The Internet has become an all-pervasive medium in the modern world and has grown and evolved almost beyond recognition. It’s only just over 30 years since the very first domain name was registered (symbolics.com) back in 1985. That was the home of a now long-gone computer manufacturer. Almost all the early web pages were dedicated to computers and technology. The early Internet was a very niche and specialist area but now it’s opened up to everyone. According to Internet World Stats, almost half (46.4%) of the world’s population now has access to the Internet. This rises considerably in developed nations, standing at 87.9% in North America and 73.5% in Europe. Facebook alone has 1.59 billion active monthly users – almost one in four of the world’s population.
Just because the Internet has such a big presence however, does that mean it’s necessarily a good thing for our children? There is certainly a lot of inappropriate content available online. There’s also the potential for coming into contact with unsavory characters. Giving children unrestricted, unmonitored access can be harmful and potentially dangerous. Allowing children to get involved with the online world in a safe and supervised fashion can, however, bring a large number of benefits.
The demand for digital skills
In an increasingly inter-connected and digitized world, digital skills are in high demand. They are often not only seen as desirable but essential for a wide range of jobs – and not just those directly related to the field of IT. One study found that nearly four fifths (78%) of middle-skill jobs in the US (roughly defined as those requiring more than a high school education but less than a bachelor’s degree) now require a baseline of digital skills, including spreadsheet, word processing and online familiarity.
Additionally, more and more jobs are being advertised online. Employers generally expect candidates to apply for positions online. From networking to using job sites and even conducting interviews over Skype, the Internet is an increasingly important tool in the process of transitioning from education to employment. You might think there’s a long time before your kids have to concern themselves with such issues but ‘digital natives’, who have grown up with the Internet and its associated technology, tend to be far more comfortable with and fluent in that technology. Those who haven’t, or were introduced to it later, could find themselves at a competitive disadvantage.
There are various campaign groups and other organizations aiming to encourage parity in Internet access, so that children from different social groups are not put at a disadvantage. Take a look at a breakdown of reviews and you will see from EveryoneOn reviews that there are groups such as this looking to provide both affordable connections and digital literacy training.
Learning benefits
Long before children have to think about workplace concerns there’s also plenty of evidence that appropriate, supervised access to modern technology and screen time can actually be beneficial in terms of learning outcomes in a number of different areas. It can help improve hand-eye and multi-sensory co-ordination and the ability to pay attention to detail. These benefits can apply to age-appropriate online games in general but there are also many different online sites, apps and games that are specifically tailored to achieving different learning outcomes. These could involve reading, verbal language and visual communication skills, and basic numeracy. This can all help promote early school readiness and cognitive development.
At a higher level and older age, many schools will now use the Internet as a teaching tool. Again, they may use custom-made apps and websites in connection with any number of subjects, or they may encourage the wider use of the ‘net’ as a research tool. Homework and coursework assignments may also be set and delivered using dedicated online portals.
Social interactions
There’s also a useful social aspect to being online. Younger generations are growing up alongside social media sites, forums and other ways of communicating online. Again, there are dangers involved in unrestricted access but supervised access can help children to develop their online social skills, which can also have an impact on their face-to-face social skills.
The Internet can also expose children to people from a diverse range of locations, cultures and backgrounds, enabling them to talk and exchange ideas. The Internet can also provide children with access to things they can’t always see in their everyday life, whether it’s viewing wildlife up close and personal or taking a virtual guided tour of an online museum.
This post is a contributed post.
