Screen time is bad for children, right? Artificial intelligence is killing critical thinking, correct? I beg to differ.
In the rural areas where I’ve worked as an educator for the past 20 years, technology is being used to make young people’s worlds bigger and brighter. It’s connecting them to opportunities that otherwise would be beyond their reach.
I’m very aware of the debates over the harm technology and screen time can inflict on children. I am also not advocating the unrestricted, irresponsible use of tech at the expense of a balanced lifestyle.
But different socio-economic contexts demand different lenses on the issue. For example, in the remote Mpumalanga and Free State villages where our education non-profit operates, children and young adults seldom have always-on access to smartphones, tablets and computers, let alone Wi-Fi. They walk kilometres to school, do household chores and play soccer and netball in their spare time. Spending too much time on smart gadgets is generally not an issue.
So, when our facilitators help Grade 4s learn how to spell, code and do maths problems on a tablet, that screen time is a novelty. It opens up new worlds for them. And they love every minute of it.
