Most parents do not see the positive impact technology has on teenagers. After all, most parents watch their children spend endless hours on their video game consoles and smartphones. As such, parents tend to see technology as a burden as opposed to a benefit. However, in today’s competitive and technologically advanced world, the positive impacts that technology has on teenagers outweigh the negatives.
Technology enables teens to contact their friends, the community and their family. Let’s take a look at how technological advances have been making a positive impact on teenagers’ lives.
Enhanced Education and Digital Learning Tools
In today’s world, teenagers learn in ways that we could have only imagined when we were growing up. Teens have access to online learning for various certifications & courses such as ict courses, smartphone apps that enable them to learn new languages, apps that read books for them and apps that enable them to take notes while in class. Additionally, a vast amount of digital learning tools are improving the learning processes, leading to higher retention levels of the information given to them.
The multitude of social networks, interactive sites, and smartphone applications have become normative for teenagers. The result is that today’s teenagers are more adept at using a multitude of educational tools, thus enhancing the educational opportunities that are available to them.
Creative Expression
Before the advent of the internet, very few people were able to distribute their work. In today’s world, creative expression is a well-known benefit of technology. Anyone with smartphones or computers can develop and share their creative work online. By doing that, thousands of people can potentially come across your story, film, novel or artwork. With the introduction of social networks, there are several creative outlets that writers, artists and other teenagers can use.
Community
One of the most positive impacts technology has been having on teenagers is that it has been helping them to connect with others in the community. Some teenagers lack the social skills to make friends, and as such, they struggle to communicate with others in the real world. Other teenagers have a specific interest in which their peers may not share, such as sexuality, religious beliefs, and career goals. But, as a result of technology, teenagers have the opportunity to connect with other like-minded individuals regardless of distance.
So, a gay teenager growing up in a particularly conservative community doesn’t have to feel isolated because they can use technology to reach out to like-minded peers online. And, other teenagers who are classified as being social misfit can meet up with online friends in a video game session.
Enhanced Problem Solving Skills
With the abundance of devices and apps that are available, today’s teens have to face the challenge of learning new inventions based on the fact that technology is rapidly advancing day after day. Where we only had to use one or two different types of cell phones back when we were teenagers, today’s teens have several dozen to choose from.
As such, they are continually improving their problem-solving skills as a result of how to configure these types of devices and apps. As new technology and applications get introduced to the market, teenagers continuously apply the rudiments of problem-solving to each new obstacle, which will subsequently pay off in the real world.
Empowerment and Independence
The journey associated with bringing an idea to life is tiresome and frustrating without technology. Today’s teens are able to conduct all the processes of developing and introducing a product to the market on their own. In addition to creating something they feel proud of, the attention they gain online can help to provide a feeling of empowerment and independence.
This is especially the case for teenage product creators and influencers who have gained success by leveraging technology. This higher level of empowerment and independence can help to make them confident enough to push harder to obtain achievements in the real world as they get older.
Higher Level Of Safety While Driving
Most parents would agree that as their child approaches the age of being able to drive legally, they become extremely worried about their safety. Statistics show that their worry isn’t without reasons as many children end up in accidents on a daily basis. Today’s teens are more equipped than previous generations to tackle the dangers of driving.
This is because numerous technology-enabled safety measures can be used to improve the driving experience for teens and promote safety. Technologies such as child safety locks, automatic door locks, proximity sensors, and anti-pitch windows prove to be especially useful for keeping teenage drivers safe.