Impact of the Internet

 What is the impact of the internet on us and our young youth?

        I was not able to sleep much last night because I have been listening to a video from The Economist magazine, they had an article about how the future will be more connected than ever. At first, it started with this: “In 1960, less than 500 people had access to the Internet. Now we reach one billion users”. And if you ask me, that means a new generation has just arrived, who has the knowledge to control technology, who can make its decisions. I also realized another interesting fact. More than 4 billion of the world population are under 30 years old. Do you think there are no difference between our kids, teenagers from our era, and kids born in 2020? I mean, look at myself, my sister, my daughter, my son. My youngest child has just started school. I wonder where his teacher thought that school will start for him. It may happen like never before that the internet will play such a great role in shaping the kids' life. Let’s talk about some topics like the internet, young people and children.

 Internet and Digital Kids       

           Let’s start with kids, they are the most affected by technology. Our kids, whether they are 2 or 17 have a very small amount of time to spend with their families because social media and computers, smartphones, tablets… it all will be replaced soon. We are living in an unusual period when communication through technology will become our reality. All I could think about during the online meeting on Zoom is: Why do we need to use so many apps? Who needs them? In addition, they will be able to follow people, but they don’t have the time and energy to know everything anymore. They are more focused on following the trend and doing things. What they need is to know what is happening and not have all the possibilities to understand everything about other people. As for parents, they probably know better than everyone else about how tech affects young people, but I remember my mother. She told me: "The internet is really important and should be used in moderation."

 When she was talking about the negative impacts, my eyes filled with sadness. Even though the majority of times I see her, she is always happy, her eyes sparkle, her smile bright. But when I think about how much time her son spends on Facebook every day, how much he watches YouTube videos or how many hours he spent reading a book in class, I feel depressed and sad. I’m worried about the consequences… what would happen when someone of the same age as my son starts using these gadgets, how will he behave? How will you deal with that scenario? As for myself, I realize that I have two choices. First, I will spend my time helping and teaching him how to use these devices safely and responsibly. Secondly, I will do something about this situation, to encourage my little girl to avoid the use of digital technology in the first place.

          Nowadays, thanks to the influence of Google, our kids cannot even imagine a remote classroom, because the internet will change this way of teaching and learning. Schools will have a special classroom at home to bring up the best teachers, and we will get an opportunity to learn from them every year. A wonderful teacher friend taught me the importance of using technology. He told me: “Children like having constant monitoring and feedback on what they are doing. For example, if you put your finger down on a screen, it will show you how it looks in different circumstances. This is especially helpful when we work with others. ‘What if it does not fit in the box? What if it doesn’t look good?’”. I had to accept this. When I was going through my first semester, I told myself that I will try to go into classes without the presence of technology. But now that I’ve gone back to school, and I’m getting ready for exams, I think about what kind of person I am and about how I will react when I have to face this responsibility. I didn’t want to give in to this pressure because I wanted to enjoy studying and find pleasure in what I do.

           I’m sorry that you’ve lost your phone. Have you forgotten about social studies? You have already done three days of virtual lessons. Or maybe you did not like it so much, no problem. But, it hurts to carry around so much information and to have so little time to solve any problems or to remember what you read in the past. Your school might already have a lot of assignments, but now you need to study, and you just have to give up the idea of studying. Maybe your teacher doesn’t want you to do it, but you need to remember the material, you have no choice. So, try to study a bit without any distractions, you’ll have to spend a few extra hours each day. Then, to get out of exams, you have to give up your homework to finish it. Can you imagine? Not only, you are doing a task without thinking about what it will do to your grades, but you are also giving up time for yourself?

 Social networks are affecting the health of the younger generation. We need to pay attention to where they are, why they are using these gadgets, and why they need them? I hope that they don’t realize that their lives are being ruined. They are under a load of surveillance and technology is everywhere. Are these kids not aware of how many dangers their phones present? Will you be able to limit the number of messages and notifications you send to your friends? I think that our kids are under a threat, from their own homes to places where they spend their precious hours. With this constant surveillance, they will have no more time to be kids and will be adults! Parents may want to protect their kids, but sometimes I think about what will happen once these younger generations are completely grown-up. I would hate this, no way our kids would stand out, it will not be easy to let them be kids, they are being watched 24/7, and we are losing the freedom to choose what will happen to them. As for me, I’ll keep reminding myself: “Stay strong, stay away from screens”.

           If you are a parent, please take care of the future of your children and be respectful to younger people, always advise them on how to use digital tools properly, to learn it is a privilege to understand what we can learn. Also, tell your children about the issues and your worries about young people nowadays. On the Internet they are surrounded by a bunch of technologies, our grandchildren won’t be the ones that can change that in the next generations.