SCREENS, MACHINES AND HUMANS

TECHNOLOGY AND HUMAN INTERACTION

While recovering from my broken ankle, I didn't have a ROBOT to keep me company. But I did read…"THE MOST HUMAN HUMAN: What Artificial Intelligence Teaches Us About Being Alive," by Brian Christian and then listened to NPR's TED Radio Hour about Robotics and AI (Artificial Intelligence), "Do We Need Humans?" 

and read more… ideas for future blogs are the NPR story,"A Push to Boost Computer Science Learning Even at an Early Age," and the article, "Using Tablet Computers with Toddlers and Young Preschoolers," in the latest National Association for the Education of Young Children (NAEYC) journal, "Young Children."

RED FLAGS, TECHNOLOGY AND YOUNG CHILDREN

These titles were red flag topics to me and immediately caught my attention, because our connection with technology and children is not just a concern, but a reality that has been steadily changing the way we educate and raise children in our society. This has been one of the key issues I've worked on as an educator and member of CEASE (Concerned Educators Allied for a Safe Environment, see February 11 Blog). 

Keeping the dialogue open and staying current with movements and policies that need to be considered, analyzed, challenged or supported, are goals moving us toward positive change.

HUMAN CONNECTIONS

I had time to think how my recovery would have been different if my connection with other people had been primarily through computers, phones and artificial intelligence, instead of face to face, in person with friends and family, real people, real social interaction.  How would I feel after eight weeks of interacting with screens and machines and not humans? I'm lucky I didn't need to find out, because special people in my life shared their time with me while I was healing. The "Tend and Befriend" impulse is powerful in my circle of friends. (See March 2 blog on FRIENDSHIP).

Those questions are added to my concerns about how technology is impacting infancy and childhood through the teen years, as well as society as a whole.  How much is human interaction replaced by computerized devices? What difference does it make if interaction is real or artificial? How intelligent is artificial intelligence? 

Evaluating Technology Needs

I'm writing this blog on a computer and it appears on the Internet; I'm using modern technology, but what's good for adults is not the template to follow when we evaluate what's good for young children. A child's healthy development requires adults to know what they need at different stages and provide an appropriate learning and growing environment. 

The use of tablets, hand held devices, phones, apps and computerized toys for young children has proliferated and has become a marketing tool that continues to target our children as consumers, while limiting the human interaction and playtime needed for healthy development. 

Where does technology fit into balanced and healthy lives for infants, children and adults? We'll explore that question in future blogs.  

I hope you will leave a comment and let us hear your voice about this important topic. See you next time and keep thinking BEYOND BORDERS.