Can design change the effect technology has on children i n o r d e r f o r a p o s i t i v e i m pa c t o n f u t u r e g e n e r at i o n s ?
Erika Kunde / s2895139 / Action Research 1
research proposal
Contributing Theoretical Discourse
future research
conclusion
The action research I have chosen to endeavor starts with the question, ‘Can design change the effect technology has on children in order for a positive impact on future generations?’. This research question looks at the role of technology in children’s lives today from toddlers to teens and how it could potentially affect them in the future.
The research journal articles found in relation to children and technology were very interesting and brought light upon myths, negatives, positives, social media and the use of technology in mental health treatment. Within the research, it was found that there is not a lot of positives that come from technology, rather quite the opposite. As the article Children, Adolescents, and the Media (3) states, the use of technology and social media can actually be harmful to children with potential health risks in relation to mental health. Another interesting point
Future research will look into how to get children to put down their technology devices for a while and focus on something else. If a child is going to cut out technology completely even for a limited time, the reason needs to be interesting enough to engage them. Therefore, I’ve decided to create a game as I think kids would be more interested as they can interact and have fun with it. I plan to design a card game that not only features cool graphical elements, but also challenges kids while they have fun. Card games have been around for a long time and can seem boring at times, but I’d like to sort of re-invent the card game and give the game fun aspects that involves the indoors and outdoors and tasks that challenge them creatively.
To conclude, the amount of technology children are indulging in these days is definitely a problem that needs to be looked into. The technology world is rapidly changing and while it’s hard to keep up with sometimes, this is what children now are being born into and this is their future. Us older generations know what it’s like to live a life with either none or minimal technology as this was the joys of our childhood. My fear is for children now to miss out on what we experienced, so I believe we need to guide them and teach them how to balance their technology lifestyle to ensure a positive future.
Contextual Relevance Without researching, it is evident that life is different today with technology compared to the lives of older generations where it wasn’t as prominent or even in existence. Because of this drastic change, we need to learn how we can adapt to these changes to make for a positive future. Almost everyday I notice in someway how much technology has changed the way children interact with the world. The age kids are being exposed to technology is getting younger and younger, and it blows my mind every time. Mobile phones, laptops and iPads are just a few devices that children are indulging in these days. In my observations I see less children enjoying the outdoors because they’re glued to the TV all day and this is one of the reasons why this topic scares me.
The way I was brought up is very different compared to children now and it’s that comparison that makes me want to find out how. How are we going to keep up with the ever-evolving technology world? How are the older generations going to adapt to it and educate the younger generation at the same time? And how are we going to ensure there’s a balance between the natural world and the technology world for the sake of a positive future for younger generations? I don’t expect to magically find the answers within my research, but these are the types of questions that drive me.
was found in Where the Wired Things Are: Children and Technology in Treatment (2), which discussed the big differences between older generations and the new generations in therapist clinic playrooms. Research states that 8-10 year olds spend nearly 8 hours a day on technology, while other children and teens spend 11 hours a day (3), which can greatly impact child development and cause social and health problems as explained in the article Benefits and Risks of Children and Adolescents Using Social Media (4).
I believe this idea would work well as it allows kids to put down their technology devices for a while. The challenge now is to create a game interesting enough for kids to put down their iPads for, but with some research and creative thinking, I think I can design a fun and interesting card game that kids will want to play. (7) Nobody Likes Me - IHeart
reflective process
References / Academic
(5) Idiot Box - Donna Steven
contemporary examplars While researching, I found that the topic of technology and children sparked the minds of many contemporary practitioners whom then went on to create very strong pieces of work. The three photography pieces found all showed varied degrees of too much or the non existance of technology. Donna Steven’s ‘Idiot Box’ (5) captured children being mindlessly indugled by the TV, while Izabella Urbaniak (6) and Nikki Boon (8)
(6) I Document My Kids Spending Idyllic Summers Without Computers - Izabella Urbaniak
Methodology / Methods
Over the time of my research I’ve been more aware of my surroundings when it comes to children and technology. A lot of the time I’ve been observing the behaviour of my neighbours kids as they fit right into the generation I’m focusing my research on. Just observing isn’t always enough though so I decided to interview two children, two young adults (around the age of 20), and two adults. The different ages helps to make comparisons between them all in relation to what they think about technology and how much they use it. The results and some of the answers I got from the interview were quite interesting.
Just the comparison between some of the answers were enough to show the different thinking methods people have with different exposures to technology. This is what I found: • The youngest age group were very much involved with technology. • The mid age group were still very involved but they recognised their was a problem with it.
• The eldest age group were very distant from technology and looked at it from another perspective. (8) Childhood In Raw - Nikki Boon
photographed the bliss of children running wild and free of technology in the outdoors. The contrast in these photographs really brings out the reality of the domination of technology today, which links to graffiti artist iHeart (7). iHeart’s work brings to life what children and technology are bound to come to in a shocking and effective way that makes people think.
At the very beginning of my research, my idea came to me from being annoyed about seeing young children letting technology take over their lives. I thought surely this couldn’t be good for them, so I began my research. Within my research I found that there were a lot of negatives that came with technology such as social problems and mental health issues. However, there are also some positives such as increased communication skills and social relationships that would help children in the real world. When it came to figuring out my projected project scope I did have a bit of trouble determining how to help children and technology with the use of design. My first aim was to create a balance between technology and the real world as I believe that’s what we need to aim to do. However, this theory didn’t quite work with a game or the goal to get kids away from technology. Overall, it was interesting researching into a topic that I’ve been thinking about in the back of my mind for a few years now. My research validated a few of my thoughts and it was interesting and surprising to see creatives going to the extreme of cutting technology out their children’s lives completely.
(1) Plowman, Lydia and Joanna McPake. 2013. “Seven Myths about Young Children and Technology.” Childhood Education 89 (1). http://go.galegroup.com.libraryproxy. griffith.edu.au/ps/i.do?id=GALE%7CA317469011&sid=summon&v=2.1&u=griffith&it=r&p=EAIM&sw=w&asid=47462f4aa83e2d17f2fff348a0379116. (2) Bellinson, Jill. 2011. “Introduction to ‘Where the Wired Things Are: Children and Technology in Treatment.’” Journal of Infant, Child, and Adolescent Psychotherapy 10 (4): 389–91. (3) Strasburger, Victor C., and Marjorie J. Hogan. 2013. “Children , Adolescents , and the Media.” Pediatrics (Evanston) 132 (5): 958. http://pediatrics.aappublications.org/ content/132/5/958. (4) Tartari, Elda. 2015. “Benefits and Risks of Children and Adolescents Using Social Media.” European Scientific Journal 11 (13): 321–32. http://eujournal.org/index.php/esj/ article/view/5654/5480.
References / Practitioners (5) Steven, Donna. Idiot Box, 2013. Photography. http://donnastevens.com.au/idiot-box/donna-stevens/. (6) Urbaniak, Izabella. I Document My Kids Spending Idyllic Summers Without Computers, 2012. Photography. http:// www.boredpanda.com/children-photography-summer-izabela-urbaniak/. (7) IHeart. Nobody Likes Me, 2015. Street Art. http://www. iheartthestreetart.com/street-2/#lightbox[group-26481]/35/. (8) Boon, Nikki. Childhood In Raw, 2016. Photography. http://www.nikiboonphotos.com/.