4th March, 2014

The Disadvantages of Exposure to The Internet at a Young Age

Name :	STELLA ANNE TEOH MING HUI
Class :	K3C
School Num. :	12231
Title :	THE DISADVANTAGES OF EXPOSURE TO THE INTERNET AT A YOUNG AGE
Type of Writing :	Critical Writing
Mentor Teacher :	Ms Mabel Lim

THE DISADVANTAGES OF EXPOSURE TO THE INTERNET AT A YOUNG AGE

Firstly, according to the conviction given by some, that is that exposure to the internet at a young age can benefit them, in terms of the fact that children can develop skills that will be used later on in life and possibly overcome their limitations via exposure to the Internet at a young age, I would like to point out some flaws in this belief.

I would like to pose a question, which is do any of you readers know the danger of exposure to the Internet at a young age?

So maybe yes, the internet has programs or learning centres online where children with special needs can learn to overcome their limitations, but do you know the risks to exposure at such a young age. What if they see pictures online of people stuck with the same limitations until they are old?

Although those certain individuals might have achieved great things in learning to accept themselves for who they are, but as a mere child from the tender age of 3-12, they might lose hope, before they have even tried to overcome their limitations.

Also, they are told to have confidence in themselves because most people with special needs are introverts and it takes a lot of guidance and support to help them break out of their shell.

As the some people have said, the internet is beneficial as it helps with development of speech, audio and literacy skills.

So maybe yes the internet can help these children improve a bit, but I ask again even if a child themselves does not tire while searching or learning online, what will tire? Their bodies, of course!

Hours, spent in front of the, bright computer screen sometimes, staring at tiny ant-like words, wriggling up and down the page. And what happens to those once bright, shining and vibrant eyes? They become dull, unfocused and usually need corrective eye surgery or eye wear. Do you want your children or children you know to become like this?

Apart from eye strain, occasional headaches and migraines, many other health issues are experienced by frequent internet users at a young age. The posture of children is usually that of a hunchback, as they tend to hunch over the keyboard and peer down their nose at the screen like they’re looking for treasure.

Most people like, often believe that via exposure to the internet at a young age, children will get enough physical exercise as they are constantly testing the boundaries between hand-eye coordination but the fact is what happens to the rest of your body?

A child’s body needs exercise to help with the development of bones and muscles, and if exposure to the internet at a young age causes addiction among children you will have on your hands children with weak immune systems from not enough exercise.

Most children experience neck, shoulder and back pains when sitting at the computer for too long. This will cause many problems as they only use their fingers and their eyes to go online.

E-learning is convenient there is no doubt about that, but can the computers, robots; audio players really replace the teachers of today? No! They can’t, without teachers children won’t be able to discuss their feelings, their hurt, guilt, shame, anger, or happiness.

The modern day technology can define all this but can it incorporate human-like qualities into a piece of metal? We have all grown up with the luxury of having a teacher help us through our troubles, over the steep mountains and up the deep valleys of despair. Do you want to deprive the children of today of those important lessons in life?

Yes, the internet may help connect countries to other countries; it may help strengthen the bond between over-seas family members but what about the fact that children may be exposed to political propaganda online?

Many extremists dive into the virtual world as it is a safe place for them to corrupt the minds of the innocent and wreak havoc in the once peaceful virtual world.

Now, there are violent comments, pictures posted anywhere on blogs, easily accessible by children and this could be life-altering for the child and their friends and family.

Many people believe that the Internet is a platform for creative writing, anyone and I mean anyone can write a story and post it online and make it accessible for the whole world.

Certain online sites are beneficial in the sense that they help promote writing amongst adolescents but the content that is rated R is still accessible by the mere click of a button.

The children of today are the heroes of tomorrow, the future heirs; the leaders that help our country evolve into a more prosperous country. If they become corrupt who will lead the children of tomorrow? And who will ensure that the legacy of yesterday is passed on tomorrow? The Children!!

That is why I strongly believe that the Internet has disadvantages as well as advantages and one should be careful when utilising it.

Posted at 7:46 am | Comments (3)

3 Comments

On July 1, 2014 at 10:01 pm f3.ppc@smjk.edu.my said:

July 1, 2014 at 10:01 pm

Name : Koay Yi Yun
Class : K3C
Schl. No. : 12218
Mentor Teacher : Ms Mabel Lim

The Internet, the one thing that has now been promoted to the rank of a ‘necessity’.

I noticed that most of the disadvantages you wrote about were things affecting the physical and mental growth but not much on emotional aspects and how the Internet could change the views of some children.

The Internet is practically-speaking,a platform where information is no longer limited to a certain group of people or a country, it is available to all, who have Internet of course.

Anyhow, the Internet has tools that proclaim they rate, sift and age-rate websites, while this may be true, there is no guarantee that certain bits of sensitive information may be overlooked and passed off as harmless and then make a big impact on innocent children.

To children, curiosity never killed the cat, it just made the cat lose one of its nine lives. They have an insatiable curiosity that only gets worse with time, and unless parents are going to start chaining their children to beds, children are going to find out more and more about their modern world, before it is time. Studies have shown that a person’s frontal cortex only develops around ages 18-22 and as a child between 3-12, not only do they lack sufficient knowledge, they might not even be able to rationalize.

The problem is mainly the amount of time it takes for our brains to mature. If brains matured by the age of 3, humans would be able to evolve faster and possibly even speed up recoveries, find out more in a lifetime but with a faster maturity rate there might be a possible risk of a faster decline.

The Internet has many advantages and disadvantages but look at it one way and you will never see the other side.
On September 25, 2014 at 5:16 pm f3.ppc@smjk.edu.my said:

September 25, 2014 at 5:16 pm

Name: Ding Kah Wen (3)
Class: K3C
School No.: 12148
Mentor Teacher : Ms Mabel Lim

The Internet when exposed to youngsters,it becomes their new god. Based on my knowledge, derived from observation of my friends and I, the Internet is a very addictive reality. I think there should be ways or talks to inform people of the disadvantages of the Internet, especially to those who have children at a young age.
On September 25, 2014 at 5:18 pm f3.ppc@smjk.edu.my said:

September 25, 2014 at 5:18 pm

Name: Yeap Yu Xian
Class: K3C
School No.: 12136
Mentor Teacher : Ms Mabel Lim

I agree with Stella, that the Internet when exposed to children at a young age, does cause bad after-effects such as physical and mental effects. Most children tend to waste a lot of time in front of the computer, and many of them are losing their ability to socialize normally again.