Research Paper

The Negative Impacts that Digital Technology Has on Adolescents.

Introduction

In the world today, adolescents have become so involved and consumed by digital technology, via cellphones, tablets, laptops, and any portable device we use on an everyday basis, that it has altered the way we live, think, communicate, learn, and see the world. Of today's modern technology, there are many convenient uses that really help make our lives easier by creating effortless communication, saving time, and the disbursement of education and information. Without these advancements, the world would not be as it is today resulting in lack of information, and more strenuous ways of sharing information and research. On the other hand, the expeditious growth of digital technology has its downsides. With the fast development, we tend to become too reliant on these devices to do the work or task for us. Hence, over time, either we become lazy or incapable to do it ourselves. In teens, this can play a major role in development, learning-wise and socially.

Some scholars have approached this topic by discussing the pro and cons of modern research and the effects of the advancement of future digital technology while others have identified, discussed, and/or tested the cognitive, social and emotional effects of the uses of digital technology. The researchers a

re teaching educators that are geared towards other teachers or parents. They let the audience choose a side to agree or disagree on without providing biased information, and others have chosen a side and build upon it to persuade the reader into agreeing with their view. In relation to that, my method of contriving my research is to provide the topic of information for the audience to ponder, while stating my side of the argument.  

Possible technology addiction

The exploitation of a new communicative environment has positive effects on the brains of the youth. Experts agree that today, youths are able to ascertain between competing facts more accurately, make decisions more quickly, exhibit greater flexibility in employment, and heightened cognitive and analytical skills. Youths unlimited access to technology and the ability to attain numerous sources of information is what plays a role in rewiring their brains hence making them more efficient.
         However, other experts believe the integration of technology on the lives of youths may suppress critical thought, intelligent conversations, and a sense of traditional “play” enjoyed by their parents and previous generations. (Barakat 2014) Researchers share concerns about the changes in adolescents attention span versus those who spend most all of their waking hours under the influence of “hyperconnectivity” (an undefined addiction to stay online). A demand for always being connected and a shorter attention span can make it harder to concentrate and solve problems especially if there are few social developments that requires a deeper level of thinking. An “always-on” society can decrease genuine human socialization with family and friends (Barakat 2014). We see a mix of positive and negative effects as mobile connectivity transforms the lives of children. Technology fosters learning and cognitive development not yet developed in young children, however, some teens suffer from an unhealthy use of technology. Barakat discusses and lists the negative effects of technology as, FOMO (fear of missing out), the “phantom vibration syndrome”(the phenomenon where people experience a vibration produced by their phones when there isn't any), inability to sleep, inattention and memory problems, poor impulse control and more.

Cognitive Effects of Technology

Although digital wallowing offer some selective cognitive benefits, however there are drawbacks showing that they adversely impact students cognitive functions by rewiring the way they read, learn and think. Digital technology has various implications for teaching a traditional education to students who are gradually learning differently. (Cavanaugh et. Al. 2015) Cavanaugh provides evidence for the students that own a certain type of digital technology by conducting a survey of elementary middle and high school students to support his claim that student use theses excessively in liberal ways. However based on this data from his service, we can make assumptions on the future of students use it in digital technology. Which probably will not be true. He notices the difference in student learning behavior as an educator, and trying to inform other teachers about the problems that exist, so he is convincing them to them for a reapproach in the way they teach student and apply new material.

There are social and cognitive effects of digital technology on teenagers brain and their socialization processes, as well as to learn the best practices with regard to digital consumption. (Ives 2012) In her research she lists her findings into three categories, positive effects negative effects and best practices. She states how to be involved in young students digital consumption habits as it seems to be a current to lack of understanding misunderstanding, fear, and ambivalence from parents on the subject.

Social and Emotional Cost on the Adolescent Brain

The rapid uses of digital technologies vastly effects  how we communicate, work, learn, and spend our time. (Healey 2011) Digital media literacy is the ability to access, understand and participate or create content using digital media. This ability is becoming integral to effective participation in the digital economy and Australian society. Those who do not adapt may fall victim to the ‘digital divide’ and be excluded. The ‘digital revolution’ has positive and negative effects, which are both explored (Healey 2011). On the positive side, people are increasingly being connected across distances with the greatest of ease and innovation via mobile phones, online social networking, blogging, gaming and e-learning. On the negative side are a range of social impacts – internet addiction, cyberbullying, inappropriate exposure to pornography, privacy risks, and cyber crime.

