Yes

by Lenna Gonya

Created on: June 09, 2011   Last Updated: June 11, 2011

Growing up was once a gradual process, filled with exploration, discovery, and treasured memories. It was a time of innocence, adventure, and play, but still all within the protective family unit. Children remained children through their early teens, and were not subjected to adult concerns, or the pressures of the adult world. They were expected to learn, develop friendships, and have fun, nothing more.

Today, the act of getting up on a summer’s day to play outside has been replaced with turning on the TV , a video game, or the computer. Children are encouraged to learn the ins and outs of technology from the time they are kindergarten age, and while there may be good arguments for this for their future careers in school and work, it is replacing many important aspects of childhood. It is also affecting their overall health, emotionally and physically. Obesity in children has skyrocketed over the last couple of decades, as has mental health issues. Depression, anxiety, and anger, in even the smallest of children, has become a concern.

Somewhere along the way the line between childhood and adulthood has become so blurred that even parents find it difficult to determine the difference. Where once children were protected from adult concerns and behavior, they are now exposed to it by watching it on TV and from their parents themselves. Children as young as elementary age are using marijuana, and statistics show that pre teens are more and more becoming sexually active. Subjects that were once the responsibility of parents to teach, at an appropriate time, are now available online or through the media, or are being taught in school.

Once upon a time, there was something called imagination that entertained children for hours on end. The act of pretending and creating fun from the simplest ideas with friends was an adventure and a creative outlet. However, as technology advanced, it became more and more important to have toys did all the work for us, or provided a source of entertainment that required little effort other than coordination.

Of course part of the problem has to be blamed on the world we live in. Parents are home less because they both must maintain jobs, to pay the bills and provide for even more technology. Tvs, games and computers have become baby sitters, and there is less time for family interaction. Parents need their children to grow up as quickly as possible to fend for themselves. They also need them to compete, and keep up with technology that is changing by the minute to succeed in school, life, and careers, and to get into that prime pre-school.

The truth is that childhood may become extinct in the future. It is, when all is said and done, a tradeoff, and the consequences of an era where learning to operate a machine is more important than learning to become a well adjusted human being.

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