Technologically Dependent

The Telegraph has an article about children and technology discussing the matter of how soon it is appropriate to introduce children to a technological world. Emma Asprey, Senior Lecturer in Primary PGCE at Bath Spa University argues that there isn’t a fixed age when children should start using technology. She believes that as long as the technology is used correctly and in moderation, technology can be a benefit to young children. 

Although I agree with her that technology can definitely benefit children starting at a young age if done pertinently, I do think that early childhood may be taking something away from young children by making them dependent on technology at such an early age. I believe that children should have a variety of skills through a variety of mediums. Every generation before the current has grown up using all or mostly non-digital, untechnical means of acquiring knowledge. If people wanted to know more about a subject they weren't familiar with, they looked it up in a dictionary, an encyclopedia, contacted the original source by letter, or did an experiment of their own. Today, all of our answers are handed to us. My generation complains about finding sources and researching information when it's at the tip of our fingers almost constantly. I can't imagine how much worse it were be if for some reason technology wasn't available to do so. Thankfully, if we were deprived of technology, my generation would still have the untechnical skills that we grew up with. Today's children will be much less adept at accomplishing things as they are becoming dependent on technology, as my generation has become as it has aged. Children should be grateful for technology, not expect it. They should also have the chance to fully appreciate the world around them. Children should know how to appreciate nature, the feel and the smell of an old book, the joy of accomplishing something on their own, and the sentiment from keeping old ways alive. Instead of watching a video of frogs at a pond, why not take a field trip to a pond and see them for themselves? Instead of reading a book that reads it straight to you, give them the challenge of reading it themselves while they turn each page as a reminder of progress. Children need technology to have multiple ways to communicate and accomplish goals in life, but they should have more than one option. We don't want our children to be technologically dependent, with the possibility of them being lost without it.