I
agree with the main point in this story, that parental involvement is
definitely necessary to help push kids in the right direction when
using new technology. This is true for pretty much anything kids can
get their hands on. No matter what the device or tool is kids will
abuse it for their own enjoyment. Sometimes that abuse is beneficial
and sometimes it hurts them as is the case with computers. However the
Romanian study, like many other studies, cannot give you a complete
picture of the benefits that having a computer bestows upon the user.
I
was 12 when my Dad bought us out first computer, a 486 with 8mb of RAM.
Before that time I was using a word processor for writing reports. The
new computer didn't give me anything new in the way of academics. The
internet was just beginning, and writing reports was exactly the same,
although now I had a fancy laser printer instead of the Dot matrix
style printing of a word processor. I primarily used my computer for
games, and AOL connectivity when I finally got my 14.4 modem. I may
have even had the same stats that these Romanian kids had with their
computer in terms of less time watching tv and doing homework but what
the computer did give me was familiarity with the technology and a no
fear attitude when it came to discovering all that this new technology
had to offer. I learned about file formats and programs to run them by
looking at lo-res partially nude pictures of entertainment stars that I
received from a friend on a 3.5" floppy. I learned about hardware
architecture when my computer crapped out because of a busted power
supply. I familiarized myself with DOS and software installation as I
made the jump from Windows 3.1 to 95, and I learned about web pages
from the horrendous web page builder on AOL...version 3.0.
