Keys to educate children in the use of new technologies

We are worried about being late for work, but when we have been walking for ten minutes and we are about to arrive at the subway station, we are forget that we have left our mobile phone at the entrance of the house and we have to go back, even if this means that, now, we are going to be late for to work.

Despite this, we go back for the mobile, because we are not able to separate ourselves from this object in a whole morning. When you finally get to the stop, you enter the subway car and feel that no one is looking at you because all the passengers are crestfallen. Children, adolescents, adults... no matter the age, everyone is looking at some electronic device.

Parents calming their children's tantrums through their mobile or tablet, people talking on the phone, ears wearing helmets, people taking selfies with the famous selfies... It seems that we do not realize that we are losing a large part of our life, an immensity of details that pass in front of us and we are not able to perceive them because we are constantly fixing our attention on a screen that immerses us in a virtual reality, apparently similar to the real one, but far from be. This context

makes it necessary to educate children in the proper use of new technologies.

• Related article: "How to educate children in the use of the Internet: 10 tips"

Social networks: a niche of true or false friendships?

We believe we have hundreds and thousands of virtual friends, a concept that differs greatly from that of "lifelong friend." Friend is that person with whom you share your time walking, doing sports, visiting infinity of places, having a drink in a bar, talking in a park... but not the one that likes one of your photos. Social networks, contrary to what we believe, favor the deterioration of human relationships, since we relate to a greater extent with these "virtual friends" than with face-to-face people.

Parents make use of these technologies and make them available to their children with very few years of life. It is not uncommon to see two-year-olds handle their own tablets better than many adults. The problem is that if a child who has certain difficulties to relate to, from an early age, is allowed to expose himself a large number of hours to new technologies, instead of helping him develop his social skills, we will be contributing to the development of a possible future addiction to the internet.

It is essential to dedicate time to our children from an early age and to encourage the development of social skills by going down to the park, favoring the face-to-face relationships, playing cooperative games and, more importantly, knowing how to set limits on the hours of exposure to these new technologies.

Children yearn to have a mobile phone younger and younger, but what they do not know is the amount of things they are going to miss by incorporating that device into their lives. In addition, it has been scientifically proven that excessive use of electronic devices such as computers, tablets or mobiles it can produce alterations such as sleep disturbances, aggressiveness and difficulties in language development.

• Maybe I will read you:FOMO syndrome: feeling that the lives of others are more interesting"

Risks of misuse of new technologies in childhood

It is evident that new technologies have introduced numerous advances in communication, industry, commerce and, what is very important, medicine, but we must not forget the risks that can be derived from its use irresponsible.

The disadvantages of new technologies appear when they are misused. In recent years you have heard of terms such as cyberbullying or cyberbullying, grooming, carding, phishing or pharming. Well, for those who do not know them, it is about crimes committed using new technologies, which are often used as a means through which to insult, threaten, harass or cheat other people.

Many times we are not aware of the danger that social networks have in society, and even more so in the lives of children. We share everything we do, where we are, where we come from and where we are going, and this carries a huge risk.

It is important raise awareness that something that was created to make our lives easier can complicate it. We dedicate many hours of our day to social networks and, what is it for? We go to a concert and the only thing we think about is recording the artist to be able to share it online, we find our idol on the street and instead of exchanging a few words with him, we just take a photo and share it on Instagram. Do the experiment, approach a group of friends in a bar, and see if any of them do not have their mobile on the table or are using it. But is that really what we mean by enjoying? Let's stop to think and make others think.

Finally, I would like to recommend a short film that magnificently reflects the concern expressed.