Negative Impacts of Technology on Education

In this 21st century, technology is prevalent in every field around the world and the education field is also included in it. Technology is everywhere in education; even teaching and learning have become technology in today’s world.

Technology is at every step and area in education, from online classrooms and digital resources to artificial learning, access to learning tools and virtual learning environments. There is no doubt that technology is making advancements in the field of education. But it should not be omitted from taking into consideration that the technology can also have negative impacts.

The negative use of technology can be excessive use and improper application of the technology, which can create obstacles in the cognitive, intellectual, and physical development of a student. The overuse and improper use of technology can create a distraction, and even more, it can exacerbate inequalities.

5 Negative Impacts of Technology on Education

The limitless of anything is negative the same applies to technology. The following have been mentioned 5 negative impacts of technology on education.

1. Technology can increase distractions in the minds of students and reduce their capability to focus.

The first thing that is impacted negatively by technology is the possibility of distraction. With the prevalent use of technology, no student can be deprived of using it; in fact, it became a must to make kids aware of technology at a very tender age but it has not been impacting adversely.

Due to technology, now every student possesses a smartphone and has access to social media and gaming platforms, which makes it more engaging and tempting to study. This has been found in research that if students multitask, it can hinder their ability to concentrate and retain information. The students are most of the time active on social media; if they put their phones down to study, the notifications can distract them and interrupt the learning process, leading to decreased productivity and poor academic performance. Students should make healthy lifestyle choices to boost academic performance and should give themselves some time for their minds and body.

Even students who are always aflutter for study can be trapped in this trap of alluration and they find it difficult to separate their academic responsibilities from the allure of digital entertainment. This is the main speed breaker on their road of study, which has the flyover of focus and can end up resulting in being late for their destination, which is their performance in school.

2. The social interaction and communication skills of students are decreasing.

The social dynamics of education are also being interrupted by the excessive, unmindful use of technology. Face-to-face interaction with peers and teachers is not just a consultation or a normal academic conversation for getting academic writing help. but it develops the social skills in a student, which is very helpful for their future career and in real life it is also very helpful.

If we leave social media aside, online learning platforms also have a negative impact on students. Students employ online learning platforms for better learning and the best quality of these platforms is that the online learning platforms offer flexibility to students that circumscribes their real-time interactions.

The consequences of this absence of physical presentation may not be realised by the students at the time but affect them in a number of ways, such as building relationships and the courage to participate actively in group discussions, and they fail to bring forth a stupendous conversation.

This can be a severe negative for students of very young age as it can stop their social development and they can never learn how to be available emotionally time. This small carelessness can bring about a big problem like alexithymia. The skill of effective verbal communication and nonverbal communication that produces the quality of repartee can be interrupted by the mindless, careless, and excessive use of digital communication tools.

3. The extension of the digital divide

The growing inequality in access to technology is a serious concern to be considered. The inequality is that some privileged students have access to everything effortlessly; they take advantage of high-speed data and the use of educational tools that are advanced and modern, but on the other hand, there are some underprivileged students as well who have to face many significant barriers just to make use of necessary internet services.

These underprivileged students who live in families of low income have to face difficulties like they lack access to essential technology, which results in affecting their learning experience adversely.

The educational gap between rich students and underprivileged students is gradually widening as some schools in rural areas and unfunded areas are still, in this modern era, struggling to provide students with essential and adequate digital resources. This affects students to limit that opportunities are increasing for students who are already having every kind of leverage but it limits the opportunities for students who are already at a disadvantage.

4. The quality of critical thinking and the skill of problem-solving are decreasing in the students.

The skill of critical thinking and problem-solving is essential for a person to survive, but this facility of getting immediate access to information can discourage these important skills.

The deep and reflective research that students of older times usually do to find the solution to a problem that the students of today’s time do not do because they find the answer by relying on educational apps and can find the answers easily on the internet has a big drawback that can get only surface-level understanding of these facilities, that is short-term only for their cognitive development, make students accustomed to easy passive learning methods.

This is easy for students, as they do not have to analyse and synthesise it. Traditional learning methods are considered the best in this case because students have to engage more deeply with the content which leads the students to better retention and a more comprehensive understanding of the subject matter.

5. The negative impact of technology on the mental health of the students.

Parents and teachers forget that digital learning tools also increase the screen time of students, which affects their mental health. This is more noxious for these prodigies.

This is not a myth but has been proven by research studies that stress, anxiety, and depression can be caused by excessive exposure to screens during exams this stress and anxiety increase during exams, and they have no idea how to deal with stress and anxiety during exams. This anxiety and stress are exacerbated because of this screen time, students become disconnected from their peers and teachers.

To succeed in a digital environment, everything is performance-driven, which can cause feelings of inadequacy and burnout.

The conclusion

Technology has revolutionised education but it has a negative impact as well that should be omitted from taking into consideration. The abovementioned negative impacts of technology can increase distraction in the minds of students and reduce their capability to focus; the social interaction and skill of communicating are decreasing in students; the extension of the digital divide; the quality of critical thinking and the skill of problem-solving are decreasing in the students; the negative impact of technology on the mental health of the students. These points are important because they can have long-term effects on the mind of a student.