Takayama 1

Raquel Takayama

Mr. Donald

Writing for College

23 January 2018

iGEN

Albert Einstein once said, “I fear the day that technology will surpass our human

interaction. The world will have a generation of idiots” Digital screens are everywhere.

They are in schools, homes, offices, bags and even in the hands of toddlers.

Smartphones, tablets, video games, TV’s etc. have changed the world drastically not

only for adults but for children as well. Electronics has made tasks such as learning,

communication and travel easily accessible, though, in recent years, studies have

shown that early use of electronics is negatively affecting countless lives. Children are

challenged physically, socially, emotionally, and psychologically in everyday tasks. The

early use of electronics has impaired their lives and values. Due to the abundance of

technologies made uniquely for children, parents, teachers, and even doctors are

increasingly concerned with the effects of these technologies on children and their brain

function.

No one can deny that the usage of screen appliances has changed the values of

family time and how humans occupy themselves. In recent years, screen media sources

such as television, Netflix, YouTube, Hulu etc. have lead to an increase of people

consuming foods while viewing. Though this is considered a social norm of how one

spends their time while eating, research has shown that taking part in such actions can

lead to negative effects to one's physical health. According to the American Academy of
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Pediatrics (AAP), “studies have revealed that children consume a large proportion of

their daily calories and meals while watching screen media” (Robinson et al.). This has

lead to an increase in child obesity in record breaking numbers in both developing and

developed countries.

Child obesity, a rapidly growing epidemic, is continually increasing among

children of the ages three to seven years old. Multiple rigorous experimental trials have

been tested to understand the effects of reducing amounts of screen time in relation to

weight gain. One study based in California lasted for seven months focusing mainly on

third and fourth graders from two different schools. In one school, students were taught

a screen-time reduction curriculum while students in the other school received no such

curriculum. During this time teachers were told to record amounts of screen-time each

student was allowed while the teachers in the other school pushed no rules in amounts

of screen time allowed. The school in which classroom teachers were proactive about

the screen-time reduction curriculum found that students significantly reduced their

video game use, television watching, and number of meals eaten in front of a television.

In doing so, gain in BMI, triceps, skinfold thickness, waist circumference, and waist to

hip ratio slowed significantly compared to the students in the other school. This is a

prime example of how screen time and weight gain share a direct cause and effect link

in children (Robinson et al.).

Screen media, the leading factor in child obesity has contributed to an increased

consumption energy-dense food and drinks such as fast food and decreased

consumption of raw fruits and vegetables. Due to this shift in diet, children receive much

of their energy from fats rather than from natural fiber and vitamins leading to quicker
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weight gain in shorter amounts of time. While watching screen media, the body lacks

the ability to depict feelings of fullness leading to overconsumption of food.

Though overconsumption of food is the leading cause to child obesity, food

advertisements also play a key role. In 2009, beverage and food companies “spent 1.8

billion dollars on marketing to children and adolescents in the United States alone”.

Research has shown that in 2014,

2 to 11 year olds and 12 to 17 year olds saw an average of 12.8 and 15.2 food,

beverage, and restaurant advertisements per day on television, respectively. In

addition, youth are now exposed to marketing in new media , introducing food

company sponsored websites, apps, and advergames as well as advertising on

third-party children’s websites and marketing via mobile devices and social

media. (Robinson et al.)

Food marketing is shaping children’s food preferences. Experimental studies show how

a ninety second commercial impacts a child's brand preference leading the child to

believe that one brand taste better than the other. Food advertisements are changing

children taste buds and flavor preferences to certain foods. Food companies are

impacting children from the source. The usage of screen media to advertise their

products are extremely profitable : They are constantly gaining new customers either or

not their product is considered healthy or a part of a balanced diet.

