Ufond Blog. Digital generation
- How does your morning start?
This fall, I took to the streets of the capital with this question to find out who is starting their day. It was not just my human curiosity, I had a goal - to find out what people spend their morning time between when they get out of bed and before they close the door of the house and go about their urgent business.
The answers I heard were different: someone was surprised that such an interval exists at all, because as it turns out, for some the whole day passes like 5 seconds; someone on the contrary surprisingly told in detail about their morning rituals and habits; someone did not go into divulging secrets and denied the typical "like everyone else". The answers were funny and romantic, they were culinary and sporty, they were true and they were dreamy… But the vast majority of the respondents I interviewed said a phrase that goes something like this: "My morning starts on the phone." Yes, this device makes people morning! And, perhaps, in reality, when a robot woman Sofia comes to Ukraine and gives recommendations to the Prime Minister of the country to overcome the economic crisis in the country, such an answer is quite logical and commonplace.
It’s hard to disagree with the fact that the smartphone has become an integral part of our lives and, probably, ourselves as well. Now the telephone replaces everything for us and concentrates everything in itself: television, radio, books, shops, banks. And this is good! Such functionality of modern devices and gadgets significantly modernizes and improves our lifestyle, allows us to be constantly on the move to solve household chores, keep our hands on the pulse of information space, develop by listening to an interesting audiobook while standing in traffic jams. All this technological functionality helps to save precious time, and, at the same time, ironically, deprives us of the most important thing - living human communication. And this is already a problem.
For the Western world, this problem is already quite obvious and under discussion, but for Ukraine it is in the incubation period and, for example, in food establishments (whether traditional or haute cuisine) people go not for gastronomic pleasure and conversation over coffee, but for free wi-fi.
Biologically, man is a social being, and even the most ardent introverts can not do without communication. Man must a priori be part of the social paradigm: first, it is self-identification, and secondly, it is vital, because medical science has proven that on the ninth day of loneliness and absolute limitation, human communication begins to appear auditory hallucinations.
Absence, heterogeneity, poverty of communication threatens another important point - our humanity. And this is no longer just a moral and ethical category, this is the environment in which we live, start a family and continue the family. And in the aspect of the family, the family is already a detrimental effect of the new model of education - digital. It turns out that from an early age the child is not acquainted with the world around him, but with phones, tablets, search engines, mobile applications… This is how the "digital generation" grows. Some parents are happy about it, some are upset. So how to be and where is the limit in the permissibility of children’s use of modern gadgets and devices?
Without the expert opinion of an expert in these matters can not understand.
-Many pediatricians believe that the negative impact on children’s health, modern information loads are not inferior to environmental pollution, and the radius of physical activity of children is reduced by 90%, shrinking to the size of a smartphone - says Associate Professor of Fundamental Medicine Kyiv National University. Shevchenko, Candidate of Medical Sciences Natalia Molochek . - But there are also positive effects from the use of gadgets. These include:
- increasing the speed of response to visual signals;
- adaptation of the brain to the rapid processing of daily information flows;
- rapid growth of average IQ -new technologies develop the brain like puzzles or learning new languages;
- "Internet Goths" are more likely to find a way out of any difficult situation in everyday life, because finding the necessary information on the Internet, they train the brain centers involved in decision-making and logic.
Among the negative factors in the use of gadgets:
- Decreased ability to concentrate, fragmentary thinking, a significant reduction in the area of the brain responsible for abstract thinking;
- the brain loses the basic mechanisms that control contact with other people, it becomes more difficult to "read" other people’s facial expressions during a conversation or guess emotion;
-the high-tech revolution immerses a person in a state of distracted attention, when he watches everything at once, without trying to focus on anything;
- Excessive multitasking increases stress and attention deficit, making work less efficient;
- memory becomes superficial and short-lived, the computer and the Internet become for a person a kind of "prosthesis" of memory;
- Prolonged immersion in the digital world causes special fatigue - after a few hours in the network a person begins to make mistakes, and before leaving the network feels tired and irritable - a new form of stress, called "man-made brain depletion".
According to Natalia Vladimirovna, in 2017 the International Working Group even agreed on a consensus on the impact of gadgets on children with their excessive use.
- The scientific community has formulated 10 main and most important conclusions, - says the associate professor . - First , it is detrimental to physical health: vision deteriorates - constant "staring" at the screen leads to myopia and dry eyes; prolonged stay in a forced position with the head tilted down causes a violation of posture -the cervical spine is particularly affected, the load on which increases by 14.5 times; Prolonged holding of the gadget in the hands and monotonous movements of the fingers on the screen can cause pathology of the hands (tunnel syndrome); possible loss of coordination between brain signals and hand movements; obesity may occur.
Secondly , it affects the relationship between the child and his parents - inevitably reduces the time spent together, suffers from communication; there is "virtual autism", a syndrome of hyperactivity with attention deficit.
Third , it can be addictive - tablets and smartphones do not teach children self-control, but on the contrary -give the opportunity not to limit themselves in their desires, which causes addiction similar to drugs.
