Digitalization has brought a remarkable transformation to the world, just like globalization and urbanization. Childhood is no exception to this fast-growing information and communications technology. There has been an increased rate of children assessing the Internet worldwide due to digital technology’s unlimited opportunity to learn, communicate, commerce, and free expression, specifically in remote areas. Children now depend on digital tools and services to engage, play, innovate, and connect to the world around them. The influencing power of technology has made it possible for children to participate in a global society previously impossible. Nevertheless, different challenges have been identified with the use of digital technologies by children. Let’s take a look at opportunities and challenges associated with children of digital ages.

Improved Creativity And Freedom Of Expression

The digital age has made children have expansive imaginations that cannot be contained. Kids only have crayons, colored markers, and word charts at their disposal to express those ideas in their mind and into a conveyable mode. They have much around them now to transform such ideas and thoughts into reality through their computer and tablet. The fast ability to learn skills at an ever-increasing rate in children has enhanced them to acquire an attached creative expression form. Interestingly, they still have their pen and drawing books. Nevertheless, besides drawing a picture, there is 3D animation, and one can even have a bigger picture of this in physical form by sending the animation to a 3D printer. Who knows what this animation can bring forth in the next few years to come.

Changes in socialization

Even as the Internet has spurred creativity and expands children’s access to different entertaining content, the question of socialization has been raised. Socialization issues have been one of the critical challenges encountered by children of digital ages. Children spend more time using digital platforms and tools, thereby affecting their physical activity and mental activity. Moderate digital technology utilization has been said to benefit children’s mental well-being, while excessive use can be detrimental. There has been a significant change in the way children socialize. It is somewhat more pronounced in the online world than in the real world.

Playgroups that allow kids to meet new friends and enjoy moments together by playing with different toys, fostering interaction and creativity on the part of the children are now becoming a thing of the past. Children see this as stressful and will rather build an online personality instead of creating physical interaction, making a face-to-face relationship with new friends and family.

A possible solution to this could be if you bring a ‘digital playground’ to your house. This is easily done by adding home additions to your house, a new space that can be used to engage in technology. While children will be again  involved with the virtual world, a difference would be that their friends can join them. Now they will not only interact with one another virtually but also will have to share a word or two in real life. This will make the best of both worlds for them.

Cyber Bullying

Although information communication and technology have made it simple and easy to connect and share personal experiences. It has also enabled new channels of connectivity for cyberbullying than offline, which is easier to commit because the bully does not have to confront. Cyberbullying is one of the significant challenges faced by children of the present digital age. Cyberbullying refers to using technology to harass, embarrass, target, and threaten another, focusing on things like a person’s race, gender, religion, sexual orientation, and physical differences, which might be against the law in some countries.

Online abuse on the Internet and social media is highly malicious and has been the other of the day, yet most children meet on this platform, subjecting themselves to this effect. Social media has also been a place where some people spread rumors and allow people to say things they don’t dare to communicate in real life.

Project Creation opportunities

Children in the digital age now have opportunities to enhance scientific literacy, critical thinking, problem-solving, teamwork, foreign languages learning, etc., which can be appropriately used if the digital skill is available. Raspberry Pi 4 provides an opportunity to create different projects and make it fun and interesting to learn about technology. The creation of this project has promoted the teaching of necessary computer skills inside and outside of school. It has exposed large numbers of kids to programming projects both personally and commercially.

Children have much to gain from digital technology and, at the same time, at high risk. There is a call for responsibility not only to the parent or caregiver, pediatrician, educators who are most directly involved in raising the kids but also to the policymaker and those who produce content for children on social media and the Internet children at the center of digital policy. They must strive to be at the vanguard of any global digital policies made to protect them from online harm and allow the Internet and social media to bring out their full potential.

This post was written by Dana Brown, one of our guest authors. Here at the IseeQ blog, the insights of other professionals are always appreciated, so you have a topic idea in mind feel free to contact us!