The Impact Of Technology On Young Minds: A Boon Or Bane?

There have been many talks revolving around the impact technology is having on the young minds. Many educational institutes and media platforms are taking initiatives to educate parents about this. While we all understand that technology is something we cannot keep children away from, it is necessary to make the correct use of it and in the right manner. 

A panel discussion was recently conducted at Dextrus, BKC on 29th November 2019 discussing the impact technology has on young minds. The panellist for the evening were, Dr. Anjali Chhabria, India’s leading psychiatrist, and psychotherapist, Lina Ashar, founder of Kangaroo Kids International Preschool and Billabong High International School, Kamakshi Khurana, co-founder of leading music and sound therapy organisation, The Sound Space, Anil Mammen, Chief of Learning Design & Social Impact at Tata ClassEdge, Priyanka Talwar, Founder of Jalebi Street. The panellists, through a constructive discussion, very clearly stated their opinions on the kind of relationship people must have with technology. 

The discussion was opened by the first panellist, Anil Mammen who said that the inclusion of technology has led to the fostering of creative thinking among young minds. He mentions that the way the older generation and the younger generation interacts with technology is completely different. While the older generation majorly consumes content available on the internet, the younger generation develops content like creating videos or exploring and creating new apps, etc. By stating this, he showed the positive side and hopes that the young minds focus more on such creative aspects of technology. 

Speaking on the positive effects technology offers, Lina Ashar adds that it has played a huge role in educating the students in the classroom. Many schools recently have actively equipped their classrooms with efficient technology to foster better and quality learning. Lina believes that technology has brought back the joy of learning and says that the advancement of technology is an exciting time for the education industry. 

Sharing her thoughts on how the overall technology is impacting the young minds, Priyanka Talwar who runs  India’s leading kid-friendly, educational YouTube channel, Jalebi Street, said that the technology is here to stay and with each passing day, is touching new levels of growth. In such a scenario there is nothing much we can do to curtail its ill-effects. All we can do is set certain boundaries. She adds that there is definitely a positive transition happening among the kids due to technology as it is exposing them to content which is also consumed by other kids across the world, making them more knowledgeable. She also stresses the important role parents must play in this, which includes setting a daily screen time and also monitoring the kind of content children are consuming. 

While the other panellists shed light on the positive side of technology, Anjali Chabbria, a leading psychiatrist and psychotherapist spoke about the harsh and negative impacts technology has on young minds. She mentioned that many get exposed to pornographic content which is the worst kind of sex education a child can receive. She also mentioned about the rising concern of cyberbullying and its harmful impact on kids and teens. Parents, she says, play an extremely important role and suggests that communication is the right solution to make children feel safe. 

After an insightful discussion, the panellists arrived at the conclusion that though the technology is here to stay and bring about development, it is up to us how to and in which direction to take it forward.