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Toddlers who use touchscreens show attention differences

bath.ac.uk

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Re: Toddlers who use touchscreens show attention differences

#71

Post by mola »

Spooky23 wrote: post #59
crmrc114 wrote: post #14

So, per this page: "The study followed them over the next 2.5 years, bringing them into the lab at 18 months and 3.5 years. At the 18-month and 3.5-year visits, toddlers took part in a computer task in which they were trained to search for a red apple amongst a varying number of either blue apples (easy search), or blue apples and red apple slices (difficult search). An eye tracker monitored their gaze and visually r…

The same sort of stuff was said about the 80s kids in my cohort because we were "latchkey" kids and watching lots of TV. It was bullshit then and bullshit now. I don't put much stock in intelligence assessments. There's no real standards around the exams. My school placed you in cohorts based on IQ, and it was pretty obvious that the scoring system was measuring something other than your innate ability. My dad worked…

You don't know that. The way we think changed a lot in the last 40 years. Researching the causes and dynamics of these changes are very hard to study and even harder to correlate and then much more to prove causation. We basically don't have the scientific means or theory for this type of long term changes.

It could very much be that kids that grew on TV have some other thought patterns that caused the reality we live in today. It's extremely confounded on so many things. We cant really know for sure anything about it.

The fact that some knowledge and intelligence is not accessible to science (today) doesn't mean it doesn't exist. Just that we don't have the tools to study it, yet.

Re: Toddlers who use touchscreens show attention differences

#72

Post by kevin_thibedeau »

tmaly wrote: post #61

There is an upside for kids 5 and older here. My daughter has to take this standardized map test in Connecticut. It is all computer based. If you are not comfortable using the computer, you do not do well on the test. The teacher uses this online problems site IXL to help them get use to answering the questions on the computer. This was also really helpful when everyone had to do school remotely. Th

How does this work for young kids who can barely or can't read? Seems like it's a gateway to systemic bias.

Re: Toddlers who use touchscreens show attention differences

#73

Post by jb775 »

I have an 20 month old and am planning to get him a tablet for long car rides, but that's it until he's a little older.

Most content kids consume on tablets is essentially junk food for the brain. Also, humans aren't meant to stare at screens all day long...the unknown impacts of extended screen use aren't worth it in exchange for a few lackluster benefits. Not to mention eliminating boredom from kids lives and therefore possibly cultivating a generation of extreme ADHD.

Re: Toddlers who use touchscreens show attention differences

#74

Post by wiradikusuma »

I notice a common theme in the comments: We're tech people (some even want high engagements for their apps) yet we're concerned of our kids' screen time. I'm in the same boat.

Maybe because we're from generation(s) where screen is unnatural (except TV) and we want our kids to have the same positive, "natural", experience like ours.

But I wonder a few generations forward, maybe the future parents will not have the same aversion like ours since they grew up with screens?

(Regardless of the answer, I'm not letting my kids stare screens all day, even though that's what I do daily and how I earn my living)

Re: Toddlers who use touchscreens show attention differences

#75

Post by grugagag »

aantix wrote: post #63
lordnacho wrote: post #17

One interesting thing I noticed is my kids who have grown up with touchscreens think that everything is a touchscreen. One of them even tried to swipe one of those adverts that's made of a big flatscreen. What confuses them is that some flatscreens aren't touchscreens, eg my macbook, while most of the smaller screens like phones and tablets are. Overall I'd say it's pretty hard to stay conservative about exposing the…

My oldest (7) is logged into my Google account for Youtube. He subscribes to Minecraft and Fortnite Youtubers all the time. Periodically I will unsubscribe him to *most of those video game channels. And in turn, subscribe him to a few Science channels. He's recently gotten into soccer, so I subscribed him to a couple of beginner-howto soccer channels as well. His Youtube recommendations are now more science oriented…

Kudos for currating their videos. My nephew who was initially very bright and interested in so many things ended up being captured by minecraft youtube videos for years. He eventually stopped but that time was completely wasted. I used to play chess with him but a soon as he got into youtubing he lost interest into everything else

Re: Toddlers who use touchscreens show attention differences

#76

Post by finaliteration »

arendtio wrote: post #64
nelaboras wrote: post #25

Earlier quoted context omitted.

