Darko 1

Abena Darko

Wilson Clasby

English 180 Composition

13 April 2017

Early exposure to screen time has a negative effect towards childrens relationships because they

are attached to the digital world at a much earlier stage of their lives. This takes away time from

their basic learning about the skills needed in order to build strong relationships.

Annotated Bibliography

Alone Together. Why We Expect More from Technology and Less from Each Other. By Sherry

Turkle. TED Talks. 25 Oct. 2016.

https://www.ted.com/talks/sherry_turkle_alone_together

In her TEDTalk, Turkle expands on how our digital behavior causes us to feel even more
alone without being aware of it. We are afraid of being isolated so we turn to technology
in order to make us feel connected with the world. However, Turkle makes the argument
that if we do not learn how to teach our children to be alone, they will only know how to
be lonely. We avoid solitude because it makes us feel anxious when in reality being alone
helps us to find ourselves. She mentions in the beginning of the talk that children
complain about their parents not giving them their full attention because they are so
occupied. But, in reality the children are just as much connected to technology as the
parents are. The world has become so comfortable with sacrificing conversation for
real connection, and one way to help avoid that, as Turkle says is to teach our kids that
being connected is not the only way to feel wanted. By building strong relationships and
reaching out to one another it helps us to build strong relationships. But, if we turn to
technology instead as a scapegoat then it will only weaken our chances of recognizing
our own personal vulnerabilities.

Arthur , Natalie. Children and Technology . Technology and Television for Babies and
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Toddlers, vol. 8, no. 2, 2010, pp. 5859.,

alembaportfolio.weebly.com/uploads/4/6/2/2/46222681/ source_article_3.pdf. Accessed

13 Mar. 2017.

Arthur explains the effects of television on babies and toddlers, and how it is best for
them to avoid screen time. One of the effects she emphasizes is the obesity and
attention-deficit disorder they suffer from later on in life as a result of watching so much
Television. Arthur argues, our childrens engagement in television at such an early age,
causes them to feel attached to it. They adjust to being put in front of a television screen
everyday. Arthur points out that T.V. is typically used as a way to keep the child
occupied, and allow the parents to have time for themselves without having to deal with
the child. But, Arthur mentions this is problematic because with that is the child grows
used to watching television and sees it as way to keep them distracted. The negative
outcome of that is, if later on in life they are going through an problem instead of
reaching out to someone or facing the issue at hand they will instead rather just turn on
the television as a way to avoid having to address what is going on. This article is useful
for my essay because it emphasizes one of the long-term effects of television on toddlers
growing up, which is using television as a scapegoat instead of communicating about any
of the issues they are going through.

Boyd , Danah. Addicted. It's Complicated , Yale University Press, 2014, pp. 7699.

In Danah Boyds book, the chapter Addiction is where she mentions how she comes
across a few teens who share their personal experiences with their engagement with
technology. One of the teens stated that not being involved with social media made him
feel disconnected. He felt as if he lost control of his life because he was not actively
engaging with his social life through technology. Boyd also emphasizes privacy as a way
of personal development. As teenagers are coming of age they want to feel wanted and
like they matter. The only way they can feel that way is through connecting on social
media. Boyd also expands on what the whole idea of these teens being addicted really is.
Boyd also claims the current generation of youth is uncontrollably hooked onto these new
technologies and as a result of that they are not in full control of their lives. According to
Boyd, by not being in full control it creates unhealthy relationships. But, Boyd also
addresses everything from a different perspective, where she observes the usage of social
media as not only an addiction to technology but an addiction to one another. Therefore
she offers her viewpoint and includes interviews about how a teens usage of technology
should not be addressed as a disease.
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Gardner , Howard, and Katie Davis. Personal Identity in the Age of the App. The App

Generation , Yale University Press, 2012, pp. 6091.

Gardner and Davis look into the identities of the youth expressed in the form of apps
through extensive interviews and conversations. They expand on how the app is used as a
platform for the youth to choose how they want to express themselves online. From this
they were able to gather ideas that circle around the identifications of teens. In most cases
their online selves did not match up with their offline selves. This is primarily because
they had this online persona they wanted everyone to view them as. They basically would
pick and choose what they feel they should let people know about them online, which
sometimes lead them to leaving out some details about their lives. Throughout this
section they bring up the question of, do apps open up or constrain identity expression? In
order to address this question they look into how youth identities have changed over time.
The packaged self is the main idea of the whole reading. It is the idea that a large portion
of the youth primarily focuses on presenting a polished self that has to meet the approval
of society. They feel obligated to portray themselves as perfect in order to be seen as
such.

Fleur , Gabriel. Sexting, Selfies And Self-Harm. Media International Australia , May 2014,

pp. 104112.