Fourth , it provokes children’s tantrums - gadgets do not give the child the opportunity to form internal mechanisms of self-regulation.
Fifth , it impairs sleep - leads to difficulty falling asleep, sleep disturbances, shifting circadian rhythms and disorders of the sleep-wake cycle.
Sixth , it causes difficulties in learning: such children learn worse, their attention is impaired, they can not concentrate, there may be problems with memory, imagination, fantasy; mental processes suffer, which are replaced by ready-made answers to virtual reality; reduced motivation to learn.
Seventh, it does not develop communication skills - online communication does not allow to see a person’s face, facial expressions, gestures that can tell a lot about emotions; it does not provide an opportunity to develop the social skills necessary for successful interaction between people.
Eighth , it can cause mental disorders - there may be depression, neurosis, anxiety, lack of attachment to parents. Age-inappropriate information on the Internet can lead to psychosis, behavioral disorders, early sexual desire. When communicating online, it is possible to come across mentally ill people, pedophiles.
Ninth , it increases children’s aggression -computer heroes do not feel real pain and suffering, they do not need to sympathize - most computer games cause child abuse.
Tenth, it leads to social anxiety - children begin to feel anxious in situations that require live communication - they do not know how to start a conversation, how to maintain a conversation, how to behave in the company of strangers, which often causes fear, insecurity , nervousness, - Natalia Molochek summarized .
Therefore, doctors emphasize that in order to prevent the negative effects of gadgets, it is necessary to limit the time of their use (children under 6 years - no more than 20 minutes, 6-8 years -up to 30-40 minutes, 9-11 years - up to 1-1.5 hours, 11-18 years - up to 2 hours).
These are tips for children, but some restrictions for adults will also help. So, sometimes you still turn off your phones and in order not to lose communication skills and a knack for emotional conversations, rather invite friends to a meeting and over a cup of hot coffee share with others some funny situation that happened to you this week, or discuss about the delay of the heating season in the country, or together find alternative types of energy and ways to implement them! Or remember that the International Day of Good Deeds is ahead - Generous Tuesday, and this is a good occasion to gather with friends on November 27 and do something good and useful.
Communication is the key to all doors and, first of all, to the door of the human heart, especially a child’s heart. So, returning to the thesis about mornings, try to start them with positive emotions and warm words to each other, and dedicate the sudden weekend completely to your children - there will always be things for adults, and a carefree childhood in a toddler happens only once!
Author Kateryna Stebelska COLLECTED UAH
This fall, I took to the streets of the capital with this question to find out who is starting their day. It was not just my human curiosity, I had a goal - to find out what people spend their morning time between when they get out of bed and before they close the door of the house and go about their urgent business.The answers I heard were different: someone was surprised that such an interval exists at all, because as it turns out, for some the whole day passes like 5 seconds; someone on the contrary surprisingly told in detail about their morning rituals and habits; someone did not go into divulging secrets and denied the typical "like everyone else". The answers were funny and romantic, they were culinary and sporty, they were true and they were dreamy… But the vast majority of the respondents I interviewed said a phrase that goes something like this: "My morning starts on the phone." Yes, this device makes people morning! And, perhaps, in reality, when a robot woman Sofia comes to Ukraine and gives recommendations to the Prime Minister of the country to overcome the economic crisis in the country, such an answer is quite logical and commonplace.
It’s hard to disagree with the fact that the smartphone has become an integral part of our lives and, probably, ourselves as well. Now the telephone replaces everything for us and concentrates everything in itself: television, radio, books, shops, banks. And this is good! Such functionality of modern devices and gadgets significantly modernizes and improves our lifestyle, allows us to be constantly on the move to solve household chores, keep our hands on the pulse of information space, develop by listening to an interesting audiobook while standing in traffic jams. All this technological functionality helps to save precious time, and, at the same time, ironically, deprives us of the most important thing - living human communication. And this is already a problem.For the Western world, this problem is already quite obvious and under discussion, but for Ukraine it is in the incubation period and, for example, in food establishments (whether traditional or haute cuisine) people go not for gastronomic pleasure and conversation over coffee, but for free wi-fi.
Biologically, man is a social being, and even the most ardent introverts can not do without communication. Man must a priori be part of the social paradigm: first, it is self-identification, and secondly, it is vital, because medical science has proven that on the ninth day of loneliness and absolute limitation, human communication begins to appear auditory hallucinations.
Absence, heterogeneity, poverty of communication threatens another important point - our humanity. And this is no longer just a moral and ethical category, this is the environment in which we live, start a family and continue the family. And in the aspect of the family, the family is already a detrimental effect of the new model of education - digital. It turns out that from an early age the child is not acquainted with the world around him, but with phones, tablets, search engines, mobile applications… This is how the "digital generation" grows. Some parents are happy about it, some are upset. So how to be and where is the limit in the permissibility of children’s use of modern gadgets and devices? Without the expert opinion of an expert in these matters can not understand.
