Yet, Healy's observations strongly suggest that computer education too often fails to deliver the goods. Groaning slightly, he quickly solves the problems and segues expertly into the next space battle. Computer games often take the place of real play, which involves interactions with other children, physical movement and creativity. This raises moral questions about their use as an educational tool in the first place. Children often become addicted to computers, Healy says, at the expense of social lives and studies.
Computers offer an easy alternative to learning how to get along with people.
And computers may adversely affect language development of young children. We are told that computers are virtually indispensable in the world of adults, and so children should prepare themselves for life by mastering computers as early as possible. But computer mastery can be comfortably acquired later in life. As Healy explains, once on campus, computer-illiterate college students who know how to read, communicate and think, can master the computer in a few weeks. Healy settles for a middle course, suggesting that computers should not be used before age 7, and only judiciously after that age.