In this section Fleur looks at the usage of social media in a way that could bring about
academic and public concern. One way in which he analyzes this is through the
popular conception in which a teens engagement with technology interferes with their
process of self-development. By teens having an expectation of how they should
negotiate their visibility through social media it causes harm to their emotional growth.
Fleurs primary focus is on the problems that media usage could cause the youth. He
narrows it down to one issue which is sexting. Fleur makes the argument that studies
show that sexting could cause a loss of childhood. Children and teens are not fully
developed so they have no control over their decisions especially when it comes to sexual
material. Fleur also responds to the problem where he focuses on three ways of blaming
the matter. His primary argument deals with why youth media should been seen as
something problematic to society, and if not resolved could only worsen our youths
self-development. He also points out contradictions in which do not help us to understand
why young peoples social media activity is the way that it is.

Hesketh, Kylie D. International Journal Of Behavioral Nutrition and Physical Activity

.Children's Physical Activity and Screen Time, vol. 9, 2012, pp. 152165., EBSCO

Accessed 13 Mar. 2017.

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Hesketh addresses the misconception that parents tend to have about their children. He
says many parents believe their child is naturally active, so involvement in physically
activity is unnecessary. By watching different shows they feel as though it helps their
child to want to be more active. But, Hesketh makes the argument that if the child is not
shown how to be physically active then it will result in laziness and affect the childs
health. The purpose of Heskeths research was to generate information about a qualitative
methodology that compares a childs physical activity to their engagement with screen
time. Through this study she was able to gather data that showed how a parents physical
activity with their child helped to create companionship. Having that physical
relationship with their child showed them how to communicate with their peers and
engage in activities that helped with their development. Many parents felt strongly about
screen time for their child. But, Hesketh brought up ideas for the parents to help keep
their children entertained without having to put in them in front of a screen. Putting a
book in front of their face or play toys are some of the ways Hesketh thinks can help their
mental development. This article is useful for my essay because it makes a strong
argument about how less screen time and more physical activity can help strengthen a
childs relationship skills in the future.

Murray, Deirdre. Archives of Disease in Childhood. Touch-Screen Technology Usage in

Toddlers, vol. 101, no. 2, Feb. 2016, pp. 181183., EBSCO Accessed 13 Mar. 2017.

Murray studies the effect of screens on toddlers through a health related point of view.
One health issue he focuses on is dyslexia. He observes this health behavior through a
childs involvement with screen time. Through his research he found that many of these
toddlers were being exposed to screens and were fully capable of operating touch screens
and swiping on them from left to right. However, Murray argues this early exposure it
affects their progress in school because they are struggling with understanding different
material.They lack the ability to read well because of their primary focus on these
screens. They are spending more time on their ipads instead of finding different
approaches to help advance their vocabulary and do well in school when they are older.
But, Murray does not only look at this negatively approach but also the smartness
in the childs ability to smartly pick up ways of using screens at an early age. This article
is relevant to my topic because it addresses the negatives of screen time through a more
health related approach.

Napier , Carole. Art & Science . How Use of Screen Media Affects The Emotional

Development of Infants, vol. 24, no. 2, Mar. 2014, pp. 1825.,

www.deepdyve.com/lp/royal-college-of-nursing-rcn/
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how-use-of-screen-media-affects-the-emotional-development-of-infants-cBTBxl9seK.

Accessed 13 Mar. 2017.

Napier focuses on the emotional development for toddlers who are exposed to screen
media. Through Napiers research she was able to make the argument that the use of
television disrupts parent-child interactions. When exposing a child to screen time at an
earlier age it causes them to feel alone. Although the parent might be present there is still
no connection between the child and the parent. The childs focus has solely been placed
onto the television and has received their full attention. During this stage babies are
unable to entertain themselves so it is the parents responsibility to actively engage with
their child whether it is making silly faces or reading them a book. From this research
Napier also noticed that as the years go by television and screen media are very much
present in majority of an infants life. Napier also addresses how it is just not the issue of
the child watching the television but also the issue of the television always being on.
Even if the child is not physically watching T.V a distraction is still created. There is a
need for direct interactions between the child and parent in order to help the childs brain
development. This article is useful for my essay because Napier focuses on the
parent-child interactions which is a common relationship issue for many of the youth in
todays society.

Wagner , Lori Anne. When Your Smartphone Is Too Smart for Your Own Good. The Journal

of Individual Psychology , vol. 71, 2015, pp. 114121.

In this article Wagner brings up the question of whether social media really social?
Wagner addresses this question through historic studies and statistics. One of the ideas is
that social media affects our interactions. She says that it does not cause us to be less
social, however face-to-face contact has been replaced with hiding behind the screen.
Instead of speaking to each other in person we would rather text. Wagner makes a point
made about conversation being a skill that can only be learned. So, in a world where our
social lives are lived through media communication it jeopardizes our youths chance to
learn the skill the right way is jeopardized . Looking at the five senses is a way in which
Wagner approaches the argument. We lose the main focus of the conversation by not
being able to visually see a persons emotion. We instead make up assumptions of a
persons emotion through text that are sometimes inaccurate and misleading. Wagner also
argues that face-to-face relationships are what allow us to truly know a person and
without it we create lies and take emotional risks.