Emily Glaenzer

July 28, 2011

I babysit my neighbor every Thursday night. Her name is Sydney, she is three, has short blond hair tied back in a bow and classic baby fat cheeks with big blue eyes. I’ve babysat Sydney for only a year or so, but already am noticing some major differences in how her childhood is beginning than how mine began. I’ve noticed how TV instantly soothes her regardless of the problem (scrapes, bruises, crying for her parents). I’ve noticed how much she loves her plastic pink cell phone and her Dora the Explorer cell phone and her baby blue toy laptop. I’ve noticed how much she hates playing with her blocks, the only simple toy in the house.

Sydney is no different from any other child born into this digitized generation. Research originally done by Seattle Research Institute shows that 30-50% of preschoolers has a TV in their bedroom. I find this statistic startling, while many kid’s shows are educational, I worry that they may be hooking themselves onto this media too soon. I’m worried that one day these kids may wake up to find that without there technology around they will not be able to function. I’m worried that this day has already passed.

We as a society are addicted to the Internet, to our smartphones even to our TV shows. And this is only within the past ten years. What will happen to the kids who have been exposed to this growing industry since day one?

There are pros to the ever-growing digital universe. A study by the Pearson foundation shows that children are learning to read at a faster rate than ever before and positively impacts their opinion of learning so they are more eager to learn than ever before. In the end, I cannot tell you for sure whether or not this new universe will positively impact Sydney’s life. I cannot tell you if Cascio’s theory of our brains evolving will ultimately come true, or if Carr’s theory of our brains in due course malfunctioning will come true. I can tell you that Sydney is growing up in a different world than you or I did.