“I used to want to be an artist, but I don’t have time for that,” a 13-year-old girl said in an interview. “Ever since I started preparing for my 11+ exams, I didn’t have time to do what I wanted to do.
Typically, pupils preparing for exams begin their 11plus preparation – an entrance exam for secondary school – in the summer preceding Year 4, when they are 9-10 years old.” Obviously, there are varying degrees of pressure, but it is a fact that academic pressure starts early and necessitates a significant time commitment.
The progression of smartphone camera capabilities and the development of various applications have democratised the domain of video production, previously reserved for professionals, to everyone, including children. In addition, the rise of artificial intelligence (AI) image generation technologies has initiated the replacement of visualisation processes. These tools can serve as fascinating alternatives, particularly for teenagers experiencing time constraints.
There are two primary reasons why teenagers may experience a shortage of time. Firstly, their educational pursuits, as many of them often have a timetable chock-full of lessons, coursework, and exam preparation. The importance of education in one’s life should not be downplayed, and it certainly has a considerable impact on time management.
Secondly, young individuals may experience a lack of time to enhance their skills. Many teenagers have a strong desire to be creative but often find themselves losing confidence or feeling frustrated when they cannot find the appropriate skills or medium to realise their ideas, leading them to spend time on consuming activities rather than creative ones.
One possible solution to these challenges is introducing AI image-generation tools like ‘MidJourney’ and other applications such as Dalle.e.3 and SDXL1.0. These applications can offer young people the following benefits:
Accessibility as a creative tool, as AI image generation tools are intuitive and allow for immediate creative engagement without requiring complex skill acquisition, thereby reducing the hurdles to creating and stimulating creativity. With the aid of these tools, youngsters can quickly and efficiently transform their imagination into visual forms.
Chances for technological education: Through interaction with AI technology, kids can naturally gain novel aptitudes and elevate their digital proficiency in the digital era.
For teenagers who struggle to find time for both school and learning new technologies, AI image generation tools could serve as a powerful tool to simultaneously develop creative expression and technical skills. Although these tools cannot entirely replace traditional learning methods or creative processes, they offer significant potential as supporting tools.
The convenience and creative stimulation offered by AI image-generation tools do have their downsides and issues. First of all, there is the issue of diminished creativity. Solutions provided by AI could result in users, especially children, circumventing the direct creative process and becoming overly reliant on technology instead of cultivating their imagination and problem-solving abilities.
This could lead to detrimental consequences, like increased technological dependency. Using AI tools may lead to dependency, with users relying on AI rather than developing their own skills to address technical challenges or engage in creative work. I am primarily concerned about excessive screen time in children and teenagers resulting from creative activities through AI tools. Such prolonged screen time may lead to physical inactivity, resulting in potential health issues. Also, the technology divide: Insufficient access to current technology worsens the digital gap, depriving some children of its benefits.
AI image generation tools were considered to alleviate the time-consuming nature, but only the experts and their children attempted this due to its long-term detrimental effects on creativity. The outcomes were dissatisfactory, and while the time to acquire technical skills might be reduced, the time to produce results cannot be shortened.