Kids these days get a lot of tough talk from the previous generations. Smart phones, video games, and computerized entertainment have a stronghold on the youth of today–and to quote the great Willard Christopher Smith, “Parents just don’t understand.”

Where the leisure and necessary daily activities of your parents and grandparents had trained them for their lives ahead, technology rules and guides this generation.

According to statistics gathered by www.PewInternet.org, kids are utilizing the available technologies especially smartphones for everything from education to play; and they are accessing these internet tools at younger and younger ages. Kids are connecting to others through Smart Phones predominantly–but they also use home entertainment consoles (Playstation, Xbox, Wii) and portable consoles (Nintendo DS, PSP).

While these outlets for entertainment also provide kids with access to more information and interactivity than ever before, they also create several emerging concerns for parents; amongst which are Cyberbullying, ‘Sexting,’ Cheating, and texting while driving (among the 16+ crowd).

While it is true that technology has perhaps become an overpowering and dominant force in the lives of young children, the progress must be accepted with the newly created issues.

Children are getting smarter faster, learning problem solving skills earlier, and improving certain aspects of their communication skills. We’ve hit an enormous plateau of consumer technology–and your children had better embrace it, or be left behind.

Sources: Pew Internet | Education.com