Usage of screen media doesn’t only affect physical aspects of a child, but social

and emotional aspects as well. Social-emotional development is critical for it “includes

the child’s experience, expression, management of emotions, and the ability to establish
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positive and rewarding relationships with others” (Cohen et al.). When Apple first came

out with the iPad in 2010, the percentage of children who have access to a tablet has

increased by more than fifty percent. Children are now spending more time in front of a

screen than playing outdoors—not only is this change in behavior drastic from

generations before, it is negatively affecting early stage social-emotional development.

(cite).

In early stages of development, children develop emotional skills that allow them

to form relationships with others. This capacity to interpret and recognize emotions is a

fundamental building block of social competence. Early emotional skills have been

related to how socially, emotionally, academically and professionally skilled a child may

become later in life (Jones, Damon E., et al). By having strong emotional skills a child is

more likely to obtain educational and career success.

Emotional skills are largely developed through face-to-face interactions, though,

due to an increase in amount of time spent in front of television screens and tablets,

these skills are compromised. One study found that children under the age of four

“struggle to recognize more complex emotions. They tend to remember emotions

experienced by people better than those experiences by Muppets or animations

characters when retelling the narrative of a television program” (Wilson 89). This

evidence clearly shows that screen media cannot simply replace human interaction.

Through televisions, toddlers in the cognitive and social-emotional stage (1-5 years old)

do not fully understand what emotions are being portrayed in front of them leading to

inefficient learning of how to understand and comprehend emotions. Due to a lack of

developed emotional skills, children may experience misunderstandings in social

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situations throughout his or her life. These factors can lead to identity and self-esteem

issues, which has been linked to depression and significant problems in self confidence.

(Brown et al.).

Emotional development does not only revolve around the ability to understand

emotions, but the ability communicate and take action by understanding others’ views,

thoughts, and feelings. Empathy is prevalent in various parts of one's life and becomes

a necessary skill as one ages. If someone wants to obtain stronger, more meaningful

relationships, one needs to obtain a greater sense of empathic abilities; however, to do

this, one would need to obtain a high level of emotional intelligence. As a result of

young children playing video games, apps, and watching television, studies have shown

an increased level of media-induced fear and anxiety. Children are exposed to more

frequent acts of violence due to the increasing popularity and abundance of these types

of screen media. According to Wilson, “children can not only witness and share

emotions experienced by media characters but also respond directly to emotionally

charged events depicted in the media”(Wilson 93).

Disney Classics such as Bambi, The Lion King, Pocahontas, and The Little

Mermaid can be upsetting to children in younger age groups due to the appearance of

guns, fighting, and death. One study of 219 grade-school children with a mean age of

8.5 years old found that “sixty-seven percent reported a specific instance of media-

inducted fright; most responding to movies and media content they had not chosen to

view” (Cantor et al.). Children who have experienced short-term fright reactions, fear

that what is portrayed in the film may happen to them in real life. This fear increases
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anxiety present in the child which could lead to severe and long-lasting effects of fears

and phobias embedded in a child's brain (Cantor et al.).

Violence, fear, and anxiety are not the only emotions transferred from screen to

child. In recent years, temperament and aggressiveness has shown to increased in

children leading to aggressive behavior, attitudes, and values. To better understand this

change, researchers have used scientific methods and theories to try and quantify the

amount of violence portrayed in different media platforms. (Wilson 99)

One scientific method done by “The National Television Violence Study, a three-

year assessment of more than 3,000 programs a year, found that a steady sixty percent

of programs across twenty-six channels contain some physical aggression. On average,

a typical hour of programming features six different violent incidents. (Wilson 99)

Channels such as NBC, CBS, ABC, HBO and Fox have shown to contain more than

fifty percent of violent content compared to PBS programming showing less than twenty

percent. (Wilson 99). With an increasing percentage of children watching television with

their families, this is leading researchers to find the effects children face when being

exposed to violent entertainment.

