Tonight's picture was taken in December of 2003. We took Mattie to Los Angeles to celebrate Christmas with my parents. My mom put up a tiny tree just for Mattie. He absolutely loved decorating it and playing around it that Christmas.
Quote of the day: It’s probably both bad and good for the brain, depending on the individual and his or her viewing habits. Many people who are socially isolated, as a result of abuse, personal quirks or developmental differences such as Asperger’s syndrome, establish social networks through their screens that would be impossible to find in person. ~ Benedict Carey
Whether you listen to the radio or the TV, we were all inundated with this week's latest research on screen time and the impact on children's brains. In a nutshell, the National Institutes of Health have financed a $300 million project that hopes to reveal how brain development is affected by a range of experiences, including substance use, concussions, and screen time. The study seems to indicate that heavy screen use (how ever that is defined) was associated with lower scores on some aptitude tests and accelerated cortical thinning. Which the article goes onto explain that this is a natural process in some children (even without screen time!).
Whether you read the whole article or not, the bottom line is VERY LITTLE is known about the human brain, so you can be sure there is no definitive answer on how the brain could be potentially changed by screen time. The article asks whether screen addiction changes the brain and the author's answer is ............. Yes, but so does every other activity that children engage in: sleep, homework, playing soccer, arguing, growing up in poverty, reading, vaping behind the school.
I am not sure that any of this information is particularly helpful to parents today, and yet I realize $300 million dollars is being spent on this longitudinal study. The research seems very focused on the anatomical/biological changes that screen time may cause the brain. Interesting! But how could these changes impact behavior? Or simply put how does screen time influence one's personality, cognitive, and emotional development?
I don't need an NIH study to illustrate to me the detrimental impact technology is having on the next generation. You don't have to go much further than looking at your average teenager. As most of them are unable to make eye contact, to engage in communication, to even show interest in neighboring conversation, and the list goes on. This disengagement from what ultimately makes us human will not only have negative consequences on the future prospects for these teens, but unfortunately the consequences will also affect the strength and health of our society in the long-term.
Is Screen Time Bad for Kids’ Brains?
https://www.nytimes.com/2018/12/10/health/screen-time-kids-psychology.html
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