BY ALEX SOUTHAM
English 9/Mr. Davis
Los Alamos High School

Technology is the future, and the future is looking grim. Younger kids should have restrictions on their internet access, but they shouldn’t be too restricted. 

“Referred to as ‘Generation Alpha,’ encompassing individuals younger than 14, they represent the forefront of a progressive cultural shift. A recent article in the LA Times characterizes them with terms such as ‘feral,’ ‘illiterate,’ and ‘doomed.’” (Menezes). This is a quote from Newsnationnow.com and it focuses on the main problem. In recent years, a much larger number of younger kids have been demonstrating an increasing amount of difficulty in their studies, and it is believed that the cause is their parents allowing them too much access to the internet. They have been growing up with screens in front of them from the start, and most parents fail to at least direct them towards educational programs. Many children sit around all day watching noneducational, mostly garbage content. Proof of this lies within the widely spreading popularity of “Skidibi Toilet”.

So what is Skidibi Toilet? “The series is a collection of a man’s head emerging from a dirty toilet seat singing Biser King’s ‘Dom Dom Yes Yes’.” (Syahira). The series has 90 videos posted, according to the same article, and each gains millions of views within hours of being posted. This type of content is exactly what most Gen Alpha kids tend to consume more than anything else. And while many would say that everyone needs some kind of dumb entertainment in their lives, this goes beyond that. As a result of so many kids only watching this, and other content that is on youtube kids that isn’t any better, they are becoming illiterate. They consume so much of this type of content that they can only think about it. They don’t pay attention in class, they don’t have respect for others, they don’t play interactive games of any kind. All they do is watch this kind of content. And so much of this content is encouraging poor behavior, which, naturally, makes it worse. So many of these kids grow up with their faces glued to their screens without restriction, and that needs to change.

But none of that is to say they shouldn’t have access to the Internet at all. “The Internet can be wonderful for kids. They can use it to research school reports, communicate with teachers and other kids, and play interactive games.” (KidsHealth.org). It’s all about balance, something that becomes harder and harder as technology progresses. I’m sure nobody reading this would want their kids, whither they be existing yet or not, to be at a first grade reading level at the fourth grade, to be unable to communicate with other people in person, to be constantly aggressive with you and others, and any other problem demonstrated in large quantities among Gen Alpha. I’m sure you would all want your child to be intelligent and friendly, and I’m sure the progression of humanity depends on it. It is true that everyone needs downtime and trash content, just as it is true that everyone needs to learn. Kids should have time in their schedules where they play interactive games, learn from their teachers in school, read, and watch dumb content. Computers can be used for many things that can help a person in the future, which also includes simply knowing how to use a computer.

“Computer skills in a resume refer to the list of technical competencies that a candidate possesses related to computer technology and its applications. Including computer skills on a resume is essential in today’s job market, as most jobs require some level of technical knowledge and proficiency.” (Simplilearn.com). As the years progress, more and more jobs benefit from or require computer skills, and as A.I. (Computers that learn) become more prevalent, it is becoming more important to know how to use computers. The better educated a person is in using technology, the farther they will likely go. I bet many of you, reading this now, didn’t know that the title of my little essay here is actually written in a language called binary, and I bet even less of you could translate it off the top of your head. Binary is the language of computers. Composed of 1’s and 0’s, binary is the reason your devices can produce color, sound, and literally anything else. And the little collection of 1’s and 0’s at the top of this essay translates to CHANGE.

Change needs to happen, in so many ways, in so many places, and in the minds of so many people. There are so many things that need to change, but in today’s society, nothing will be changing for the better if the children of the future don’t. It’s all about balance. If you have a child, please try to balance their work and play. Make sure they are doing well in school and playing interactive games, but make sure they also have time to watch dumb content. Make sure they learn the skills that will become necessary for their futures and livelihood, but also don’t be overbearing. Walk the balance, be someone others can look to as an example, help bring change.

Annotated Bibliography

“Online Safety.” KidsHealth, August 2022, https://kidshealth.org/en/parents/net-safety.html, 6, May, 2024.

I used this source because it highlighted several things about the topic I was reviewing, mainly the fact that technology isn’t all bad. As would be inferred from the title of the site, it is mostly about online safety, talking about cyberbullying, online safety laws, and ways for parents to be more directly involved with their child’s online activity, as well as information on how parents can protect their children online and some other things. This website was also medically reviewed by two people and is overall credible. From my meager skills at ascertaining whether or not a source is credible, the only suspicious thing I could find was the lack of a publisher’s name. So in short, this site backs part of my claim, contains additional information that could be useful, and appears to be credible.

“Menezes, Damita. “Gen Alpha problems linked to parenting styles, tech: Educator.” Newsnation, 25, March, 2024, https://www.newsnationnow.com/on-balance-with-leland-vittert/gen-alpha-parenting-styles-educator/#:~:text=Robert%20Pondiscio%2C%20a%20former%20fifth,during%20the%20COVID%2D19%20pandemic, 6, May, 2024.

I chose this site because it highlights the problems that I wanted to mention at the beginning of my essay. It goes into enough detail regarding topics related to how Gen Alpha is struggling with technology to be useful as a source of information for this essay. This source also mentions other topics related to tech immersion and poor balance between work and play that I was debating including in my article. The publisher of this article was also kind enough to let her name be known and I couldn’t find anything else to make this article not credible.

“What Are Computer Skills and Their Importance For Your Career in 2024.” simplilearn, 16, January, 2024, https://www.simplilearn.com/computer-skills-and-their-importance-article#:~:text=Basic%20computer%20skills%20are%20essential%20for%20employability%20and%20efficiency%20in,increase%20job%20prospects%20and%20opportunities., 6, May, 2024

I chose this article as a source of information because it brings up many great points as to why a person would want to know how to use computers. It goes into great detail as to why you would want computer skills and how such skills are useful in many different jobs. It even goes into detail about the different types of computer skills and how they are each useful for different things. This article helped to solidify my claim that computers are useful and that denying people access to them will only lead to problems down the road. This site appears mostly credible, with the exception that I couldn’t find the publisher’s name anywhere.

Syahira, Nurul. “Skidibi Toilet Syndrome: How to Protect Your Kids.” Motherhood, 11 August, 2023, https://story.motherhood.com.my/blog/skibidi-toilet-syndrome-how-to-protect-your-kids/, 6, May, 2024.

I chose this site because it provided statistics and useful information for my essay. It talks about one of the topics I used as evidence and has other information as well. If I am being perfectly honest, I have no clue whether or not this site is credible. The author did provide her name, but this does not appear to have any real credibility behind it. Despite that, some of the information is actually correct after I checked, and that’s the information I chose to use.