Technology is proliferating our world. It has many great uses and it has made our
lives easier in many ways; however, it can cause significant health problems if
it not used within moderation. These
problems can affect both children, teens and adults, but technology overuse can
be more harmful to developing brains.
Technology Statistics
Children
u 56%
of children 8-12 years old have cell phones; all but 4% have data phones
(National Consumers League, 2012).
u 72%
of children 8 and under have used a mobile device for a media activity
u 38%
of children under 2 have used a mobile device
u Children
average 7.5 hours of entertainment technology time per day (American College of
Pediatricians, 2014)
Teens
As of March 2013
u 78%
of American teens have a cell phone (98% of adults ages 18-29)
u 47%
of American teens have a smart phone
u 32%
of American teens own an e-reader
u 23%
of American teens own a tablet computer
u 74%
use their phones to surf online
u 93%
of teens have a computer or access to one(Pew Research Internet Project)
u 94%
of teens were on Facebook
u 91%
had posted a personal photo
u 92%
posted their real name
u 75%
of all teens text with 60 texts per day being the median number of texts in a
day
u Many
teens sleep with their phones(Pew Internet Research Teenage Fact Sheet)
Technology Disparities
u In
2013 access to smart phones for low income families from 27% in 2011 to 51%
u Access
to high speed internet increased 4% from 42% to 46%
u Tablet
ownership has increased from 2% in 2011 to 20% in 2013
u In
2011 only 22% of lower income children had ever used a mobile device; in 2013
65% have done so.
u In
2013 35% of lower income parents had downloaded apps for their children (Common
Sense Media, 2013)
Technology’s Effect on Physical Health
u Cognitive
and neural functioning (Brain Health)
u So
much has yet to be determined—particularly about students who begin technology
interactive in infancy
u Young
brains are more malleable than adult brains
u Piaget
constructivist theories: Piaget noted adaptation to environment is a biological
function. This includes assimilation and
accommodation which directly involve the nervous system of a child. Piaget felt the development of individual
children should not be artificially “rushed (Chirico, 1997).
u In
1989 Hyson, Hirsch-Pasek & Rescorla (Academic Environments in Early
Childhood: Challenge of Pressure) studied 4 year olds and taught a control and
experimental group academic and non-academic concepts. The academic group overwhelmingly had less
creativity which is an important component of problem solving later on. There
were no difference in intelligence. This is an example that changes in brain
development may in fact be detrimental in some other way. When stimulus is presented at the wrong time
or in an inappropriate manner, the neural connections may accommodate in a
non-preferred way. This is thought to be
one of the causes of increases in attention deficit disorder. Media and
technology can also do this. Primarily
studies have been on excessive television usage which negatively affect health
and academic performance. However,
students engaged with technology do not engage in physical play as their
ancestors did. Some researchers feel
this lack of interaction in the physical environment can be negative.
u Potential
Negative Effects
u Much
of the research in children and technology at young ages is based on television
viewing
u Negative
Effect on Enterprise skills in preschoolers: Lilliard and Peterson (2011) in Pediatrics found just 9 minutes of viewing something
fast-paces (such as a video game) for 9 minutes caused immediate negative
effects on executive function tasks (such as delay of gratification and
building a tower).
u Technology
is being used to entertain toddlers (such as games on a Smartphone).
u 2010 Attention Disorders: Baveliar, Green and Dye
(2014) In Neuron; American College of Pediatricians noted technology causes long-term changes in
behavior/brain function. However this
can be positive or negative depending on what the stimulator is.
u Excessive
multi-tasking can impact attention
u -7
studies have shown language delays in infants exposed to excessive
technology (Strasburger et al., 2010)
Additional Negative Effects
u Sleep
disorders
u Disordered
eating
u Tendonitis
in the thumb
u Back/Neck
problems
u Generalized
health complaints (technology overload)
u Texting
when driving a car (more accidents)
u Lack
of Activity
u Obesity
(has doubled)
u Diabetes
u Early
Onset Heart Disease
u Decreased
motor development
u Lack
of Interaction Within their Environment
u Decreased
sensory stimulation
u Failure
to achieve child development milestone (contributing cause)
u Increased
risk of smoking due to media exposure
u Drug
and alcohol abuse
u Early
sexual activity (due to exposure to media, predators, sexting, etc.)
Positive Social and Emotional Effects of Technology
u Computer/internet
access in the home can enhance academic achievement and happiness
u Exposure
to educational media at a young age has positive effects (science-based versus
quasi educational); in order to be effective they must elicit direct
participation and should not be passive
u Increases
feeling of social connectedness which can positively impact well-being (when
done with friends and not strangers) (Strasburger et al., 2010).
