Children's use of mobile devices is preventing them becoming 'social animals', says Jeremy Paxman
Children are not learning to be “social animals” due to the amount of time they spend absorbing information via mobile, touch-screen devices, according to journalist and TV presenter Jeremy Paxman.
Speaking at Microsoft's Future Decoded event in London, Paxman said that despite the proliferation of social media networks, children are not learning to be “social animals”.
He referred to Snapchat as an example, describing the platform as one which centres on shared images – not shared experiences.
“Our current figures show that 70 per cent of 11-12 year-olds have their own mobile phone, and one in three have a tablet – a child will now spend their life living online and on screens. They may well be learning all sorts of things in doing so, but they are assuredly not learning to be social animals,” he said.
The way in which information is absorbed today, as a result of the proliferation and availability of touch-screen devices, has radically changed and this could affect the way in which children learn, according to Paxman.
“It may even be utterly corrosive to certain kinds of study. Studies have shown that when children do most of their reading on a screen they lose the ability to become immersed in a story. Why bother having to use your imagination when you access touch-screen action – when almost any knowledge is so easy to get to at the click of mouse – what is the point of learning?” he queried.
He pointed to the struggle newspapers have had over the past years, with readers shifting to digital platforms and the subsequent losses in print revenues. But rather than blaming the medium of print, he said they have suffered due to the immediacy of online content.
“Newspapers aren’t dying because no-one reads on paper anymore, they are dying because we don’t need to know what they are telling us.”
He added that the nature of education will also change as a direct result, and used the future of universities as an example of an area that could be disrupted.
“Why should universities spend millions of pounds on lecture halls? Why should students get thousands of pounds into debt on loans... experiencing second rate lecturers churning out same stuff they have been doing for years, when they could have a top class educator instruct them on screen without even having to leave their home?
"We know the answer – because so much information is not just about knowledge but wisdom. The function of education will change – it will not so much be about acquiring and learning information but about learning to think."
His comments on the future changes in education echoed those of Sir Bob Geldof, who also spoke at the event. He called for a reinvention of education to help prepare the younger generations to run future internet-centric economies.