I want to ask you to take some time and think back to your childhood. Remember those days when you were a kid? The days where you would go out to play whenever you could, the times when you would roll around in toys all day? When you wanted to play, you would run to your mom and dad, or siblings if you had any. You would ask them to play with you, to take you out, to do something fun. If they were busy, you had your toys to accompany you.
How about the children now-a-days? When I look around a room of kids at home, I see most, if not all, of them watching shows or playing games on the TV or a phone/tablet. Kids in this generation, as young as 6-7-year-olds, are getting their own cellphones while children from our generation didn’t get one until they reached middle school, some even high school.
Thinking back to your childhood, did you have someone or something that was always by your side no matter what you did? I did. A tiny blue bear, to be exact. Blu was my best friend, though he was imaginary. We would spend a lot of time together, at school or at home. I can’t remember how long Blu was with me, but it has been said that kids can create an imaginary friend at the ripe age of two and a half years, and last until they are seven years old. Some even keep their imaginary friend until they reach 10 years of age. This shows that imaginary friends are and stay by a child’s side for many years.
As mentioned in previous posts, while imaginary friends are fantasy, they represent creativeness in children, and improves social skills. Imaginary friends are life mentors that help children step into the real world as they grow. They are an important factor to a child’s growth, though a lot of people may not realize.
Compared to the 1900s and early 2000s, however, there has been a rapid decrease in the amount of imaginary friends children create. According to a research study, less than 17% of children have imaginary friends now. The days where children spend time in fantasy play are now replaced with time spent using electronics. Instead of expanding their creativity by creating fantasy creatures or thinking up their own games and situations, children are now seen spending most of their time with technology. The TV, phones, tablets; these are taking children away from the world we once knew. Will these electronics be able to help children the same way imaginary friends do?
Some people, parents mainly, believe so. They do not think that there is any harm in letting kids interact with technology, and that there is something to gain from this. Things like learning games and children TV shows are there to help a child learn something; it can be math, spelling words, or learning about how the world works (I will talk more about this in my next post). All in all, there are people who believe that letting children interact with technology as much as they are now helps them just as much as imaginary friends do.
However, there is also a side that thinks technology does not help children grow the way imaginary friends do. They believe that this much technology so early on in a child’s life isn’t necessarily harming the child, but it’s not benefitting the child either (I will talk more about this in my third post). Opposing the other side, these people think that creating and having imaginary friends help children in a way that technology cannot, and the declining rate should be brought up again.
Kids and Imaginary Friends 
Very interesting topic, and a nice segue into sort of an archaic vs the-new debate. I personally think technology is great in many ways, but like any other tool it can be overused or even misused. Looking back at my own childhood, I did a lot of playing outdoors, pretending, and learning about how the world around me worked. Video games and TV were present, but were more of a treat than a baseline. I’ll argue that in today’s world, technology IS part of how the world around us works, and so it IS important for children to become acquainted with technology. On the other hand, it is not the only level on which people operate, and a kinesthetic understanding of the world around you is important too.
Further, numerous studies show that parent interaction increases feelings of acceptance, self-image, and even intelligence. If parents use technology as a babysitter to keep kids off their backs, they may not grow into fully-functioning healthy adults. it’s all a balancing act, I think. Look forward to the rest of your blog posts!
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I’ve also noticed how widespread the use of technology has become for children, and how busy parents will take advantage of this and use technology as a way to easily keep their children entertained. I also think that the increasing use of technology in children is cause for concern, since it could also lead to other problems. If children are staying inside and playing video games or watching television, they’re missing out on getting outside and exercising, and with childhood obesity on the rise, this could be a serious issue. As you pointed out, technology could also harm the child’s creativity, since they are using technology instead of making imaginary friends. Do you think that children who have imaginary friends are more creative than those who don’t? I do think that a child can still be creative even without manifesting an imaginary friend, though I also believe technology, when used in excess, could be responsible for lessening a child’s creativity.
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One certainly does not have to have an imaginary friend in order to be creative. I believe that there are many creative people now who did not have an imaginary friend when they were young. However, it is true that children who do have imaginary friends are more likely to be more creative then those who do not have one. This means that not all children who have imaginary friends will definitely turn out to be creative. I’m the best evidence I can give for this statement. Though I had an imaginary friend when I was a kid, I can assure you that I have no creativity whatsoever. I have no idea what creativity or imagination is. Ask me to imagine a a grassy field with the sun shining bright with birds flying in the blue sky, and my mind will come up blank! So there is no certainty on either side; it’s just that with an imaginary friend, you will have a higher possibility of being really creative.
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This is a fascinating topic. In my experience I didn’t have an imaginary friend growing up, but the conversation of technology in kids life is a topic that is important to discuss. While I had my xbox, gameboys, and such I have real clear memories of being outside. My parents were great at making me go play and get outside. The technology for kids seems really concerning. While I think it is appropriate for them to use them with time constrictions technology can really take the place of genuine human interaction if we are not careful to moderate it. Also I love how you brought up the idea of creativity. Instead of having kids delve into a complex world of tech, giving them time to think on their own is definitely more worthwhile. Do you think that technology for kids is the reality of the generation we are living or is there an alternative?
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