Does Technology Need a Timeout?

Flickr Creative Commons by Brendan C

by Abbey Bird

For today's young children, using technology comes as

second nature...

Which is why they are known

as the "Touch Screen

Generation."

Flickr Creative Commons by Intel Free Press

(6)

"In a viral YouTube video from

October 2011 a one-year-old girl

sweeps her fingers across an

iPad's touchscreen, shuffling

groups of icons. In the following

scenes she appears to pinch,

swipe and prod the pages of

paper magazines as though they

too were screens." (Jabr)

Flickr Creative Commons by Donnie Ray Jones

75% of children under 8 years old have access to a smart phone or tablet.

Flickr Creative Commons by US Department of Agriculture

(3)

...Many researchers are saying NO.

But is this a good thing?

Flickr Creative Commons by Kuldeep Singh

Stimulation to a developing brain caused by overexposure to technologies has been shown to be associated with:

1. Executive

Functioning Deficits

2. Attention Deficits

3. Cognitive Delay

4. Impaired Learning

5. Increased

Impulsivity

6. Decreased Ability to

Self-Regulate

Flickr Creative Commons by Neil Conway

(4)

Digital Dementia:"High speed media

content can contribute

to attention deficit, as

well as decreased

concentration and

memory, due to the

brain pruning neuronal

tracks to the frontal

cortex."

Children who can't pay attention, can't learn...

Flickr Creative Commons by Nestle

(Christakis 2004, Small 2008as cited in Rowan, 2015)

Past...

Children used to spend a great deal of time reading, practicing focused attention...

Flickr Creative Commons by ThomasLife

(8)

Present...

The advent of TV, followed by Internet has left little need for sustained attention or imagination.

Flickr Creative Commons by Lars Plougmann

(8)

“...because distraction is the norm, consistent attention is impossible,

imagination is unnecessary, and

memory is inhibited.”

Flickr Creative Commons by Arne Kuilman

(Taylor)

As digital natives, today's children are platform agnostic...they don't care how they consume information,

they just want to consume it.

Flickr Creative Commons by Toca Boca

(5)

Recent researchclaims that not all

mediums of information are equal when it comes to the developing brain of a

child.

Flickr Creative Commons by nickzeff

Ebooks do not allow for as much

interaction between parent and child as

paper books do.

Flickr Creative Commons by Felix J

(7)

Encouraging a love for reading is crucial, as it can increase literacy test scores up to 35 points.

Flickr Creative Commons by Megan Hemphill

(7)

Children whose parents read to them consistently are more literacy proficient at age 15...

Flickr Creative Commons by Donnie Ray Jones

(7)

...and are more likely to attend college by age 21.

Flickr Creative Commons by Julie Pettit

(7)

Some parents have relatively low digital literacy and struggle to help their children navigate the digital world, while others rely on

technology too heavily in their parenting

Flickr Creative Commons by Matthew

“Cross sectional analysis showed

significant association

between increased social

emotional difficulties in

toddlers and the tendency of

parents to use mobile technology

to calm their children or keep

them quiet.”

Flickr Creative Commons by Ellie Nakazawa

(Radesky et al., 2016)

Even with the many

negative side

effects, banning

technology in

children altogether is

not realistic...

Flickr Creative Commons by Amanda Tipton

Adults need to enforce a balance that allows children to increase their digital literacy, without impeding on their development.    

(4)

Time for technology to take a back seat; these little brains have growing to do!

Flickr Creative Common Andrew Seaman

References1. Jabr, F. (2013). The reading brain in the digital age: The science of paper versus screen. Retrieved

fromhttps://www.scientificamerican.com/article/reading-paper-screens/

2. Kamenetz, A. (2013). Study: 75% of children under age 8 use mobile devices. Retrieved

from https://www.fastcompany.com/3020755/fast-feed/study-75-of-kids-under-age-8-use-mobile-devices

3. Radesky, J. S., Peacock-Chambers, E., & Zuckerman, B. (2016). Use of mobile technology to calm upset children.

JAMA Pediatrics, 170(4), 397-399. doi:10.1001/jamapediatrics.2015.4260

4. Rowan, C. (2015). 10 reasons why handheld devices should be banned for children under the age of 12. Retrieved

from http://www.huffingtonpost.com/cris-rowan/10-reasons-why-handheld-devices-should-be-banned_b_4899218.html

5. Matrix, S. Media Convergence [PDF document]. Retrieved

from https://onq.queensu.ca/d2l/le/content/71613/viewContent/849732/View

6. Matrix, S. Media Use Research [PDF document]. Retrieved

from https://onq.queensu.ca/d2l/le/content/71613/viewContent/861574/View

7. Matrix, S. Print Media: Books [PDF document]. Retrieved

from https://onq.queensu.ca/d2l/le/content/71613/viewContent/880933/View

8. Taylor, J. (2012). How technology is changing the way children think and focus. Retrieved

from https://www.psychologytoday.com/blog/the-power-prime/201212/how-technology-is-changing-the-way-children-

think-and-focus