In addition there is a key qualitative element: are all uses equal? Is watching Teletubbies or Paw Patrol equal to nature documentaries? Is playing addictive repetitive games different than those solving puzzles or following a story? Is videoconferencing with grandma the same or better or worse as doing a math training game? The key issue often is the parents' role and guidance. Let your kid aimlessly click through Y…

Exactly what I thought. A few years ago, I was in a hotel where one family gave their kids tablets to watch movies during breakfast. I can hardly imagine that this practice is beneficial for the kids development.

As a parent myself who is guilty of this from time to time, I think it’s easy to judge those moments without seeing the full picture. Nowadays parents are expected to attend to kids basically 24/7 and keep them engaged, etc,. Just because you saw that happen at breakfast doesn’t mean it was happening all day, every day. Maybe they were out visiting museums or nature parks for the rest of the day.

There are mornings when you just want a quiet breakfast while you’re on vacation without an embarrassing meltdown happening and, for better or worse, the most effective way to accomplish that is by giving your kid a movie or show to watch on the iPad for 30 minutes while you eat.

Re: Toddlers who use touchscreens show attention differences

#77

Post by speedgoose »

lordnacho wrote: post #17

One interesting thing I noticed is my kids who have grown up with touchscreens think that everything is a touchscreen. One of them even tried to swipe one of those adverts that's made of a big flatscreen. What confuses them is that some flatscreens aren't touchscreens, eg my macbook, while most of the smaller screens like phones and tablets are. Overall I'd say it's pretty hard to stay conservative about exposing the…

A modern MacBook should have a touch screen though. I can't blame the children that Apple hasn't managed to release a MacBook with a touchscreen in the last 10 years.

Re: Toddlers who use touchscreens show attention differences

#79

Post by grugagag »

ajford wrote: post #62
enobrev wrote: post #57

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I don't understand why it's sad. Isn't it an attempt at approaching new things with an understanding of previous interactions? Say you give a child a maraca, and s/he learns that s/he can shake the maraca to make noise. Then you hand a child a block, s/he is going to shake the block to see if it makes noise. The interesting bit and teachable moment is that these things have different features and properties and we in…

This! So many people attribute this "failed attempt" to bad parenting or stunted development and fail to realize it is only the natural progression of development. Children (and adults) learn from their interactions with items, be it technology or not. Attempting to use "touchscreen behaviors" on something that isn't a touch interface is just another learning moment. They're attempting to use their knowledge and expe…

The problem is the prolonged exposure to technology at a young age when they have to learn a myriad of other things. And the danger lies in how addictive these things are - needless to say a lot of things are designed that way. The technology is unevitable, my grandparents wrote on slates in school and our parents used to do caligraphy, etc. Tech changes, thats allright but because of its pace of acceleration some kids fall prey to other’s schemes to make money on their behalf.

Re: Toddlers who use touchscreens show attention differences

#80

Post by highfrequency »

the-pigeon wrote: post #8
lymenlee wrote: post #4

For this little gain, at what cost to the future growth of the kid? Attention span? Ability to focus on anything other than small screens? Social ability? This research should really address the pro/con for the kid in the long run rather than just benefit of finding target using their fingers.

The opposite can argued too. That children who don't use tablets have shorter attention spans and worst social skills. The "natural is better" argument is not research based. Society has long preached that things like reading books is great for kids but it's entirely unnatural just like tablets. Generally research in this area has been extremely biased against electronics. You also have to control for the type of act…

Right, the argument against screens shouldn't be that they aren't natural. It's not "natural" to go to the gym and do repetitive contrived exercises, but this turns out to be a healthy habit.

On the other hand I don't think any great leaps are required to be wary of the effects of screen time. Even as an adult, if I get into the habit of scrolling through newsfeeds, I notice a strong effect of being distracted and seeking stimulus when doing work. My brain has been trained for quick hits of novelty.

In general, there's a night-and-day difference between activities that are easy and tempting vs. challenging but rewarding. I'm sure there are some great educational games on the iPad, but realistically the vast majority of screen time falls into the easy and tempting category.

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