are you AI bros cool with what tech is doing to kids?
What are fine motor skills?
Fine motor skills are the precise, controlled movements involving small muscle groups in hands, fingers, toes, and feet. These skills enable people to perform complex, detailed tasks that require accuracy and coordination. Developing these skills is a continuous process that begins at birth and progresses through adulthood.
At each developmental stage, fine motor skills expand in complexity and range. Newborns initially demonstrate reflexive grasping, while toddlers progress to intentional manipulation of objects. (think of children playing with play doh) as an example.
School-age children refine these skills through activities like writing, drawing, and using tools.
Adults continue to develop and maintain these skills through persistent practice and engagement.
The significance of fine motor skills extends beyond simple physical movements.
They represent a critical intersection of neurological function, muscular coordination, and cognitive processing.
Each controlled movement reflects the intricate communication between brain, nervous system, and muscular structures.
Digital Interfaces:
Transforming Childhood Motor Skill Acquisition
The introduction of iPads and touchscreen devices has fundamentally altered the landscape of childhood fine motor skill development.
This technological intervention presents a complex narrative of adaptation, challenge, and potential transformation in how children develop physical coordination and interaction skills.
Technological Impact on Motor Skill Development
Research indicates that touchscreen interactions create distinct neural pathways and muscular engagement compared to traditional physical play.
Where previous generations developed finger dexterity through manipulating physical objects, contemporary children navigate intricate digital interfaces that demand precise, controlled movements.
What I wanted to know and admittedly I may not be fully knowledgeable in this area was if there was a decline in childrens fine motor skills was there a correlation for the causation.
In one of the research papers I read, The researchers wanted to understand:
Does using digital devices like smartphones, tablets, and television affect how children develop fine motor skills — the ability to make precise movements with hands and fingers?
Why This Matters ?
Fine motor skills are crucial for children’s development.
They help kids:
Write and draw
Use tools
Manipulate objects
Develop cognitive abilities
Perform daily tasks
If you want to translate this to the everyday, think of things like using a fork to eat their food, being able to pick up a sippy cup and align it with their mouth, the simple things that children as they grow older get better at in terms of every day vital tasks.
Observations Made by educators have included
The rise of iPads and other touch-screen devices has fundamentally changing how children interact with the world.
Instead of engaging in activities that build grip strength, finger control, and full-body movement, many children now spend extended periods swiping and tapping screens.
While these actions require some hand-eye coordination, they don’t provide the same level of fine motor development as tasks like drawing, cutting, or building with small objects. Children physically struggle to complete everyday tasks that should be second nature at their age.
It seems hard to conceptualize at first that four-year-olds can confidently navigate an iPad but lack the hand strength to hold a crayon properly.
or that some have difficulty using utensils at mealtime or fastening buttons on their clothes.
Some children observed who couldn’t zip up their own jackets because they’d never had to practice the precise finger movements needed.
More concerningly, an increasing number of children avoid playground activities like climbing or running because their core muscles are underdeveloped, making it difficult to balance.
These challenges are not just minor developmental delays — they directly impact children’s confidence, independence, and readiness for school.
There are two reasons why I wanted to write a brief article on this.
I have noticed my younger family members some in elementary school or just starting middle school, and their struggle with holding pencils, or utensils and found it concerning.
The creation of image generation LLMs as another aspect of this problem potentially adding fuel to this fire.
Image generation LLMs effectively (i hope this is not true) may prevent future generations from learning to use physical art supplies which contribute alot to the development of fine motor skills in children.
Why exactly?
The current state is this :
Drawing and coloring with physical art supplies have been replaced by digital drawing apps and games. While these can be creative, they lack the nuanced muscle development that comes from gripping pencils, controlling pressure, and manipulating physical art materials.
Construction play with physical toys like LEGO, building blocks, and puzzles has been increasingly supplanted by digital building games and touchscreen interactions.
Physical construction requires intricate hand-eye coordination, spatial reasoning, and precise finger movements that digital alternatives cannot fully replicate.
Handwriting and cursive skills have dramatically declined with the rise of keyboards and touchscreen typing. The complex neural pathways developed through handwriting — which involve intricate hand movements, pressure control, and spatial awareness — are not activated by digital text input.
So if you don’t care about the environment and energy used by LLMS , and you don’t care about theft at scale, can you find yourselves caring about the impact these tools may have on future generations ?
Or do we take the cowardly
“only time will tell approach”?
