Summary Of When My Kids Unplugged By Susan Maushart

The image of ideal families has changed and is now looked at differently compared to years ago. But does technology and devices how to do with the separation of family? In a short story in Rereading America called “Quality Time Redefined”, author Alex Williams executes many interviews to try and see how media has impacted the lives of family. According to one of his observations there was one family in particular that stood out. Ms. Vavra a cosmetic industry executive spoke about an evening with her family: “…Their son, Tom, was absorbed by a Wii game on the wide screen television. Their daughter, Eve, was fiddling with a game app called the Love Calculator on an iPod touch.” Ms. Vavra recalled, “The family was in the same room but not together" (94). She was advocating about how her and her family was all sitting together but all of them were in their own little worlds with their devices. Technology has become very popular and advanced throughout the years. This may be the cause for why families

The article Overprotected Kids by Hanna Rosin was informative and eye opening on the fact that children nowadays are watched over much more than say when their parents were children. I completely agree, and not only did the article give many examples, it brought me back to my own experiences; when I was a young kid. It’s understandable why parents are protective over their kids when they obviously just watching out for them and their well being. But overshadowing your kids can affect them more than is realized. I believe this is not parents intention, but the fear of something happening to their child has caused them to become what is considered “overprotected”.

As far back as I can remember I have had a happy childhood. I didn’t grow up depending on technology to teach me the alphabet or learning to draw pictures on an iPad. Instead I played outside for hours in my tree house inventing new ways to climb the tree in my backyard, and learning to color inside the lines of my coloring book that I bought with the quarters I earned with my lemonade stand at the end of my drive way. Families that make up our society and individuals are affected by different aspects of technology everyday. The digital age that we have rapidly approached since the 2000’s has effected minds of young children teaching them to play a digital game in a computer

“On the other hand, our computers, cell phones, and other electronic devices can have us plugged in 24/7 and can often cause us to feel fatigue and exhaustion, which can take heavy tolls on our mood, health, and well-being. Since our technology never sleeps, it is important that we sync with the daily rhythms of nature and get adequate rest at proper times for optimal health,” was what health expert John Douillard, DC, said about it. This can help explain the children’s, and especially

Being tethered to a phone, as opposed to simply having and using one, has become the norm and does more harm than good at times. People, especially teenagers, cannot seem to put the phones down. Some even admit to being addicted to their smart phones and experience anxiety when they are without it. According to Ellen Gibson, author of “Sleep with Your iPhone? You're Not Alone”, more than thirty-five percent of adults in the U.S. have a smart phone; two thirds of those people actually sleep with their phone due to the anxiety they feel from the thought of missing something such as a text, phone call, email, or social media posting. Gibson states “…being away from their phone will almost certainly cause separation anxiety… some people have become so dependent on being able to use their smartphones to go online anytime, anywhere, that without that access, they ‘can no longer handle their daily routine’”. To some, being addicted to a phone is like being addicted to a drug; there is a strong dependency that makes it hard to focus or concentrate on anything else. After speaking with a group of students from Cranston High School in Connecticut, Turkle says “These young people live in a state of waiting for connection. And they are willing to take risks, to put themselves on the line. Several admit that tethered to their phones, they get into accidents when walking” (236). This is an issue that will

In the article, Attached to Technology and Paying a Price by Matt Ritchel, Kord Campbell’s family is an example of a family who is addicted to their devices. In the afternoon, the squad all completes in a video game showdown. They all sit around the TV, playing a video game on their Wii. Their youngest daughter has an ipod touch, and all she does is use it. She also has a laptop. Researchers worry that “digital stimulation like this creates attention problems for children with brains that are still developing.” When we start to use the device over and over, it becomes a routine. Not only is it a routine, it could be considered to be a habit to keep checking things over and over again. For example, somebody who relies on their emails for their job checks their email constantly. This could be up to 50-100 times a day, something clearly too much and to distracting from the outside

Back then, children had toys and playgrounds to keep them entertained; these days, most children have an electronic device in their hands, such as an iPad, that keeps them amused. Rather than depend on their own imagination to come up with ways to amuse themselves, they are looking at a screen and poking at it, which takes away their imagination, something that is important to have as a kid. This dependency continues on as we become teenagers and adults, shown through examples in “No Need to Call”. Audrey, a 16-year-old from Roosevelt High School, pretty much lives on her cell phone; she is constantly taking pictures to post on Facebook so that other people can see the version of herself that she wants them to see. She goes as far as to say that if Facebook were deleted, she would be deleted too, which seems a bit too much (Turkle 380). No one should feel like their Facebook, phones or computers are their whole life and that they would not be able to live without them for even one day. This is when we should realize and know that we are way too dependent on those technologies, and that this dependency is not a good thing if we are too absorbed in

