The Impact of Technology on the

Social/Emotional/Cognitive
Development of Children

By: Danielle and Charmaine

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Social Development
How can technology positively and negatively impact
social development in children?

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Positive Effects
● Social media and real-world peers
● “Common Sense Media found that more than half of American teens
feel that social media...has helped their friendships (only 4 percent
report that it has hurt.)”
● Students can learn how to interact with
students in which they are familiar and
unfamiliar
● Can be used to become more culturally
aware and accepting

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Negative Effects
● Lack of empathy
○ “It’s conversation minus the empathy and the commitment to
putting yourself in the other person’s shoes.”
○ Can’t read peer’s emotions
● Disconnection with parents and/or peers
● Shy away from solitude
○ Solitude helps build relationships
○ “A study of college students showed that two-thirds of males and a
fourth of the females studied would rather give themselves mild
electric shocks than be alone with themselves for six minutes
(Turkle, 2016)”
● Lack of imaginative play with friends
Why is it important?

● Building blocks
● Independent and collaborative work
● “The first use of a device often dictates its longer-
term use. (Lovely, Moberly, 2012)“
How does it impact our use of technology?

● Technology during unstructured times

● Choosing technology that fosters communication
and social skills
● Encourage SOLITUDE and problem solving when
boredom occurs
● Teaching about how to interact with those we know
and don’t know
● Be a role model
Emotional Development
Does technology impact a child’s
emotional development?
Positive Effects
Emotional Intelligence: The ability to recognize and
understand emotions in yourself and others, and your
ability to use this awareness to manage your behaviors
and relationships.

● Motivated and inspired by others.

● Opportunities to connect with others.
Negative Effects

● Undermines Self-awareness
● Weakens Self-regulation
● Undermines Empathy
● Stunts motivation
Negative Effects
When devices are used inappropriately empathy can be
affected.

● Get in the way of human feelings.

● Desensitization to shocking images and videos.
● Transforms the nature of relationships.
● In a survey of 298 users of social media, 50% said that
social media made their lives and self-esteem worse.
Why is it important?

● How students feel in school is an important part of

their education.
● Students should feel emotionally safe and secure.
● They should have a healthy learning environment.
How does it impact our use of technology?

“ Students learn together online, but because a teacher is present, they

don’t call each other bad names or do stupid, crude stuff.” (p. 36)

● Technology is having a major impact on how students interact.

● In the past 20 years “there has been a 40% decline in college students
on measurement of empathy.”
● The lack of face-to-face conversations is a big contributor to bullying.
● Too much time behind a device is affecting how students interact.
Cognitive Development
How does technology positively and negatively affect
cognitive development in children?
Positive Effects
● Programming
○ Facilitate engagement
○ High-level cognitive processes
● Gaming
○ Visual-spatial skills
○ Can stifle or stimulate 1001FreeDownloads.com
● Online educational tools
○ Differentiated and constantly adjusting
● 21st century competancies
Negative Effects
● Video Games
○ Aggression and poor academic performance
● Multitasking
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○ Sequential processing
○ “When individuals’ attention is divided, their errors increase significantly
and projects take twice as much time or more to complete (Wallis, 2006).”
● More screen time, less learning
○ “By the time the average kid graduates fthe 12th grade, he has spent
11,000 hours in school- and more than 15,000 hours watching TV.
● Poor implementation in schools
Why is it important?

● It’s our job!

● If we’re going to use it, we need to know all of the
effects
● Some technology is more beneficial/harmful than
others
How does it impact our use of technology?

● Does it serve a purpose?

● SAMR model
● MODERATION, MODERATION, MODERATION
 References
Costa, Dan. (2007). Turn is off, kids! PC Magazine, 26, 55.

Coyl, Diana D. (2009). Kids really are different these days. Phi Delta Kappan, 90, 404-407.

Grover, Sean. (2017) How Technology Lowers Emotional Intelligence in Kids. How we raised a generation that relates better to screens then human
beings. Psychology Today.

How Technology Affects Kids’ Social and Emotional Learning. (2015). Oxford Learning.

Lovely, Gail, Moberly, Deb. (2012). Pass it forward. T H E Journal, 39, 43.

Ramasubbu, Suren. (2015). Does Technology Impact a Child’s Emotional Intelligence? Huffpost.

Reclaiming conversation. (2016). Camping Magazine, 89, 28-30.

Shapeley, Kelly, Sheehan, Daniel, Maloney, Catherine, Caranikas-Walker, Fanny. (2011). Effects of technology immersion on middle school students’
learning opportunities and achievement. Journal of Educational Research, 104, 299-315.

Steiner-Adair, Catherine. (2015). The Big Disconnect. Your Student in Class vs. Your Student Online. Independent School. 74 (2).

The effects of teacher facilitation on the social interactions of young children during computer activities (2005). Topics in Early Childhood Special