New technologies also get the blame for making some things worse, like kids getting more aggressive watching violence on TV, or getting inactive and overweight from playing too many video games. And then there are the stories of kids getting abducted after meeting people in chat rooms and being exposed to pornography on the Internet.
Two recent stories highlight how new technologies can help kids in unexpected ways.
In one story, a homeowner in Milwaukee was setting up a video surveillance system in his home. Once he got it working, he noticed that he was receiving a video signal from his neighbor's house. And surprisingly, this video showed his neighbors abusing their children.
This abuse included making a toddler and preschool age child stand still for prolonged periods of time with their hands held up in the air. The video camera also recorded the children getting hit if they turned or moved during their punishment.
These children, plus an infant, had been placed in foster care with this neighbor, who also had three older children. All of the children were removed from the home after police were notified and the neighbor was arrested.
In another story, a teenager found his picture on a missing persons web site, supposedly after 'googling' his own name, which involves searching google to see what information is listed for you name. Although this child lived with his mother in California, it turns out that she had lost a custody battle with the child's father and had fled with the child to Mexico.
The child's mother has been arrested and he is currently in a foster home until authorities can figure out what would be best for him.
Now this doesn't mean that we should be using technology to spy on our neighbors or do background checks on them or their kids, but it does show that technology can be helpful, and that kids can get help in surprising ways.
