Pros and Cons of Children's Access to Technology

Pros and Cons of Children's Access to Technology

The modern generations, such as Gen Z and Gen Alpha have grown up in an era of technological dominance. Most of the children from these generations have some form of technological device in their possession, some in possession of multiple. While that can be a good thing, unrestricted access and usage is not a good thing. Having rules set in place is crucial, despite the fact that those rules can be broken. Alongside those rules should be education from the parents on how to properly use said technology so then it won’t have as high of an impact on their mental health. 

Technology has its benefits for children

In today’s era, there is a high demand for technology in every aspect of people’s lives, especially the lives of those who are in school. Despite the arguments against giving children access to technology, allowing children to access technology allows for them to learn at their own pace with school, allows them to contact their friends, and allows them to store memories that they would like to later look back on. Phenomena.org states that “children absorb information better when they can engage with materials visually or through hands-on activities,” which is something that technology allows for through different apps. Online learning allows for students to learn at their own pace, which can ease stress and make them feel less overwhelmed, which can lead to better grades and better academic performance. While traditional learning can benefit some students, it doesn’t benefit all, since most schools follow a standard of learning (Phenomena.org). Online learning can better cater to students who don’t typically fit in the standardized mold of learning. There are a lot of “websites like Khan Academy, PBS Kids, and National Geographic Kids provide resources across various subjects, such as science, math, history, and art, in ways that are engaging and age-appropriate,” that can be used for young students to help further their education with providing the personalized learning experience that would further benefit them, as stated by Phenonema.org. These personalized experiences wouldn’t be possible without the availability of technology, since it would continue to force students to conform to the classroom standards for timelines of when they should know and master a subject. Other ways technology can benefit children (and parents, in this case) is through apps such as Life360. Life360 allows for parents to see where their children are, and allows them to see if their child is safe. If a child is ever in danger, they can text their parents to come get them and not have to worry about further endangering themselves by taking more time to describe where they are, since the parents have installed Life360, allowing them to see where their child is, as long as the child has their phone on them. Some may argue that tracking their child’s location is invasive, while others argue that they’re keeping the safety of their child in mind. There are definitely risks of installing apps such as Life360 on their child’s phone with the knowledge of the child, since it could make them sneakier when trying to sneak out of the house, such as encouraging them to tamper with the app to disable the location temporarily, or by encouraging them to leave their phone at home. 

Technology shouldn’t be given to children

The NIH lists some of the issues that arise with giving children access to technology as “body image and sleep issues, anxiety, depression, and poor academic performances.” For example, children’s exposure to social media platforms such as Instagram and TikTok allows them to interact with the content that is uploaded by other people, and certain content promotes a rather strict beauty standard for both genders. This unhealthy beauty standard can lead to issues with body image, as it can cause children to feel insecure about certain aspects of their body if they don’t meet the high beauty standards, which can lead to detrimental effects such as extremely unhealthy forms of dieting and exercise, anorexia, and depression. Allowing children to have unrestricted access to technology allows for an addiction to the internet, and the NIH states that “internet addiction has been linked to anxiety, depression, and eating disorders in middle and late childhood,” which can be seen in excessive usage of screens, and excessive time spent on apps such as TikTok, Instagram, and Snapchat. The development of these behaviors teaches children and early teenagers that they can’t live without their phones, building an extremely unhealthy relationship with their electronics. Another negative side effect of high technology usage highlighted by the NIH is the lack of activity, which can lead to “a higher risk of cardiovascular and metabolic diseases.” Children who spend less time on their phones are less likely to develop heart issues and obesity, since they’re likely out and moving around more, rather than spending an excess amount of time sitting down looking at a screen. Prolonged exposure to screens also wires the attention span of users, especially those who are adolescent, to focus on the screen, rather than to focus on something else. Having that rewired attention span will make it harder for them to thrive in the world. Not being able to detach from phones is a lot more detrimental than what is talked about, especially for the younger generations who grew up surrounded 

Strengths and weaknesses of both arguments

Both sides have strengths and weaknesses to their arguments. Phenomena’s argument has a lot of strong arguments in favor of allowing children to have access to technology, such as the ability to learn at their own pace, and the ability to improve their digital literacy skills. While it is a rather good point that most education revolves around technology, the article doesn’t seem to account for the large amounts of damage that is done by technology, such as an addiction to the internet and to their screens, lack of physical activity, and loads of mental health issues, which is highlighted throughout the NIH’s article arguing against allowing children to have access to technology. The NIH has a lot of evidence backing their argument against allowing children to have access to technology, including an experiment conducted between 2012 and 2022 across multiple countries around the world. The article doesn’t really touch on the benefits observed with technological use, which is its biggest weakness, though it does acknowledge the demand for technology, especially in an educational setting.

Similarities and Differences

Both sources have a lot of differences and very few similarities, but both state that the high demand for technology has turned younger users into technological masters. For example, Phenomena.org states that “skills like typing, online research, and basic programming give children a head start,” while the NIH states “the more children grow, the more they consider themselves “experts” in the field of technology, claiming an extensive use of technological devices among their peers.” While they both are stating that exposure to technology allows for digital literacy, Phenomena is arguing the point in a positive light, while the NIH later leans more negatively in terms of children being allowed to get to this point. While the articles similarly argue that extensive exposure will turn children into “digital natives,” according to the NIH, both articles paint technological access and exposure in a completely different light. Phenomena.org argues that “technology does not necessarily make children more isolated,” while the NIH has a contradicting argument to Phenomena.org stating “however, evidence shows that children in several parts of the world do not meet neither the recommended amount of physical activity nor the screen time guidelines.” While Phenomena argues that technology doesn’t isolate children, the NIH has evidence to contradict that statement. Children can get significantly more isolated with screen exposure if there aren’t any limits.

A compromise for technological usage

Despite the arguments going back and forth on whether children should have access to technology, there should be a compromise to (hopefully) please both sides. To benefit both sides, technology could be given to children, with exceptions. Parents who decide to give their children access to a cell phone, for example, can put parental controls on the device, install Life360, and monitor what they do and who they are contacting. Taking these measures can appease both sides, since it would be giving children access to technology, yet it would be restricting their usage and monitoring their activity to further ensure the safety of the children. It would allow adolescents to have a way to contact friends and family without building an unhealthy relationship with their screen. While children can find ways to circumvent the restrictions put on their devices, those restrictions should have a looming punishment for if they circumvent those restrictions set in place. Educating children on Internet safety is key, which is another compromise to those who are against giving children technology. While the parents may understand why their children have restrictions on their devices, their children may not understand, which is why it’s important to teach them Internet safety, which ties into why they have restrictions on their devices. Keeping children educated on the dangers of the Internet will benefit them in the long run, so then they know what to watch out for, whether their screen time and Internet usage is restricted or not. If anything, children should at least have a laptop for school that is monitored, whether it’s monitored by the parent or by the school district, since it would give them a sense of digital literacy, would allow them to complete their work at their own pace, and the digital restrictions would prevent an unhealthy relationship with technology.

Works Cited

Presta, Valentine and Guarnieri, Alessandro, et. al., “The Impact of Digital Devices on Children’s Health: A Systematic Literature Review” Accessed 14 Oct. 2025 

https://pmc.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/articles/PMC11587142/

Phenomena.org, “Benefits of Technology in Child Education: A Parent’s Perspective” Accessed 14 Oct. 2025 

https://www.phenomena.org/benefits-of-technology-in-child-education-a-parents-perspective/