Children and Technology

As I read the paper a few days ago, I came across an article titled, “How to Handle a Cyber-bully”, and I began to reflect on how the use and identity of various spaces has changed. Technology has become integral to the individuals identity, and to the identity of a society. Technology has the power to interfere with the order of things, raise the level of communication, increase security, and set standard for pop culture. Bullying used to occur in playgrounds and classrooms, and while I am sure it still does, technology has opened up an entirely new realm for this process. There is no doubt that the present era is fixated with technology, and that children are constantly accessing their e-mail, MySpace, or Facebook accounts. Also, with the growing popularity of iPhones and Blackberrys, you can constantly receive up to the minute notifications. With all these technological advancements, it is unfortunate that some people decide to abuse these privileges. Technology has provided us with a space through which we can stay connected with people and events globally, and it has created various platforms for people to express themselves. However, this space has clearly taken over social processes that used to exist in other public platforms. Children constantly struggle with fitting in, and technology has become a pop culture phenomenon that has raised the standards for what it means to be 'cool'. Therefore a child not only has to deal with the pressures of attaining access to technology, but with the pressures of dealing with all of the social processes that come with this access.
Educators and other child oriented professionals need to be aware of the growing impact that technology has on children in order to effectively deal with problems such as bullying.
Link: http://www.parentcentral.ca/parent/newsfeatures/article/727137--how-to-handle-a-cyber-bully