Childhood and Adolescence in Digital Era

Technology has unfathomably entered the life of humankind, being used since early childhood. Parent and children relationships are slowly but surely being replaced by technology mediated relationships, most of these playing the role of a virtual nanny. Later in life, the act of playing outside in the company of other children, thus, an activity which helps the youngsters improve their social skills, turns into a thirst for computers, digital displays and virtual games, considered to be more appealing than other forms of human interactions. Even friendship, the essential relationship throught teenage years, seems to be altered under the influence of digitalisations. Youngsters who excel in cultivating online social skills become, in real life, “left-handed” and shy individuals, unable to show empathy, kindness and experience in this matter. In light of all of these new realities, institutions and people whose prority is studying the effects of technology on the young generation, recomand that children under the age of three ought to be responsably isolated from digital devices, thus not being exposed to it, even through indirect approaches. Once they grow up, parents, the main pillar in the education of a child, should incrementally introduce their children to the digital world, presenting them with the necessary insight and wisdom, the positive aspects of technology usage, as well as its risks and drawbacks that could lead to dependance and cyber-addictions, when used without responsability and boundaries.