Children becoming 'addicted' to computers

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Vox Populi Vox Dei

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http://www.telegraph.co.uk/educatio.../Children-becoming-addicted-to-computers.html

Barnaby Lenon, chairman of the Independent Schools Council, said young people’s reading and conversational skills were being put at risk by overexposure to modern technology.

He said parents should resist buying sons and daughters a smartphone until they are at least 15 and limit computer use to an hour or two a day.

Mr Lenon, the former headmaster of Harrow School, also called for the greater use of multiple choice questions in exams, saying they were an effective method of covering more of the syllabus and less susceptible to marking errors.

In an interview, he said that exposure to computers was particularly damaging to boys, harming their long-term development.
“Far too many children, and particularly boys, become quite addicted to computer use,” he said.

“It is very hard to prevent children from accessing damaging material through the computer, but the main issue is that children spend far too long on computers and, as a result, they are not doing the two things that we want [them] to do, which are reading and conversation.”

Mr Lenon told The Times that parents should be advised to restrict children’s access to computers and televisions in favour of reading stories together.

He also said computer use should be limited to one hour a day for children aged up to 12 and two hours for older pupils.
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I'll only buy a basic phone for them and teach them how to use it.

No need for a smartphone, mxit or the such.
 
ii know my penmanship has gone to from crap recently, the only time I write is on official documents
 
Not just kids, adults too.

I been to a few braais over the festive season, and the everybody cant go 30 mins without pulling out their phones to check mail, IM's etc.

Clear sign of the times!
 
This article is hysterical tabloid rubbish, bunch of old farts and jocks getting upset because people are becoming more cerebral and not playing with them any more. (Yes people, your company is that boring) They have no clue on how to adapt to the new world.

FIFO
 
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Times are changing and kids get bored quickly because they have so much information at their fingertips now.

I think its progress TBH
 
mmmig said:
ii know my penmanship has gone to from crap recently, the only time I write is on official documents
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You should have seen how calligraphy took a dive when people upgraded from feathers to pen... its a sad world :D
 
The_Librarian said:
I'll only buy a basic phone for them and teach them how to use it.

No need for a smartphone, mxit or the such.
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Yeah it's interesting to see how some teenagers have iPhones. I'm sure they're using the phone to their full potential :rolleyes:

Then again, a BlackBerry can be useful for teenagers who sms a lot.
 
mmmig said:
ii know my penmanship has gone to from crap recently, the only time I write is on official documents
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+1

I was at the Traffic Dept the other day and had to redo a damn form three times because I couldn't even write properly in the blocks. In the end I called my wife (who was sitting in the car) to come fill in the bloody thing :D
 
See no problem with controlling the amount of use. As with anything it's up to each parent to decide on limits. On the other hand the article and the individual quoted sound a bit hysterical.

Mr Lenon, the former headmaster of Harrow School, also called for the greater use of multiple choice questions in exams
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This method has it's own problems. Guessing is one. If you mark negatively to discourage that you take away marks from correct answers for genuine mistakes and essentially discourage making an attempt due to the consequences.
 
The generation gap: Young people have taken to technology like fish to water, older people are envious and feel left out and are now looking for reasons to make themselves feel better.

Dear Grandpa I respect your excellent language and spelling abilities, I respect your experience and your contributions to modern society, please respect my ability to multi-task, respect my freedom to use language in any way that pleases me, and respect the fact that we are not addicted to computers, but that computers are a major tool not only for scientific purpose, or for global communications and media, but also for personal entertainment and access to the greatest library ever in existence.

This is not an addiction sir, it is a new way of living, and welcome to 2012.
 
wrathex said:
The generation gap: Young people have taken to technology like fish to water, older people are envious and feel left out and are now looking for reasons to make themselves feel better.

Dear Grandpa I respect your excellent language and spelling abilities, I respect your experience and your contributions to modern society, please respect my ability to multi-task, respect my freedom to use language in any way that pleases me, and respect the fact that we are not addicted to computers, but that computers are a major tool not only for scientific purpose, or for global communications and media, but also for personal entertainment and access to the greatest library ever in existence.

This is not an addiction sir, it is a new way of life, and welcome to 2012.
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Thats it.
 
This web 'addiction' is a load of BS! It is the 21st Century and this is the evolution of man. The worry is coming from an older age group that simply cannot identify with the behaviour because it is way out and removed from their frame of reference as to what they did and how they acted when they were kids. It is NOT addiction but a change response in human behaviour to a changing world. EVOLVE OR DIE!

Honestly! Relax a bit!

:D
 
He said parents should resist buying sons and daughters a smartphone until they are at least 15 and limit computer use to an hour or two a day.
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That way once they are finished school they can become Lumberjacks, Farmers, Janitors and Tradesmen. Why not let them learn how to use a computer since they more than likely are going to need to.

Barnaby Lenon - Go back to your cave paintings and shut up.
 
wrathex said:
The generation gap: Young people have taken to technology like fish to water, older people are envious and feel left out and are now looking for reasons to make themselves feel better.

Dear Grandpa I respect your excellent language and spelling abilities, I respect your experience and your contributions to modern society, please respect my ability to multi-task, respect my freedom to use language in any way that pleases me, and respect the fact that we are not addicted to computers, but that computers are a major tool not only for scientific purpose, or for global communications and media, but also for personal entertainment and access to the greatest library ever in existence.

This is not an addiction sir, it is a new way of living, and welcome to 2012.
Click to expand...

Couldn't agree more, good post.
 
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