People need to take into consideration the social and emotional health of adolescents who spent so much time looking at the screen and how it is affecting their brains health and overall development. screen time has its effect, with all types of media, on adolescents and it is causing them to be more emotionally and socially impacted due to the time spent on these devices. The obsession and social media and Internet browsing have consumed most of our time out of our days, causing us to spend less time away from families, studies, and active behavior. We, as adolescence, have a grown and excessive addiction to these technologies that has become somewhat serious. (DeWeese 2014) DeWeese contribute to the discussion in that learning processes of students help them by letting them feel connected or hindering the growth of their attention span and critical thinking skills. She tests her a hypothesis by doing a survey at the local high school or frequently uses of iPads in the school and interviews teachers influence on their opinion on the effects of technology on adolescence inside of the classroom. Her purpose was to find out if integrating an iPad school is hindering the students ability to learn or whether it is helping them adjust to the technologically advancing world.

George developes seven fears that parents have when their child is surfing or browsing online. She discusses the effects of their social development, cognitive performance, and sleep.(George 2015) . She then finally factors all of these fears as the foundation and structures her case over it by giving statistics and doing and using surveys from reliable sources to strengthen her research.

Retrogression of Critical Thinking

With the constant uses of these devices students become less likely to use their brains for simple tasks and become more reliant on the devices to do it for them. This can alter how the brain function and help them solve everyday problems on their own.  This can contribute to the challenges and working with students who have grown up in a digital environment that could be disabling important systems of brain development related to the lack of exposure to traditional reading. (Rubin 2012) he explores the ability to use creative and higher order thinking processes related to the exposure to modern digital technology. He does not conduct an experiment however he states numerous sources and details pertaining to them. and incorporate that as evidence of his paper. This can be considered a gap among his work. He proves that two factors stand out on his analysis of judging the effects of technology on potential to hire order creative thinking which are, 1) a significant change to the motivation that drive creativity in society today and, 2) changes in synaptic brain function from using digital technology cripple the physical ability to innovate. Multitasking and spending just 140 characters or less on a topic is creating a distracted generation without direction or the ability to engage in deeper thinking, which raises concerns about the health and well-being of young adults who are simply unable to function without immediate access to online sources.

Technology has negative implications on reading and learning by overuse that could contribute to developmental delays and decrease interactions and experiences that encourage the use of creativity and imagination. (Yienger 2016) She believes that children exposure  to digital technology should be limited. Young children and toddlers are heavily impacted by these devices by influencing the  obsessive use of technology, hence they experience developmental impacts that will contribute to their unhealthy lifestyle in the years to come. She does not have her own primary source so this can be considered a gap in her research.

Reading for pleasure, which has declined among young people in recent decades, enhances thinking and engages the imagination in a way that visual media such as video games and television do not (Greenfield 2009). As technology has played a bigger role in our lives, our skills in critical thinking and analysis have declined, while our visual skills have improved, according to research by Patricia Greenfield. Learners have changed as a result of their exposure to technology, says Greenfield, who analyzed more than 50 studies on learning and technology, including research on multi-tasking and the use of computers, the Internet and video games. Her research was published this month in the journal Science. "As students spend more time with visual media and less time with print, evaluation methods that include visual media will give a better picture of what they actually know," said Greenfield, who has been using films in her classes since the 1970s.

             How society views technology has a great deal to do with how it forms perceptions about critical thinking. In the digital age, critical thinking is a topic that's garnering greater attention. As reading and math scores decline on standardized tests, many observers argue that it's time to take a closer look at technology and understand the subtleties of how it affects thinking and analysis. "Without critical thinking, we create trivia. We dismantle scientific models and replace them with trendy or wishful ones that are neither transferable nor testable."(Bugeja 2009)

Methodology

I conducted an experiments, a survey that asks a series of questions to determine if digital technology has a direct correlation to students cognitive functions and learning capabilities. Twenty randomly selected students between the ages of 18-23 will be tested and asked about information on how they uses their personal digital technology. I chose these participants because this age group has the most collective time spent on technology, which statistics have shown. Also, they tend to have more than 3 social media accounts. Digital technology is including [but not limited to] smartphones, tablets, laptops and any other portable multi-use devices. Popular social media accounts are Instagram, Twitter, Snapchat, YouTube and Facebook, having the most amount of monthly visitor ranging from 300 million to 2 billion but not limited to other smaller accounts like Tumblr, Pinterest, and Reddit.

