What do you think about children being addicted to technology? How do you think technology affects today’s youth positively or negatively? It has been proved that technology leads to significant increases in loneliness and misery. I believe that technology has negative effects on the social skills of today’s youth, but also has some positive effects.

In an experiment conducted by Carnegie Mellon University, data showed that people who use the internet, “…reported keeping up with fewer friends. They also reported spending less time talking with their families, experiencing more daily stress, and felling more lonely and depressed” (Affonso). This quote shows that the internet is a tool of addiction that influences people socially and psychologically. “These results occurred even though intrapersonal communication was their most important reason for internet use” (Affonso). Although most people call the internet a key to the world around you, it can also be referred to as the key to depression and lack of social skills.

People who use the internet have been proven to spend less time with their family and less time spent on child care. The average non-internet user spends about 35.1 minutes per day on childcare, while internet users have an average low of 19.5 minutes per day. Also, non-internet users spend an average of 287.4 minutes per day with family, when internet users spend only 185 (Nie and Hillygus). The internet is addicting and with children in today’s society being extremely gullible, it is not hard at all for one child to become addicted to internet use. Imagine all of the children right now across the world and think about how many of them are on Facebook, Twitter, MySpace, or maybe just playing a popular new game. Yes, I can imagine that is a lot of children. Most of them are becoming more addicted as every second passes by. When communicating on the computer you can pretend to be anyone that you want to, but communicating in person is really what matters.

There are very few benefits to the use of technology on children. There are benefits that can lead to short term or long term happiness. An example of short term happiness could be just watching a funny movie or listening to your iPod to escape from the reality of the world. An example of long term happiness can be developing friendships with people that you rarely get to see or talk to.

The iPod is a great object that can arise many different arguments and also diminish some. For some people, the iPod is a part of their daily routine. “There are also those who claim that the iPod does more to unite people more than it does to divide them” (Harris). I do not believe this statement and I think that the iPod can be used as a tool for some good, but mostly bad.

Sometimes children become obsessed with themselves. Some think that people are so tuned into them that they cannot wait for the newest text message, photo, or comment on their Facebook status. These many things lead to self absorption and a decrease in social skills because their life revolves around themselves. Addictions like these lead to little things such as a decrease in grades or a loss of a friend.

In conclusion, children can be influenced positively or negatively by technology, but it all depends on their attitude and feelings. You are the only person that can control whether you are addicted or not. I don’t know about you but I don’t want children of my generation to be known as self absorbed, non-social children. Therefore, technology has negative effects on children in today’s society, but also has some positive ones.