Author: Dr. Jim Taylor

Are Opportunity Costs Children’s Real Problem with Technology?

There are a lot of “techno-evangelists” out there spreading the gospel of technology as the cure for all of our ills. For this group, technology can do no wrong. At the same time, there are plenty of Chicken Littles running around saying that our cultural, social, and educational sky is falling. For this group, technology is the ill that needs to be cured.

I place myself firmly in the middle of these two camps. Think of me as the Paul Revere of the 21st century—“The techies are coming!” I believe that technology is inherently neither good nor bad. But neutral does not mean it is benign. As with most things in life, technology is healthy or harmful depending on how it is used.

One challenge for us is technology enters our lives before we can know what effect it will actually have on us. The speed at which technology is becoming deeply woven into the very fabric of our lives is breathtaking; as if we’re holding onto the railing of a caboose of a runaway train. Innovations are launched and become a part of our culture so quickly that there isn’t time to step back and consider the implications of new technology on us. It is only in the rearview mirror that we can see whether a technological advancement has been beneficial or damaging. And by then it’s too late to go back; the new technology is already irreversibly embedded in our individual and societal psyches.