English language. I personally think that ipods are great but by having an ipod children will fall into many of the traps mentioned above. E.g. they could get them stolen, they could use free music download sites. But ipods could also be bad for your health, ‘ipod owners face increased risks of tinnitus and other hearing problems’.
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Most people are unaware of the problems caused by ipods, and some schools have banned them. An example is ‘A private school in Australia has banned its pupils from listening to their iPods. The yuppie consumer gadget will not be permitted in class, because it encourages kids to be selfish and lonely…’ this text extract is from .
Other aspects of Information Technology children could become reliable on are things like ‘spell checker’. ‘Spell checker’ is a program that goes through written work on programs like word and checks for spelling mistakes. Yes it does help but it also is disadvantage because it misses some words and if a child is writing a piece of coursework they would lose marks for spelling. But by using ‘spell checker’ they think that everything they wrote is spelled correctly and all grammar is correct.
In conclusion there are many different types of ways Information can affect children, I have mentioned them above. I’m undecided about the ways Information Technology helps and hinders children. I think there is more points of IT that hinder children e.g. social development, Internet, Mobile Phones etc. You could also argue how Information helps a child’s development. E.g. there are more opportunities available to them. Whatever way you think about Information Technology and Children we have to acknowledge that IT will play a huge part in our children’s future.
