I have a cousin who got her very own computer at the tender age of 4 or 5 years old. YES, she is young. Her family is very much into computers so she was introduced early on. At that age (around 4 or 5) she can actually do stuff on the computer like type or play games (she knows how to turn it off and on, and she even knows how to install stuff in there), soon enough she was introduced to the internet, though she only used that for games and YM (crazyyy!) it was still what I want to call an early exposure.
We might not see it's effect on young kids nowadays but it will soon come after.. Kids used to play outside their houses or play with their siblings which comes with physical interaction and real (I mean not virtual) stimulation. But that seems to go down the drain lately. They claim that they can interact through their computers, but is that a good substitute? Some kids grow up afraid of interacting with people because they got used to doing it online, taking a blow on their personality and self-esteem later on. Are you getting me? *ok. we're walking..*
That only counts for socialization, how about research? School research, personal research, ya-dah! ya-dah! It's one click away! Literally. We rely so much on the internet when it comes to doing our work, because we always reason out "We can easily Google that!", but do we really want kids to have that kind of attitude? Not being able to visit libraries because they know its in the internet? That hits their patience levels, and skill in finding research (Yes, I believe its a skill to do research.. PROPERLY..), among other things..
And problem solving skills (Ms. Cielo made me realize this..), when kids play games online, there is always a RIGHT answer that they need to find, it doesn't really allow them to use their own logic or even creativity in finding a solution, that then gets you thinking, what in the world do they get from there? Entertainment? Gahh, it never ends.
This is from our recent discussion as well, being bored easily. Students always claims that they want something exciting (manner, I guess) when it comes to studying and that they want to be entertained, but is that what we really need? Well, its not. (HAHA. anti-climactic!) Well, you know what I mean.. Right..?
Danger. Even if they are not exposed to danger physically, yet. They might still be.. Exposure to pornographic sites, pedophiles who can pretend to be kids as well.. That sort of thing. We can't always look after the kids all the time, so they are likely to get exposed to these dangers and not know that it's actually dangerous already. (Am I getting too.. confusing?)
Anyway, anyway. To wrap it up..
All of those things can apply to kids, no doubt. And now we shall think about it, is it right to actually allow kids to be exposed to the internet in an early age? Or is there any other alternative?
If my decision would count in my young cousin's life, I wouldn't really allow her to be totally immersed with the computer. Nuh-uh!
Sige naaa. I know you want to.. ANSWER IT :)
