What is technology? It is our everyday life. I can’t imagine my day without my smartphone, smartwatch, laptop, etc.
I suppose you can’t as well. Although we’ve all lived in a time when technology wasn’t developed, but eventually we gained an addiction to it (yeah, I consider it as an “addiction”).
Our kids are born with an addiction to technology. It’s like our children pick up their screens even in the mother’s belly (womb is a too fancy word).
We all want our kids to be smart, to be perfect, we have an unreal image of our expectations, and therefore pregnant mothers listen to calming music, and motivational stories, read articles, and all that for the wellbeing of the baby (like they can hear it).
When we get through all of that, here comes the baby. Next step: raise that baby, teach it to drink, eat, walk, think, run, swim, play, and for all of that we use guess who? Of course, Mr. Google.
I’ve always asked myself, what happened with the natural instinct of becoming a mother, what did my mother do, or her mother, or hers?
Nowadays, our children cry for their phone instead of their mommy or daddy, but I’ve realized that we don’t really discourage that kind of behavior.
In fact, we tend to get happy when our children do a little trick on their phones that’s simple for them but difficult for us (I won’t say older, just more mature).
I’ve always had mixed feelings about smart devices. As a parent, I always have a dilemma about what is right or wrong.
When is the right time to give my baby a phone to carry to school? What about the other kids?
On the other side, technology improves the ability to multi-task… Or does it? Let’s find out!
What Actually is Multitasking?
It is a concept when a person can split the attention on more than one task or activity at the same time (such as speaking on the phone and making lunch but be aware you may burn it or even worse yourself …)
Our kids can gain or improve their ability to multitask with the help of technology, so we can discuss the effects and side effects of technology multitasking.
So let’s jump straight in and explore what there is to know about technology and multitasking!
Positive Effects of Technology on Multitasking
- Helps with concentration
Imagine this picture: you as a kid are coming home from school, exhausted, you open your book to study and there is a boring and tough lesson waiting for you to give it attention (schoolbooks are drama queens).
Studies show that classical music actually helps children concentrate. And where does the music come from? A walking orchestra! Just kidding, the music comes from, you guessed it, technology!
Back in the day, we didn’t have phones, so our only chance of hearing music while studying was through a rusty old radio.
In conclusion, children can study while they are enjoying the genius pieces by the great Mozart, Beethoven, and… Jay-Z?
- Drawing lessons
Not every person has a talent for drawing, but sometimes our kids must draw to earn good grades at school. Besides, it’s a fun and creative hobby to pick up.
Nowadays there are a lot of tutorials on YouTube, that sometimes include voice-overs or music that kids can use to draw better.
I am always fascinated when my 8-year-old picks up an advanced tutorial while I am doing a step-by-step tutorial.
That is not all, while my girl’s drawing she is singing, talking, and watching the tutorial at the same time!
And the result? She is happy with her perfect drawing and I am disappointed with how bad my drawing skills are. But hey, we can’t win everything right?
- Talk On The Phone
We often put our children in those awkward situations where they need to talk with relatives on the phone.
Well, I’ve seen my kids do all sorts of stuff while chatting. And by stuff I mean simple things like sketching, and even mind-blowing stuff like algebra (not my favorite subject, if you didn’t already notice).
To conclude, children and young people are more multitask-oriented than parents. Kids can use social media, write a message and communicate, learn different things, create, dance, sing, learn how to play an instrument, and more at the same time!
Negative Effects of Technology on Multitasking
Previously I’ve told you that I have mixed feelings about technology and children’s multitasking abilities. Like everything, there are negative effects, if used wrongly.
So, let’s see those bad side effects of tech-multitasking!
- Lack of focus
The impact on the quality of work may be worsened by doing two or more activities at the same time.
Instagram, Facebook, and many other apps are attention-grabbers (used by attention-seeking people), so that means that one simple ding on our phones can take all our concentration away.
It happens to all of us while working, cooking, cleaning, etc. Well, it happens to our children as well.
It’s too bad that we sometimes get angry with them, not considering the fact that even we get our focus taken by tech.
So, it often occurs that children abandon their homework (or even their food, chores, etc.) just for the sake of a YouTube video or some game they play 24/7.
In those situations, we need to talk to them and encourage them to catch up with other non-techy activities.
To conclude, our main goal as good parents is to drown the negative side of tech-multitasking and resurface the positive effects. But don’t be too harsh! After all, kids are just kids.
ALSO READ: How to Use Technology to Keep Children Engaged and Motivated in Their Learning
