Discover Yahoo! With Your Friends

Explore news, videos, and much more based on what your friends are reading and watching. Publish your own activity and retain full control.

To get started, first

YOUR FRIENDS' ACTIVITY

    This story comes from the Yahoo! Contributor Network, where individuals publish their unique perspectives on some of the world’s most popular websites.
    Do you have a story to tell? Become a Yahoo! contributor

    COMMENTARY | We live in the information age, and today's children are far more adept at using technology than most adults. If you're a parent, you've probably battled with your children to prohibit texting at the dinner table, eliminated hours spent on video games or pulled your teen's nose out of the smartphone. It's annoying. It also may be compromising our future.

    I stumbled on a very funny video on the Huffington Post, revealing that most teens can't answer the most basic questions about our country. Who the vice president is, what countries border ours and which war we fought to win our independence were all questions that stumped these kids.

    The video was funny and very sad. The accompanying article referenced a study that suggests our children's poor academic performance will cost us economically in the future. According to another article on the Huffington Post, American students rank behind 31 other countries in math and behind 16 countries in reading. The future cost of this lack of proficiency could cost our nation $75 trillion over the next 80 years.

    What does technology have to do with our children's poor test scores? The fascination our children have with technology is costing them sleep and impacting their effectiveness at school according to a Canadian study reported on Chestnet.com.

    What about the enormous time waster that technology offers? How many hours does your teen spend on Facebook? At what cost?

    I recently spotted a woman crossing the street with a child who appeared to be her granddaughter, a cellphone glued to her ear, absently holding the child's hand. I wondered how much attention the woman was paying to cars on the road. I wondered how much time she got to spend with her grandchild. We think we are being social when we're on the phone, but we miss being who we are with and doing what we could be doing with our full attention.

    Our teens have learned to multitask to an amazing degree, but just ask your teen to listen to you for more than three minutes. I have seen my son with his laptop open, his video game on, texting someone, all at the same time. Social interactions take place on the Internet, not in person.

    We are raising a generation lacking in math, reading and social skills. What would happen if we pulled the plug? Maybe we could create a different future.

     

    2 comments

    • L0L
      L0L  •  3 mths ago
      I'm not seeing the point of this article. Sure, you can say 'technology is bad', but its not like you can undo innovation and remove it from day to day life. We have to adapt to it, change the way learning happens in school, the way government decision making is done, etc. Humans are the only species on Earth that have the ability to shape our own evolution, by changing the natural pressures around us at our will.

      Many nations around the world have technology but still manage to maintain academic acheivement. Technology cannot take the sole blame for this. The United States doesn't value education, period while education is essentially on the same pedestal as 'religion' in countries like China and India. The reason we don't value education is the youth doesn't see an immediete threat to their future and have the illusion of a safety net. Take those things away, and no matter how much technology is there to distract, the immediete urgency to succeed will be there. That's the case in many European and Asian countries that are developed.
    • LHwrites
      LHwrites  •  3 mths ago
      Fine job! It is cause for concern. A recent study showed teens, despite technological efficacy, could not run a more than rudimentary search via the internet. In many ways we are seeing the bad of technology without the good tagging along for the ride. But I think a subtle shift in education could correct much of this as their technological comfort and prowess should not be underestimated either.
     Post a comment
    [ [ [['Connery is an experienced stuntman', 2]], 'http://yhoo.it/KeQd0p', '[Slideshow: See photos taken on the way down]', ' ', '630', ' ', ' ', ], [ [['Connery is an experienced stuntman', 7]], ' http://yhoo.it/KpUoHO', '[Slideshow: Death-defying daredevils]', ' ', '630', ' ', ' ', ], [ [['know that we have confidence in', 3]], 'http://yhoo.it/LqYjAX ', '[Related: The Secret Service guide to Cartagena]', ' ', '630', ' ', ' ', ], [ [['We picked up this other dog and', 5]], 'http://yhoo.it/JUSxvi', '[Related: 8 common dog fears, how to calm them]', ' ', '630', ' ', ' ', ], [ [['accused of running a fake hepatitis B', 5]], 'http://bit.ly/JnoJYN', '[Related: Did WH share raid details with filmmakers?]', ' ', '630', ' ', ' ', ], [ [['accused of running a fake hepatitis B', 3]], 'http://bit.ly/KoKiqJ', '[Factbox: AQAP, al-Qaeda in Yemen]', ' ', '630', ' ', ' ', ], [ [['have my contacts on or glasses', 3]], 'http://abcn.ws/KTE5AZ', '[Related: Should the murder charge be dropped?]', ' ', '630', ' ', ' ', ], [ [['have made this nation great as Sarah Palin', 5]], 'http://yhoo.it/JD7nlD', '[Related: Bristol Palin reality show debuts June 19]', ' ', '630', ' ', ' ', ], [ [['have made this nation great as Sarah Palin', 1]], 'http://bit.ly/JRPFRO', '[Related: McCain adviser who vetted Palin weighs in on VP race]', ' ', '630', ' ', ' ', ], [ [['A JetBlue flight from New York to Las Vegas', 3]], 'http://yhoo.it/GV9zpj', '[Related: View photos of the JetBlue plane in Amarillo]', ' ', '630', ' ', ' ', ], [ [['the 28-year-old neighborhood watchman who shot and killed', 15]], 'http://news.yahoo.com/photos/white-house-stays-out-of-teen-s-killing-slideshow/', 'Click image to see more photos', 'http://l.yimg.com/cv/ip/ap/default/120411/martinzimmermen.jpg', '630', ' ', 'AP', ], [ [['Titanic', 7]], 'http://news.yahoo.com/titanic-anniversary/', ' ', 'http://l.yimg.com/a/p/us/news/editorial/b/4e/b4e5ad9f00b5dfeeec2226d53e173569.jpeg', '550', ' ', ' ', ], [ [['He was in shock and still strapped to his seat', 6]], 'http://news.yahoo.com/photos/navy-jet-crashes-in-virginia-slideshow/', 'Click image to see more photos', 'http://l.yimg.com/cv/ip/ap/default/120406/jet_ap.jpg', '630', ' ', 'AP', ], [ [['xxxxxxxxxxxx', 11]], 'http://news.yahoo.com/photos/russian-grannies-win-bid-to-sing-at-eurovision-1331223625-slideshow/', 'Click image to see more photos', 'http://l.yimg.com/a/p/us/news/editorial/1/56/156d92f2760dcd3e75bcd649a8b85fcf.jpeg', '500', ' ', 'AP', ] ]
    [ [ [['did not go as far his colleague', 8]], '29438204', '0' ], [ [[' the 28-year-old neighborhood watchman who shot and killed', 4]], '28924649', '0' ], [ [['because I know God protects me', 14], ['Brian Snow was at a nearby credit union', 5]], '28811216', '0' ], [ [['The state news agency RIA-Novosti quoted Rosaviatsiya', 6]], '28805461', '0' ], [ [['measure all but certain to fail in the face of bipartisan', 4]], '28771014', '0' ], [ [['matter what you do in this case', 5]], '28759848', '0' ], [ [['presume laws are constitutional', 7]], '28747556', '0' ], [ [['has destroyed 15 to 25 houses', 7]], '28744868', '0' ], [ [['short answer is yes', 7]], '28746030', '0' ], [ [['opportunity to tell the real story', 7]], '28731764', '0' ], [ [['entirely respectable way to put off the searing constitutional controversy', 7]], '28723797', '0' ], [ [['point of my campaign is that big ideas matter', 9]], '28712293', '0' ], [ [['As the standoff dragged into a second day', 7]], '28687424', '0' ], [ [['French police stepped up the search', 17]], '28667224', '0' ], [ [['Seeking to elevate his candidacy back to a general', 8]], '28660934', '0' ], [ [['The tragic story of Trayvon Martin', 4]], '28647343', '0' ], [ [['Karzai will get a chance soon to express', 8]], '28630306', '0' ], [ [['powerful storms stretching', 8]], '28493546', '0' ], [ [['basic norm that death is private', 6]], '28413590', '0' ], [ [['songwriter also saw a surge in sales for her debut album', 6]], '28413590', '1', 'Watch music videos from Whitney Houston ', 'on Yahoo! Music', 'http://music.yahoo.com' ], [ [['keyword', 99999999999999999999999]], 'videoID', '1', 'overwrite-pre-description', 'overwrite-link-string', 'overwrite-link-url' ] ]

