Tech Investors Are Growing Worried About How Digital Devices Affect Kids

smartphonesWhile not everybody likes to admit it, our modern world is a giant experiment that we are running as new technologies become essential parts of our lives without us knowing how they will impact us in the long term. While many of us are mature enough to make our own informed decisions on the use of technologies such as smart phones and social media, the equation changes considerably when children are involved, and many people feel that exposing kids to these technologies at such a young age will have side effects. We’re starting to see more and more voices in this direction, and there was even a memo put out on the subject by some of Apple’s major investors who wondered just how their products were affecting children. These concerns have been corroborated by a survey which a group of teachers in Alberta, Canada had run which confirmed that their students were becoming increasingly distracted by digital devices. Further evidence of these views has come from many academics, including a psychology professor named Jean Twenge who believes such devices are leading teenagers to develop mental health issues. 

You would think that the makers of such devices have enough of an entrenched interest in believing that their products are safe and healthy for everyone that they would deny such claims, but they admit the potential consequences of using, or rather misusing, such devices. Investors are concerned about the consequences of investing in companies making these products, as in the long term this could hurt their bottom line. That is why they feel that companies must be responsible in how they develop their products. They are advocating for research to be done on how these devices may be harmful and how they can push back against these dangers through more thoughtful product development. Rather than pushing to ban such products for children, they are pushing to make them safer for children. This can include special committees operating in tech companies that specifically focus on the health impacts of their products. However, these changes will not come overnight, and until then parents must take responsibility for what they expose their children to, even if they must make the tough call of restricting access to the devices that their children wish to use.