For today's tech-savvy college students, a day without computer use is a rarity, and relying on computers for everything from international news to instant messaging is normal.
As computer technology becomes an increasingly large element of the social fabric, however, it's not just college, high school, or even elementary school students who find themselves in front of the monitor. In fact, it's also pre-schoolers: a 2003 Kaiser Family Foundation survey found that 31 percent of kids three and under have begun using computers.
Tufts child development professor David Elkind is at the forefront of the debate over when - and how much - young children should be exposed to technology. Elkind, the author of child development classic The Hurried Child, says the issue isn't just relevant to parents and child care professionals.
"[In my classes], many students express reservations about the exposure of children to technology," said Elkind, who discusses the effects of television, movies, and the internet on children in his classes. "[They'll] often give personal experiences with children at camps where they're counselors, or with respect to their younger brother and sisters."
Those younger brothers and sisters are becoming increasingly tech-savvy: the Kaiser survey found 16 percent of children age three and under use computers "several times" per week, and that 11 percent can turn computers on by themselves.
To some students, such computer know-how at such a young age is not disturbing. "I know of 5 year olds who play simple, educational games on the computer by themselves, and that seems appropriate and beneficial," senior and child development major Rhonda Barkan said. "I certainly didn't have that option when I was 5, but I think it's great. They (a) learn how to basically navigate a computer and (b) play educational games, which obviously help them in general."
But Elkind says that conclusion_though commonly held_is not necessarily correct. "We have abundant research that what infants need most is social interaction and physical contact with caretakers," he said. "Technology, whether computers, TV or the like, puts distance between caretakers and the young child."
Additionally, using technology too early can hinder children's sensory development, Elkind said. "The early years are important for intersensory integration," he said. "Television and computers emphasize the visual at the expense of other senses."
"I think that the 'play' computers that are sold as toys are particularly useless and potentially damaging," said Tufts child development graduate student (and mother) Robin Einzig. "I think they set the stage for young children to spend their time sitting still and looking at a screen. Young children should be spending their time in active pursuits, using their imaginations, learning how to get along with peers, and exploring the world. They'll be in front of a screen soon enough!"
Einzig's concerns that "[early computer use] contributes, in my opinion, to the sedentary lifestyle [of] many children these days [which is] not a good thing," are backed up by the facts, she said.
"We already have evidence of the effects of too much technology," Elkind said. "There's been a dramatic increase in obesity in children, with too many sitting in front of television eating junk food and getting little exercise."
Though research has yet to definitively confirm it, the recent rise in ADHD could also be related to "the attentional patterns promoted by television," Elkind said.
In addition to such health reasons, there are social and behavioral reasons to keep young children from becoming too technology-dependent, too early. "The rise of all forms of bullying in our schools may_in part, at least_come from the fact that children are much more engaged in solitary than social play and lack important peer group interaction skills as a result," Elkind said.
Ironically, parents who think early computer use will be an asset to their children's futures are a driving force behind the boom of technology use among the very young. "The global economy, the explosion in technology, and the concern with security helps promote the idea that earlier is better, that education is a race and the earlier you start, the earlier you finish," Elkind said.
Though he disagrees with this idea, saying that "neither childrearing nor education is a race," Elkind also feels that "parents who are pushing technology early are doing so out of the best intentions."
"It's a difficult time to rear children," he said. "The schools have cut out recess. The media exposes them to violence and sex that they may not fully understand. Merchandisers sell clothing that's inappropriate and food that's unhealthy. Parents now have to protect their children from other social institutions, and this is a heavy burden."
"In some ways, parents feel that they have lost much of the control over childrearing that they once exerted," Elkind added. "By providing early stimulation, parents may feel that at least they have control over this part of their children's lives."
Elkind is less concerned about the use of technology by adolescents and young adults. "At the college level, technology is having a powerful and positive effect [on] teaching and [on] student-teacher interaction," he said.
"I know more about the world than my parents did at my age or my grandparents ever knew, both the good parts and bad, and in my view, knowledge is power," Barkan agreed.
It is not yet clear, though, if part of what makes today's crop of current college students so well-adjusted to the use of technology is their lack of exposure to such technology when they were younger. "Most college students today were not exposed to the Lapware [a website offering colorful games for young children] and other computer and CD programs that today's children are growing up with," Elkind said.
"Technology is neutral," he added. "It's abuse and misuse that I'm opposed to."
