How do children think about technology?

Today, children growing up cannot imagine a world without mobile phones. They use high-tech gadgets without thinking much about them. We call them ‘power users of technology’.

The first thing we tend to think about is computers, but to be a “power user” involves much more than that. Let’s take Game Boy, for example. If you are a child good at Game Boy, it comes with a certain social status. Children call their friends to discuss Game Boy. They have a completely different field of activities than adults and it is a challenge for us to understand how these skills influence their studies, their circle of friends and even thier thought.

We wish to find out how they think about their own use of technology, and it is important to look at it from many different points of view such their personal development, learning and cognition. I believe, it can be observed that children who are granted access to communications technology develop the same skills regardless whether they live in developing countries or industrialised countries. 

However, many adults watch the children’s mass consumption of technology with scepticism. In newspaper parents are constantly encouraged to pay attention and to limit the time kids spend in front of the computer. “But if the child was sitting on the couch with a book or a board game, the parents would be happy as we have an idea of what is good and what is bad for our children.Truthfully, the technology changes society and the pattern how they interact with one another. If you ask a young person how many friends he has, the answer may be one hundred. 

To sum up, there are too many aspects we have to look at for this "power users", the most effective one is check and balance method to maintain their usage to stick in track and free from technology abuses.