Are the children in this new generation more advanced or social because of the internet? In my opinion I believe they are more advanced for the simple fact that they grew up with the Internet right at their fingertips. The internet is filled with information and games that can help them learn quicker and process easier. Not only can the newer generation process the information quicker but they can also learn multiple things at once because of technology. I also believe they are much more social than the older generation because of things like Instagram, Twitter, Tumblr, Facebook etc. The older generation including a small portion of mine didn’t have any of that growing up. If we wanted to meet people we did it the old fashion way which was meeting through school, church, or family member friends. The internet is crippling the newer generation to where they have to do little to nothing to find information and actually learn the process. On the other hand the internet is also creating geniuses, some of the main things that are crippling them are also beneficial to them. Two of the main reasons that are quite noticeable would be them not getting the physical feel of learning the information such as writing it down to understand and/or actually trying to solve problems instead of looking them up.

However, because of the great sources and learning games that are out here for kids; they become hooked and eager to learn. I have younger cousins who were born in between the years of 2000-2011 and they sometimes expose me to different things on the internet rather it be educational or a simple short cut to get on or off sites. The younger generation and their conversations are becoming more advance every day. They can actually sit and hold a conversation with maybe one or two sidetracks happening. There are about 80% of kids that range from the ages of 12-17 years who are into social media. This is proven by a research done in 2005 by Pew Research Center (PRC) and could have possibly grown more over the years. The 80% of kids that are actively on social media are a lot more social than the 20% that aren’t involved with social media. In the article Mason stated, “Nowadays, most of kids aged 2-3 years have familiarized themselves with internet, and playing cell phone and video games. Technology has advanced, and children have acquired lot of knowledge (Mason, 2012).” The internet became a part of everyday life for the newer generation, there is not much they find interesting to do that does not include social media. Not only has it been proven that their social skills are amazing but their learning skills are phenomenal as well. Children today are evolving fast and are smarter than children of the same age in the last generation. The internet and social media has severed a great purpose for the current generation and the ones that are to come.

A study that was led by Michigan State University psychologist Linda Jackson, PhD, showed that the kids that are using the internet for school has improved standardized reading test scores. Also there were other researchers that came across information that explained how using the internet has taught children to be more self-directed learners. In the article it stated, “By engaging their brains in more complex tasks at a younger stage in their lives, toddlers are improving cognition and critical review skills, and displaying a more advanced understanding of both virtual and real worlds.” Says Linda Jackson. “The Fifth Dimension, show that children who participated in the program had greater advances in reading, mathematics, computer knowledge, following directions, and grammar and had higher scores on school achievement tests, compared with children who did not participate.” (Subrahmanyam 2013). When it comes to the youth being more advanced and social than the older generation, it is very much true. Being that the youth can not only learn from someone like their parents or teachers but they can also teach themselves new things. Surfing the web and finding games that are not only fun but beneficial to their knowledge is already a leg up on the older generation.

In conclusion, over the course of the years many things have changed from the kids in the generation to the internet and technology. Children today are a lot more advanced and are rapidly developing useful skills that are putting them a little further than their time knowledge wise. Some of the skills I am referring to are skills that are required for them to understand language, numbers, to reason, problem solve, learn and remember. There have been numerous facts proven including the ones that I have stated previously that proves that the younger generation is more social and advance.