In my interview, I asked the participants questions regarding how digital technology have impacted their lives by time consumption, lazy cognitive functions, social costs and the retrogression of critical thinking. They answered various questions pertaining to, how many times they spent sleeping, how do they feel about online browsing, how much time is spent on cell phones and other devices and how does social media impact how they see themselves and the world. These questions are important because they will allow me to find a correlation between how much time is spent on these devices and how that affects them. For example, I asked the question, “About how much hours a day do you use your digital devices?” because this tells me the most important answer for my experiment to directly see the time utilization on these devices. Also, I asked, “Do you think that constant uses for digital technology has an impact on how you live, learn, and see the word?” because if we choose to believe it or not, the vast and rapid distributions of information, ideas, and people does have an impacts on everything we do and believe and this experience is different for everyone so this is why this question necessary to the interview. By conducting this experiment, i tend to uncover the noticeable correlation between the constant growing usage it has on today's adolescents.

(Insert chart)

20 people- (sma) social media accounts

1 owned >2

1 owned 3

3 owned 4

6 owned 5

9 owned 6+

(Insert chart)

Hours per day/week

1->2 hours

3-3-4 hours

5-4-5 hours

7-5-6 hours

4-7+ hours

(Insert chart)

Owned Devices

3 owned 1

6 owned 2

7 owned 3

4 owned 4+

(Insert data)

Interview questions (anonymous)

Results

I've noticed that my results correlate with my hypothesis that students who do use more social media accounts and technology takes up more hours during the day than those who do not.

% of participants have said that they owned more than 2 devices and the devices they own correlate with the amount of hours they spend total on them. Of those participants, 9 of them rank in the 5+ hours spent on devices so this is a clear connection between how many devices students own to the idle time.

Results

I've noticed that my results correlate with my hypothesis that students who do use more social media accounts and technology takes up more hours during the day than those who do not. The students who spent more time on social media have less time to do their work and have conversations with their family friends and significant others. As seen in Graph 2, They have reported that they believe their SMA have taken up a huge part of their day as idle time. Fifty-five percent of participants have said that they owned more than 2 devices and the devices they own correlate with the amount of hours they spend total on them. Of those participants, 9 of them rank in the 5+ hours spent on devices so this is a clear connection between how many devices students own to the idle time.

Conclusion

Students who spend more time on devices are more likely to have more SMA and more devices to use. As you can see, this plays a major role in their cognitive development as well as social behavior. Digital wallowing has some drawbacks showing that it impacts students cognitive functions by rewiring the way they read, learn, and think. Students feedback indicate that they rely on the uses of their devices too much to the point where they cannot do simple everyday tasks without the assistance of technology. Also, student’s surveys have a harder time participating in critical and imaginative thinking which correlates to the amount of hours they spend on their devices. Hence, the rapid advancement in technology has more detrimental effects than helpful ones on adolescents

Worked Cited

Cavanaugh, Michael J., Catherine C. Giapponi, and Timothy D. Golden. "Digital Technology and Student Cognitive Development." Journal of Management Education 40.4 (2015): 374-97. Sage Journals. SAGE Publications LTD, 30 Oct. 2015. Web. 09 Feb. 2017.

DeWeese, Katherine Lynn. Screen Time, How Much Is Too Much? The Social and Emotional Costs of Technology on the Adolescent Brain. Diss. Dominican U of California, 2014. San Rafael: ERIC, 2014. ERIC - Screen Time, How Much Is Too Much? The Social and Emotional Costs of Technology on the Adolescent Brain. Web. 08 Feb. 2017.

George, Madeleine J., and Candice L. Odgers. "Seven Fears and the Science of How Mobile Technologies May Be Influencing Adolescents in the Digital Age." Diss. Institute for Scientific Information, 2015. Abstract. Perspective on Psychological Sciences. SAGE PUBLICATIONS LTD, 17 Nov. 2015. Web. 08 Feb. 2017

Ives, Eugenia A. IGeneration: The Social Cognitive Effects of Digital Technology on          Teenagers. Diss. Dominican U of California, 2012. California: ERIC, 2012. ERIC - IGeneration: The Social Cognitive Effects of Digital Technology on Teenagers. Oct. 2012. Web. 8 Feb. 2017.