    News For You

    Loading...

    US News »

    • Golden Gate Bridge marks 75 years since opening against steep odds Braden Reddall
      USS Iowa passes under the Golden Gate Bridge en route from Richmond, California to Los Angeles

      SAN FRANCISCO (Reuters) - The Golden Gate Bridge was a larger than life engineering project undertaken against dangerous odds and it opened 75 years ago on Sunday against vehement protest, at the cost of 11 lives. One of the most astonishing and admired man-made wonders of the world, gracing millions of postcards, featured …

    • Two years after BP oil spill, tourists back in Gulf Coast Kathy Finn

      NEW ORLEANS (Reuters) - The Gulf Coast is a hot destination again two years after the massive BP Plc oil spill made the region a tourist dead zone, with the petroleum giant pumping more than $150 million into promotions to help the region recover. In New Orleans, about 150 miles northeast of where BP's well blew up on April …

    • World War Two battleship USS Iowa sets off on final voyage Laird Harrison
      Retired military vessel USS Iowa prepares for departure from Richmond, CA en route to Los Angeles

      RICHMOND, California (Reuters) - The battleship USS Iowa, which served the United States through victory and tragedy during six decades at sea, set off on its final voyage on Saturday, a trip to Los Angeles to become a museum. With a cheer, volunteers in hard hats cast off the last of a dozen thick lines that had moored …

    • Tropical Storm Beryl edges closer to southeast U.S. coast David Beasley

      ATLANTA (Reuters) - Tropical Storm Beryl gained strength as it closed in on the southeastern U.S. coast on Sunday, dumping rain and whipping up heavy surf from northeastern Florida to South Carolina. The second named storm of the 2012 Atlantic hurricane season was approaching hurricane strength ahead of an expected landfall …

    • Calmer winds promise relief to western U.S. fire crews Zelie Pollon
      Handout photo of smoke billowing from the site of wildfires at the Whitewater-Baldy Complex in southwestern New Mexico in the Gila National Forest

      SANTA FE, New Mexico (Reuters) - Calmer winds and cooler temperatures promised relief on Sunday to fire crews battling blazes in New Mexico and Colorado, where wildfires sweeping across miles of forest, brush and grass have forced evacuations and disrupted holiday weekend travel plans. New Mexico's wildfires - which are …

     
    Episode 12: Amputee veterans take on TV celebrities in softball
    With significant physical rehabilitation, these wounded warriors perform inspiring acts of athleticism. Join the conversation.
    What is Remake America?
    Meet the six families who are relying on your suggestions to confront real challenges this election year.
    Episode 11: Hard times for Hometown Hardware
    Should Bill and Donna take on more risk to boost their business?
    Learn more about Remake America »