With the introduction of electronic devices at a very early age, today’s youth would rather send a text message to the person sitting next to them rather than turning and actually speaking to them. Our youth are turning into mindless drones. We are partially to blame for this. Electronic devices, TV’s, iPods, hand held video game consoles, smart phones etc.… have taken the place of “babysitter”, and kids do not receive the interaction we did at their age. Now, we’re not talking about teenagers just yet, but rather the ages ranging from 5-12 year olds. The allure of these devices are so addicting that by ages 13-18, most are not able to function without them, unable to hold a conversation, unable to express feeling to us, their

He points out three different mistakes that can be created in a child’s life when they use too much technology. These three mistakes are not setting limits, not having enough family time, and the parents themselves become too involved with technology. Too much technology can cause an increase of arguments between parents and kids, due to the amount of information kids now have access to. Children can use technology in a way to avoid real world situations and basic communication. In severe cases, Grover explains that technology can become addicting and can take over one’s life.

Take another look at the classroom. There are many children, all while none are communicating, because they are in their devices. Matt Richtel states, “Researchers worry that constant digital stimulation like this creates attention problems for children with brains that are still developing, who already struggle to set priorities and resist impulses.” If students can't pay attention to the teacher, they can't learn. Now, rethink this scenario, so that the devices are gone. Instead, kids are interacting with each other, while together working on a project, and the room thriving with knowledge. Helping one another, they find solutions to all the problems facing them, without the help of the internet. They are greatly satisfied with their accomplishments, and they enjoyed communicating. This is what technology has ripped apart from us. This is the set of stairs we can rebuild, if us students use our minds instead of our

Matt Richtel tells the story of how the Campbell’s spring break went. “We didn’t go out to dinner,” Mrs. Campbell mourned. “We just sat there on our devices.” Her husband joined them at the aquarium for a little while until he begged to do e-mail on his phone, and later she found him playing games. But finally they unplugged, “It changes the mood when everybody is present,” Mrs. Campbell said. Richtel goes on to say, “In the modern world, the chime of incoming e-mail can override the goal of writing a business plan or playing catch with the children.” The ultimate risk of heavy technology use is that it diminishes empathy by limiting how much people engage with one another, even in the same room,” Mr. Nass from Stanford thinks. If the students put down their electronics, and encourage the rest of their family to do the same, it could be an opportunity for them

The current generation of children is completely different than the preceding ones. They are living in the digital age. “Technology has blended in with daily activity to become a way of life and children today take for granted all of which is automated. It is hard for kids nowadays to imagine a world that existed without all of the gadgets, electronics and seamless operations that computer technology provides.” (3) “Children in the United States devote some 40 hours a week to television, video games and the Internet.” (12) Many psychologists and researchers are concerned about the impact that technology has on children. Children, tomorrow’s future parents and leaders, are being consumed by the negative effects that technology had on their

Today’s technology has greatly impacted the young children’s everyday lives. Phones, tablets, and computers are all a form of technology that impact the way kids are influenced. Some children get phones or computers at young ages and it can cause kids to depend on it to entertain them. Eventually they will allow the technology to take over and have it become the form of communication between friend and family instead of face to face. As parents continue to buy their children new technology they don’t monitor the amount of time their children spend on the Internet. Technology is becoming more advanced overtime which causes children to become more attached and unable to function without it near by.

On the other hand, others take the view that technology leads to the problem of decreasing family time is becoming increasingly worrying. An increasing prevalence of mental diseases which was caused by abusing cellphone and relying on the internet.In the end, they are isolated from the real world and weaken the relationship with family and friends

Regina Fleck has an iPhone 7 and she admits, “I no longer feel frustrated or impatient. That emotion now manifests in me as a desire to check my e-mail." (Tran). All around the world, technology has taken over the lives of many, especially children. Each year younger children are being introduced to new technology to help them learn and grow, but the effects of this may be different from what is expected. Rather than seeing growth, the overuse of technology is leading to many issues, including a decline in creativity, less active lifestyles, and difficulty falling asleep. The growing overdependence on and overuse of technology is affecting young children both mentally and physically.