The neon glow of an iPad flashes across thousands of children’s faces for hours every day. Children went from playing outdoors with sticks and toys to Roblox and makeup.

Children are in a rush to grow up starting at elementary ages. A discernible difference can be spotted between children’s childhoods now versus in the past. Now, young children spend their time putting on makeup and watching YouTube videos. Younger children are at a higher risk of becoming addicted to the trends teenagers are doing like social media and makeup. Second grader Cora Trent from Westwood Elementary School has witnessed this first hand.

“One of my friends at school wears makeup every day. She brings her makeup pallet to school every day to put on her makeup on the bus. She likes to wear eyeshadow, blush, and lipstick,” Trent said.

Southwest Principal Beth Henry is surrounded by many children, and she has observed a shift in the amount of kids that are beginning to behave older than they are, similar to Trent’s experience.

“I would say that there are still kids that have innocence, but definitely once kids are hitting, I’d say fourth and fifth grade. We’re seeing girls care more about what they look like, things that they’re wearing, having all the cool stuff that everybody has definitely become more what kids are caring about. No, not every kid, but you do see more of them,” Henry said.

Many children spend a concerning amount of time on electronics. Trent spends approximately two hours every day playing Roblox on her iPad.

“At school I like to do specials, play on my computer, and play on the playground. When I am at home I like to play Roblox. If my iPad gets taken, I am sad but I like to scoot on the scooter or play with my friends,” Trent said.

Technology has significantly altered education and children’ s ability to learn. Westwood Elementary School 3rd grade teacher Susan Lukich has noticed students struggle with focus more when they spend vast amounts of time on technology.

“Kids are struggling a lot with their focus now. This is because children’s brains are wired differently due to constantly having devices flashing in their face. They are used to constant motion, volume, and stimulation. This results in their struggle with their attention span. A lot of kids are on devices at an early age; parents will give their two-year olds devices acting as a babysitter,” Lukich said.

Children’s consumption of media around them not only impacts parents or teachers, but also their friendships. Sophomore Annika Shaffer has worked at Greenwood Christian Daycare for a year and has noticed a difference in how children interact with other kids.

“Children who are chronically online have a hard time being told no. They may have a harder time playing with toys or being outside. Some children have a harder time being with others,” Shaffer said.

Lukich worries about kids’ inability to socialize.

“Kids need interaction and without it they lack manners and conversation skills. They are socially behind. There has been a decrease in students’ social skills even in the past five years,” Lukich said.

Children are losing a sense of childhood that was much more prevalent when children grew up without technology.

“Kids are growing up faster because they are definitely exposed to content that may not be the best word, but they’re exposed to things like content online. You may have heard the term iPad babies. I do think social media has forced kids to have an understanding of the world at a younger age because they’re seeing things about the world at a much younger age,” Henry said.

The decrease in interaction young kids have due to the increase in technology is causing many educational issues regarding struggles with socialization.

“Interestingly, we’re finding an increase in things like speech referrals at the elementary level. Probably because of technology, because parents spend less time interacting with their children, when they’re young. A lot of times you’ll see little kids at restaurants, church, games and everybody’s got a device. As a result, there’s less of that person to person interaction, so communication is probably the number one thing that I see that technology impacts,” Henry said.

As the world changes, so do childhood goals. Many kids still dream to be professional athletes, doctors, singers, etc., but recently a new genre of careers has emerged.

“There’s a lot of kids that if you ask them, what do they want to be when they grow up, they want to be a YouTuber or a gamer and things like that. Because that’s what they gravitate toward,” Henry said.