-Many pediatricians believe that the negative impact on children’s health, modern information loads are not inferior to environmental pollution, and the radius of physical activity of children is reduced by 90%, shrinking to the size of a smartphone - says Associate Professor of Fundamental Medicine Kyiv National University. Shevchenko, Candidate of Medical Sciences Natalia Molochek . - But there are also positive effects from the use of gadgets. These include:
- increasing the speed of response to visual signals;
- adaptation of the brain to the rapid processing of daily information flows;
- rapid growth of average IQ -new technologies develop the brain like puzzles or learning new languages;
- "Internet Goths" are more likely to find a way out of any difficult situation in everyday life, because finding the necessary information on the Internet, they train the brain centers involved in decision-making and logic.
Among the negative factors in the use of gadgets:
- Decreased ability to concentrate, fragmentary thinking, a significant reduction in the area of the brain responsible for abstract thinking;
- the brain loses the basic mechanisms that control contact with other people, it becomes more difficult to "read" other people’s facial expressions during a conversation or guess emotion;
-the high-tech revolution immerses a person in a state of distracted attention, when he watches everything at once, without trying to focus on anything;
- Excessive multitasking increases stress and attention deficit, making work less efficient;
- memory becomes superficial and short-lived, the computer and the Internet become for a person a kind of "prosthesis" of memory;
- Prolonged immersion in the digital world causes special fatigue - after a few hours in the network a person begins to make mistakes, and before leaving the network feels tired and irritable - a new form of stress, called "man-made brain depletion".
According to Natalia Vladimirovna, in 2017 the International Working Group even agreed on a consensus on the impact of gadgets on children with their excessive use. - The scientific community has formulated 10 main and most important conclusions, - says the associate professor . - First , it is detrimental to physical health: vision deteriorates - constant "staring" at the screen leads to myopia and dry eyes; prolonged stay in a forced position with the head tilted down causes a violation of posture -the cervical spine is particularly affected, the load on which increases by 14.5 times; Prolonged holding of the gadget in the hands and monotonous movements of the fingers on the screen can cause pathology of the hands (tunnel syndrome); possible loss of coordination between brain signals and hand movements; obesity may occur.
Secondly , it affects the relationship between the child and his parents - inevitably reduces the time spent together, suffers from communication; there is "virtual autism", a syndrome of hyperactivity with attention deficit.
Third , it can be addictive - tablets and smartphones do not teach children self-control, but on the contrary -give the opportunity not to limit themselves in their desires, which causes addiction similar to drugs.
Fourth , it provokes children’s tantrums - gadgets do not give the child the opportunity to form internal mechanisms of self-regulation.
Fifth , it impairs sleep - leads to difficulty falling asleep, sleep disturbances, shifting circadian rhythms and disorders of the sleep-wake cycle.
Sixth , it causes difficulties in learning: such children learn worse, their attention is impaired, they can not concentrate, there may be problems with memory, imagination, fantasy; mental processes suffer, which are replaced by ready-made answers to virtual reality; reduced motivation to learn.
Seventh, it does not develop communication skills - online communication does not allow to see a person’s face, facial expressions, gestures that can tell a lot about emotions; it does not provide an opportunity to develop the social skills necessary for successful interaction between people.
Eighth , it can cause mental disorders - there may be depression, neurosis, anxiety, lack of attachment to parents. Age-inappropriate information on the Internet can lead to psychosis, behavioral disorders, early sexual desire. When communicating online, it is possible to come across mentally ill people, pedophiles.
Ninth , it increases children’s aggression -computer heroes do not feel real pain and suffering, they do not need to sympathize - most computer games cause child abuse.
Tenth, it leads to social anxiety - children begin to feel anxious in situations that require live communication - they do not know how to start a conversation, how to maintain a conversation, how to behave in the company of strangers, which often causes fear, insecurity , nervousness, - Natalia Molochek summarized .
Therefore, doctors emphasize that in order to prevent the negative effects of gadgets, it is necessary to limit the time of their use (children under 6 years - no more than 20 minutes, 6-8 years -up to 30-40 minutes, 9-11 years - up to 1-1.5 hours, 11-18 years - up to 2 hours).
These are tips for children, but some restrictions for adults will also help. So, sometimes you still turn off your phones and in order not to lose communication skills and a knack for emotional conversations, rather invite friends to a meeting and over a cup of hot coffee share with others some funny situation that happened to you this week, or discuss about the delay of the heating season in the country, or together find alternative types of energy and ways to implement them! Or remember that the International Day of Good Deeds is ahead - Generous Tuesday, and this is a good occasion to gather with friends on November 27 and do something good and useful.
Communication is the key to all doors and, first of all, to the door of the human heart, especially a child’s heart. So, returning to the thesis about mornings, try to start them with positive emotions and warm words to each other, and dedicate the sudden weekend completely to your children - there will always be things for adults, and a carefree childhood in a toddler happens only once! Author Kateryna Stebelska COLLECTED UAH