We should encourage kids to spend time with technology, not dissuade it

Apps like Tynker teach kids how to code

Let's face it: technology is not going to go backwards. For instance, 20 years from now, we will not be suddenly sitting at home playing Minesweeper on Windows ME. In fact, most industries and products are moving more toward the digital world than the physical world. It is because of this that I often, simultaneously, laugh and cringe when I hear people complain about the amount of time that their children spend with "devices".

Now, I get it. Parents do not want their children spend every second of every day with their face in front of a screen. Not only does that prevent them from having some positive experiences, but it also is not exactly going to keep them from getting fat; as you know, I am very much about preventing childhood obesity. However, that does not mean that time spent with technology is not a valuable, if not more valuable, than the time they spend "playing outside".

Video games are oftern stigmatized as harmful and addictive despite various benefits

We might as well start with the elephant in the room: video games. Kids (and many adults, myself included) love playing video games. They are entertaining, eye-catching, and a great way to spend time with friends actually. In addition, much like a lot of sports, they have been shown to increase hand-eye coordination as well as memory and cognitive function. It is has also been shown to help in aiding depression and improving attention. Are there negative aspects to video gaming? Absolutely, as there are with anything that someone spends too much time doing. However, to say that there are no benefits to video games would be grossly incorrect.*

However, even more important than video gaming and possible benefits is the exposure to technology during developmental years. Much of the world today is run digitally and online; the movie is quite vulgar, Why Him? offers a great bit of wisdom hidden in the plot. While the main character runs a printing company, his son wants to modernize. In an excellent cameo, Adam Devine tells the kid to "learn to code", and that might have been the greatest possible advice. If you would like more inspiration, look at The Internship. The future is digital, and computers/phone/tablets are necessary tools for that future. By putting devices in the hands of children, we are providing them exposure to tools they need to master to survive in the future professional world. Think of it this way: we do not take away spoons from children as we know they will need the ability to use them in the future. Now imagine if you had encouraged them to understand spoons at a deeper level such as the slope of the basin as well as the ideal angle and structure of the handle?

Is the spoon comparison an oversimplification? Absolutely. There are obviously vast differences between a spoon and a computer, but the concept is still the same. When we hand devices to children, we should not already planning when we are going to take it away. We should be encouraging them to use it, understand it, and delve deeper in to it. Let them explore how to change the background, download (free) apps, and adjust the sounds, and of course, have a knowledgeable person available for when they inevitably fuck it all up the first couple times. Even better, introduce them to apps like Grasshopper that try to make it fun for them to learn to code.

STEM careers are future-proof and essential

I may not be a parent yet, but I am also not naive enough to think that devices are always bad and basketballs are always good. Kids should be exposed to plenty of both, and we should encourage them to use both. While I have always had a passion sports, I also understand that the chances of my children joining the PGA Tour are very remote (I am still going to try for that though). However, it is certainly not crazy to think that my kid could be an excellent programmer that could become a big name in the digital sphere.

*For more reading: https://www.medicalnewstoday.com/articles/318345.php