Rubin, Jim. "Technology's Impact on the Creative Potential of Youth." Technology's Impact on the Creative Potential of Youth. 24.23 (2012): 252-56. Creativity Research Journal. 2012. Web. 08 Feb. 2017.

Voss, Michelle W., Lindsay S. Nagamatsu, Teresa Iu-Ambrose, and Arthur F. Kramer. "Exercise Brain, and Cognition across the Life Span." Journal of Applied Physiology 111.5 (2011): 1505-513. American Physiological Society. Bethesda, MD : American Physiological Society, 28 Apr. 2011. Web. 09 Feb. 2017.

Yienger, Maria E. "Too Much Tech Harms Reading Retention in Young Children." THE TECHNOLOGICAL INVASION 8.3 (2016): 1. Inquiries Journal. 2016. Web. 08 Feb. 2017. 

Appendix

Access to Graphs:
https://docs.google.com/document/d/121oVqucXUKh7N1c5Y4VRz4nO5IWnc_QDE27QF0KE6J8/edit?usp=sharing

These are the responses to some of the participants, 1-4. They are completely anonymous. Each answer is from the participants #1-4 consecutively.

About how many hours a day do you use your digital devices?

• 16
• 14
• 10
• 12
  

How many digital devices do you own?

• 4
• 6
• 2
• 3

What activity takes up most time on your device ? (Social media, messaging, school, work, etc.)

• Social media
• Messaging
• Social media
• Social media

Do you rely on predictive texts or any other grammar or spelling help on your device?**

• Yes
• Yes
• Yes
• no

How often do you use a search engine?

• Every time I have a question
• About 5 times a day
• Maybe once a day
• Every time I have a question

Do you think that constant uses for digital technology has an impact on how you live, learn, and see the word?

• About how many hours a day do you use your digital devices?
  • 16
  • 14
  • 10
  • 12
    
  How many digital devices do you own?
  • 4
  • 6
  • 2
  • 3
  
  
  What activity takes up most time on your device ? (Social media, messaging, school, work, etc.)
  • Social media
  • Messaging
  • Social media
  • Social media
  
  
  Do you rely on predictive texts or any other grammar or spelling help on your device?**
  • Yes
  • Yes
  • Yes
  • no
  
  
  How often do you use a search engine?
  • Every time I have a question
  • About 5 times a day
  • Maybe once a day
  • Every time I have a question
  
  
  Do you think that constant uses for digital technology has an impact on how you live, learn, and see the word?
  • Yes, I think it is much easier to learn now with access to the internet 24/7.  I also think people are more likely to stay inside using digital technology nowadays instead of going outside to explore the world.
  • Yes, the world is being taken over by the internet, creating an entirely new “online world”.  Instead of people interacting with others face to face, everybody just goes online to have conversations.
  • Yes I think it has a huge impact on how we live.  Information is available to everyone now thanks to the internet, so learning is a million times easier.  People also don’t like to go outside and play anymore because now we can just binge watch Netflix for weeks at a time.
  • Yes I think digital technology has a big impact on how I live.  For example, I let predictive text fix all of my misspelled words, which allows me to forget how to actually spell certain words.  I also use google all the time to answer any questions I might have, which allows me to just rely on google for any problems I come across.  I don’t actually learn anything.
  Yes, I think it is much easier to learn now with access to the internet 24/7.  I also think people are more likely to stay inside using digital technology nowadays instead of going outside to explore the world.
• Yes, the world is being taken over by the internet, creating an entirely new “online world”.  Instead of people interacting with others face to face, everybody just goes online to have conversations.
• Yes I think it has a huge impact on how we live.  Information is available to everyone now thanks to the internet, so learning is a million times easier.  People also don’t like to go outside and play anymore because now we can just binge watch Netflix for weeks at a time.
• Yes I think digital technology has a big impact on how I live.  For example, I let predictive text fix all of my misspelled words, which allows me to forget how to actually spell certain words.  I also use google all the time to answer any questions I might have, which allows me to just rely on google for any problems I come across.  I don’t actually learn anything.