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Problem Solving

Homebird

I was wondering if mobile phones from an early age affect development of problem solving skills. As I grew up at a time when there were no mobiles I had toys and games as a child which often involved working things out. Today many young children have phones/screens from a young age. Does anyone think this makes a difference to their ability to work things out?

  • I don't know as I've never been very good at puzzles or problem solving, but then I was never encouraged to or given the resourses to solve problems. We had a dictionary, but no encyclopedia or anything and any questions I asked were brushed off and I was told to ask a teacher because that was what school was for and why wern't they teaching me tis stuff anyway? I was only ever once taken to a library and then I wasn't given any help or encouragment so I left with nothing feeling confused and a bit thwarted.

    I guess for someone like me I might of been given a phone and told to look, but equally I might not have been allowed one.

    One thing I do remember was knowing peoples phone numbers because you had to physically dial them.

    I wonder if children develop manual dexterity with phones in the same way as us pre-phone generations did? I think cutting and sticking made you think more, because once stuck it couldn't be unstuck and cutting something out neatly to me seems a different set of hand to eye coordinations than flicking stuff about on a phone.

  • Good evening,

    In the 90s, I didn't have a mobile phone. I would go into the nearest shop/library for information. Used to have a basic phone which was useful.

    Now I have a smartphone with a Wikipedia app which can edit and look for information. I still like to ask for information in person and borrow books. People use me as a Google search engine etc.

    I'd noticed that young people have smartphones with social media (no proof of age when signing up);  sometimes I want to go back using a basic one.

  • I think there are probably pros and cons on that one. A lot of games on phones/iPads do actually have high levels of problem solving. But whether this can then be applied to the real world I do not know. I would imagine children's dexterity etc could be reduced though as they will spend more time just clicking buttons than playing with toys that involve small parts and physically turning things etc.

    I do remember reading that technology is affecting our memories. We used to not necessarily remember all facts we'd learnt but we'd often remember where to find the piece of information e.g. we'd know which book to look in. Now basically everything can be found on the internet so all we remember is to Google it.