Theories have been used to understand what happens to a child who is exposed

to violent entertainment. Rowell Huesmann, a Collegiate Professor of Communication

Studies uses the information processing theory to describe the long-term effects of

media exposure. Huesmann argues that “a child who is exposed to a great deal of

violence, either in real life or through the media, will acquire scripts that promote

aggression as a way of solving problems” (Wilson 100). In doing so, with repeated
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violent exposure the aggressive actions are reinforced and are applied in response to

social situations.

Physical and social aggressions that develop during childhood have shown to

intensify in adulthood. Huesmann and his colleagues have conducted several studies

that track children over time to assess the long term effects of media violence. One

study involving more than 500 elementary school children consisted of

collecting measures of television viewing and aggressive behavior when the

children were in grade school and then again fifteen years later when they were

adults. The composite measure of adult aggression included self-reports of

spousal abuse, punching and choking [others] as well as documented criminal

behavior (Wilson 101).

This study concluded that heavy exposure of violent entertainment during childhood,

predicted increased physical aggression and acts of violence in adulthood.

As children advance into higher forms of education, electronic devices such as

laptops and tablets are looked upon as necessary tools for school. According to the

American Community Survey Reports: Computer and Internet use in the United States,

“seventy-eight percent [of households] had a desktop or laptop, seventy-five percent

had a handheld computer such as a smartphone or other handheld wireless computer

and seventy-seven percent had a broadband internet subscription” (Ryan and Lewis).

Though typing notes is looked upon as a productive alternative to pen and paper,

studies have shown that students attain less information when using laptops and tablets

during class. This inefficiency in learning is being linked to worse grades, decreased

understanding of lessons taught, and poor performances on exams.

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For college students, typing notes during a lecture is preferred, for they are able

to keep up with the professor/teacher. Though this may seem as the right option in note

taking, researchers at Princeton University and the University of California, Los Angeles

disagree. They state,

because students can type faster than they can write, the lecturer's words flowed

right to the students’ typing fingers without stopping in their brains for substantive

processing. Students writing by hand had to process and condense the spoken

material simply to enable their pens to keep up with the lecture (Dynarski).

When typing notes, students are not thinking, they are simply hearing and recording

without pausing to process and interpret the information into their own words.

With the use of laptops and other electronic devices allowed in lecture rooms, not

all students in class are as productive as their peers. Dedicated students who earn high

grades tend to stay on task, however, bored and uninterested students may watch

videos or play games, thus distracting students around them. “The economic term for

such a spillover is a “negative externality,” which occurs when one person’s

consumption harms the well-being of others” (Dynarski). When negative externality

occurs, student’s attention is no longer focused on the teacher but on another student’s

screen. This pulling of attention distracts the student’s learning, negatively affecting their

ability to learn, comprehend, and encode information being presented in front of them.

As technology is constantly advancing, inventions such as smartphones and

smartwatches can be seen almost anywhere. They are found in the smallest hands of

toddlers to the wrinkly hands of grandparents. With having a device as smart as a

desktop in the hands of millions, humans are constantly being bombarded with
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distractions. When receiving a text message, snapchat notification, a like on Instagram,

mail received etc. humans are rewarded quickly with little effort this has lead to shorter

attention spans across the board (McSpadden).

A recent study done by Microsoft Corporation surveyed over 2,000 Canadians

ages eighteen or older and studied the brain activity of 112 others using

electroencephalograms (EEG’s)(McSpadden). Their results showed that “humans

attention spans has fallen from twelve seconds to eight seconds which is less than a

goldfish’s average nine seconds” (Schaum). Microsoft theorizes that this change in

attention span may be a side effect of evolving to a mobile internet, for the brain is

adapting and changing to a quickly paced environment. With attention spans being

largely influenced by the environment in which it is used, doctors such as Jim Taylor

researched the effects technology has on attention spans in children (Schaum).

