Critical thinking on a decline. What is critical thinking? Critical thinking is the art of thinking about thinking with a view to improving it. Critical thinkers seek to improve thinking. As students, spend more time on computers, smartphones, and the internet they fail to see the risks they are taking and the damage that has been done. Technology plays a big role in our lives; our skills in critical thinking and analysis have declined, while our visual skills have improved, according to research by Patricia Greenfield UCLA Professor. Students who read for pleasure enhances their thinking and engages their imagination in a way that visuals do not. Studies show that reading develops imagination, induction, reflection and critical thinking, as vocabulary. (Greenfield). Many teachers are seeing a decline in children’s writing skills. With so much of their education being online, the use of handwriting and general writing skills are being ignored. Cursive handwriting has become a pastime. As students spend more time with visual media and less time with print, evaluation methods that include visual media will give a better picture of what they actually know, said (Greenfield). By using more visual media, students will process information better, she said. However, most visual media are real-time media that do not allow time to reflection, analysis or imagination; those are not developed by real-time such as television or video games. Schools should ensure that students have the opportunity to access and work with a broad range of media, balancing new media with traditional forms of reading. Parents should encourage their children to read and should read to their young children. No single medium can develop the variety of skills needed by today’s learners. A balanced media diet will facilitate both the visual intelligence skills obtained through new media, and the deep processing skills best learnt through traditional media.

Assessing the Risks.

Whether we like it or not, technology has become a part of our everyday lives. Have you ever found yourself stressing over not getting a reply from a text message? Or you are constantly on your face book to make sure you’re caught up on the social circle, or to see how many likes you got on a photo, and if the results were not what you wanted it could really take a toll on your emotional health. Many students are harassed or bullied online which can lead to low self-esteem or insecurities. The impact of rapidly advancing technology on the developing students has seen an increase of physical, psychological and behavior disorders that the health and education systems are just beginning to detect, much less understand. Child obesity and diabetes are now national epidemics in both Canada and the U.S., causally related to technology overuse. Young students require 2-3 hours per day of active rough play to achieve adequate sensory stimulation to their vestibular, proprioceptive and tactile systems. Tactile stimulation received through touching, hugging, and play is critical for the development of praxis, or planned movement pattern.

Diagnosed of ADHD, autism, coordination disorder, development delays, unintelligible speech, learning difficulties, sensory processing disorder, anxiety, depression, and sleep disorders are associated with technology overuse, and are increasing at an alarming rate (Rowen). Many family units have been damaged due to technology use and although there are some small positives effects of technology on the majority, the damage that is causing to the brains of our children severely outweighs any positive.