Negative Social and Emotional Effects
u Technology
stress: Mental Overload (Berntsson, 2000; Haugland, Wold, Stevenson, Aaoroe
& Woynarowska, 2001; Rimpela et al., 2004) includes isconnecting people
from nature, play and people.
u Lack
of social boundaries
u Lack
of sexual boundaries
u Lack
of social skills
u Decreased
sense of time
u Lack
of future thinking/decreased academic performance
u Multi-tasking
with negative effect on performance
u Increase
impulsivity (Park & Hyun, 2014)
u Isolation/loneliness
u Depression/lack
of self-esteem
u Lack
of privacy
u An
altered sense of reality
u Increased
aggression
u Decreased
well-being
Technology Addiction
u Under
consideration for inclusion in DSM V
u Knows
an Internet Addiction Disorder
u Prevalence
between 0.3 and 38%
u China
and Korea have id’ed it as a significant public health threat(Cash, Rae, Steel
& Winkler, 2012; Cao & Su, 2014; Leung & Lee, 2011))
u Similar
to a gambling addiction in the way it is viewed and treated
u Boys
are more prevalence than girls (Tang et al., 2014)
u Technology
addiction treatment centers popping up through Asia
u Includes
computer addiction, Internet dependence, compulsive Internet use, pathological
internet use, problematic internet use.
The anonymity factor impacts behavior and causes people to do what they
might not do otherwise
u Activated
pleasure pathway in brain
4 Components of Technology
Addiction
u Excessive
internet use with a loss of a sense of time and neglect of basic drives
u Withdrawal,
including feelings of anger, tension and/or depression when the computer is not
accessible
u Needing
better equipment, software, hours of use
u Negative
repercussions include arguments, lying, poor achievement and social isolation
(Block, 2008)
References
- American Academy of Pediatricians.
(2014, February). The media, children
and adolescents. Retrieved from www.acpeds.org
- Block,
J. J. (2008). Issues for DSM-V:iInternet Addiction. American Journal of
Psychiatry, 165,
306-307.
- Cash, H. Rae, C.D., Steel, A.H.
& Winkler, A. (2012). Internet
addiction: A brief summary of research
and practice. Current Psychiatry
Review, 8 (4), 292-298.
- Cawley, J. (2010, March). The economics of childhood obesity. Health Affairs. Retrieved from http://content.healthaffairs.org/content/29/3/364.full
- Common Sense Media. (2013, Fall). Zero to eight: Children’s media use in America 2013. Retrieved at
https://www.commonsensemedia.org/research/zero-to-eight-childrens-media-use-in-america-2013
- Chirico, D. (1997). Building on shifting sand: The impact of computer use on neural and
cognitive development. Donna M. Chirico. Waldorf Education Research
Institute Bulletin. 2 1997: 13-19. Retrieved at
http://www.allianceforchildhood.org.uk/uploads/media/RB2103.pdf
- Health and Human Services. (2013,
Nov). Teen media use part 1: Increasing on the move. Retrieved from: http://www.hhs.gov/ash/oah/news/e-updates/eupdate-nov-2013.html
- iNACOL. (2013, February). Key K-12 online learning stats. Retrieved at http://www.inacol.org/cms/wp-content/uploads/2013/04/iNACOL_FastFacts_Feb2013.pdf
- Ipsos Marketing Research. (2012).
One in ten (12%) parents online, around the world say their child has Been
cyberbullied, 24% say they know of a child who has experienced same in their
community. Retrieved from http://www.ipsos-na.com/news-polls/pressrelease.aspx?id=5462#.Tw6exyC2__s.twitter
- Leung, L. & Lee, P. S. N.
(2011). The influences of information
literacy, internet addiction and parenting styles on internet risks. New Media and Society, 1-21.
- Lilliard, A. & Peterson, J..
(2011) The immediate impact of different types of televisions on young children’s
executive function, 128 (4), 644-649.
- National Consumers League. (2012, Julu 10). Survey:
Majority of “tweeners” now have cell phones with many parents concerned
about cost
- No Bullying.com. (2014, September
18). Cyber bullying statistics 2014. Retrieved at
http://nobullying.com/cyber-bullying-statistics-2014
- OFCOM. (2013, October 3). Children and parents: Media use and attitudes report. Retrieved from http://stakeholders.ofcom.org.uk/binaries/research/media-literacy/october-013/research07Oct2013.pdf
- Park, C. J. & Hyun, J. S.
(2014). Internet literacy vs. technology
addiction: Relationship analysis with
time perspectives of secondary school students.
Advanced Science and Technology Letters, 59, 23-26.
- Pew Research Internet
Project. (2012, September). Teens fact sheet. Retrieved at http://www.pewinternet.org/fact-sheets/teens-fact-sheet/
- Strasburger, V. Jordan, A.B. &
Donnerstein, D. (2010, March 1). Health
effects of media on children and adolescents. Pediatrics, 125(4),
756-767.
- Tang,
J., Yu, Y., Du, Y., Ma, Y., Zhang, D., & Wang, J. (2014). Prevalence of
internet addiction and its association with stressful life events and
psychological symptoms among adolescent internet users. Addictive Behaviors, 39(3), 744-747.
- U.S Department of Justice.
(2013) Fact and statistics: Raising awareness about sexual abuse. Retrieved at http://www.nsopw.gov/en/Education/FactsStatistics?AspxAutoDetectCookieSupport=1
Contributed by Dr. Colleen Halupa, Adjunct Faculty, Saint Joseph's College