In generations before children directed considerable amounts of their time to

reading, an activity that required sustained attention with few distractions. Jim Taylor, an

internationally recognized authority on the psychology of sports and parenting states,

“the internet was invented and children were thrust into a vastly different environment in

which, because distraction is the norm, consistent attention is impossible, imagination is

unnecessary, and memory is inhibited” (Taylor). With introductions of technology at an

early age, brains of children born in the 21st century have been conditioned to pay

attention to information differently than generations before.

The issues with technology and the negative aspects it has on children’s

physical, social, emotional, and psychological beings are prevalent in everyday life;

however, if one were to practice different forms of activities, one can reduce the effects
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of technology to the body. Participating in outdoor activities such as riding a bike or

playing a sport, increases time spent outdoors where distractions are limited and higher

levels of concentration are used. Other activities such as setting time aside to read

challenges children to sit and focus on the material in front of them. Through the use of

social media, one can follow healthy eating profiles instead of unhealthy profiles can

help increase intake of nutrient-rich foods. Effects of technology can be reduced with

time and effort, as more people work together toward one goal, effects of technology

can be reduced and minimized in everyday life.

Works Cited

Brown , Judy, et al. “Technology and Social-Emotional Development in the Early

Childhood Environments .” IGI Global , Nov. 2011.

Cantor , Joanne. “Descriptions of Media-Induced Fright Reactions in a Smaple of

US Elementary School Children .” Journal of Children and Media , Taylor and

Francis Online , 8 Feb. 2010,

www.tandfonline.com/doi/full/10.1080/17482790903407242?scroll=top&needAcc

ess=true.
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Dynarski, Susan. “Laptops Are Great. But Not During a Lecture or a Meeting.”

The New York Times, The New York Times, 22 Nov. 2017,

www.nytimes.com/2017/11/22/business/laptops-not-during-lecture-or-

meeting.html.

Etchells, Pete. “What Do We Really Know about the Effects of Screen Time on

Mental Health? | Pete Etchells.” The Guardian, Guardian News and Media, 29

Aug. 2013, www.theguardian.com/science/head-quarters/2013/aug/29/screen-

time-mental-health-children.

Fisher , Beth. “Laptop Use in Class: Effects on Learning and Attention.” The

Teaching Center, Washington University in St.Louis , 22 Aug. 2015,

teachingcenter.wustl.edu/2015/08/laptop-use-effects-learning-attention/.

Jones, Damon E., et al. “Early Social-Emotional Functioning and Public Health:

The Relationship Between Kindergarten Social Competence and Future

Wellness .”American Journal of Public Health, American Public Health

Association, Nov. 2015, www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC4605168/.

McSpadden , Kevin. “Science: You Now Have a Shorter Attention Span Than a

Goldfish.”Time, Time, 14 May 2015, time.com/3858309/attention-spans-goldfish/.

Robinson, Thomas N. et al. “Screen Media Exposure and Obesity in Children

and Adolescents.” AAP News & Journals Gateway , American Academy of

Pediatrics , 19 Apr. 2017,

pediatrics.aappublications.org/content/140/Supplement_2/S97.

Ryan , Camille, and Jamie M Lewis . “PDF.” American Community Service

Reports , Sept. 2017.

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Schaum , Casey Andrew. “SiOWfa16: Science in Our World: Certainty and

Controversy.”SiOWfa16 Science in Our World Certainty and Controversy, 18 Oct.

2016, sites.psu.edu/siowfa16/2016/10/18/is-technology-affecting-our-attention-

span/.

Taylor, Jim. “How Technology Is Changing the Way Children Think and Focus.”

Psychology Today, Sussex Publishers, 4 Dec. 2012,

www.psychologytoday.com/blog/the-power-prime/201212/how-technology-is-

changing-the-way-children-think-and-focus.

Wilson, Barbara J. "Media and Children's Aggression, Fear, and Altruism." Future

of Children, vol. 18, no. 1, 01 Mar. 2008, pp. 87-118. EBSCOhost,

search.ebscohost.com/login.aspx?direct=true&db=eric&AN=EJ795855&site=eho

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