A global survey found that technology makes users around the world, mostly in China, feel younger due to its role in building connections between generations.
In a report called “This is Life” from Lenovo, survey results showed 40% of people in the world said that technology made them feel “a lot” or “somewhat” more youthful, specifically an average of 11 years younger.
Most of the respondents or 70% of them that shared this response came from China.
The study cited the ability of technologies for older generations such as parents to communicate with younger people in terms of school work as the main reason for this view.
Three of four parents said their children are more likely to search answers for their school work online than ask them for their help. Such was prevalent in India (89%) and China (85%).
For this reason, 60% of parents said they have looked up answers at least once online, particularly in mathematics (45%), science (38%), geography (36%) and foreign languages (35%).
Jocelyn Brewer, a psychologist and founder of Digital Nutrition, explained that the use of technology, specifically the internet, helped parents adapt to the changing educational landscape.
“Parents might feel overwhelmed and confused about how to best support their children to develop the academic, social-emotional skills that help them achieve life success as well as satisfaction. They are seeking practical and positive support that balances the value of technology to support learning and avoiding sources of distraction,” Brewer said.
Parents, children and technology
Survey results also showed that 73% of respondents trust technology can assist children become future independent learners and problem solvers.
Moreover, more than two of three or 67% of respondents also expressed optimism over technology and how well it can play in the society in the future.
They perceived that tech devices have a positive impact on their overall health and well-being.
Lenovo conducted the report that sought to determine how parents today trust and depend on technology as much as their kids do.
“It was encouraging to see a substantial majority of working parents said current and new technologies are encouraging more parents to remain in the workforce. This is in part due to the personal benefits they feel technology provides to enable them to stay more connected with their families whilst at work,” the report said.
The company surveyed a total of 15,226 people in seven languages across 10 global markets, including the US, Mexico, Brazil, China, India, Japan, UK, Germany, France and Italy.
It was conducted from March 31 to April 27, 2019.
Caveat
The loss of personal or human interaction is probably the greatest downside of technology, particularly in communication devices, according to several studies.
An article titled “The Impact of Technologies on Society: A Review” explained that human nature is not programmed or built to rely solely on technology to communicate with others.
“It is obvious that modern technologies can be a double-edged weapon. They have their advantages, but with many inventions, they can completely change our lives, for better or worse. As a result, we must work for the interest of social connection to preserve people’s feelings towards each other away from the addiction to technology,” the article said.
Another study titled “How Technology Influences Communication” noted that interpersonal skills and learning non-verbal communication can’t be developed through technology.
“Technology has a negative impact on the development of interpersonal skills and should be avoided in cases where such skills require being nurtured. On the same note, the same rule should apply when communicating with people who do not understand how certain communication gadgets operate,” the study said.
