Alyssa Tyler editor in chief
On social media the term ‘iPad kid’ has taken storm. These kids typically range from 2-6, hold their iPad that is covered in sticky fingerprints and in giant neon colored styrofoam case and then hold it two inches from their face. Typically, if someone attempts to take this tablet away from them, they scream and throw a tantrum so loud everyone within a five-mile radius can hear them. So, what is the solution for some parents? Keep the tablet right there.
When these parents are ‘called out’ for raising their kid in front of an iPad, the typical response is, ‘Wait until you’re a parent.’ I have never understood that argument due to the hundreds and hundreds of years that there has been no Paw Patrol and monster truck mobile games. Kids have been forced to entertain themselves through their own imagination, physical toys, and face to face interaction. Placing your child in front of a screen is easy, as someone who worked in childcare for four years, I know that is the easiest thing to do. However, it’s not the best thing for your child.
I don’t have a solution for these children who feel more comfortable with a tablet in their hand than playing at a park. My only idea is to take the tablet away and let your kid get dirty outside. As a young adult who sees these countless videos of toddlers becoming addicted to technology before they enter kindergarten, I judge the parents as well. However, Generation Alpha is not the only generation addicted to technology. As a young adult in college, I’ve heard the multiple TikTok’s playing through bathroom stalls. I’ve seen students putting Minecraft parkour videos under lectures just so they can stay entertained long enough to study. This is becoming a cross-generational and global issue.
Older generations are so quick to label these toddlers as iPad kids without fully admitting that, so are we. Students cannot walk across campus without staring down at their phone, some can’t go a day without posting something on social media, and some can’t function in the real world because all they have known is technology.
This is not to belittle or to ‘call anyone out’ it is to bring awareness to how attached society is to their phones. I am guilty of this myself; I find myself wanting to scroll on my phone the moment I finish something. However, our pocket computers and endless social media accounts are so new, there’s no research showing us the long-term effects. There have been studies in past years about social media and technology and its effects, however, we are now entering a stage where most adults have had social media and their own phone since they were young teenagers. We have no research showing the potential damage caused by decades of technology and social media use. As a society, we are entering a new era where there is no proof to show if these new technologies will be detrimental to our growth; physically, emotionally, and spiritually.