Children’s brains are more open to learning and shaping by external factors than adult brains.
The frontal lobe is one of the last areas to fully develop and can be affected by exposure to media, including functions like impulse control, judgment, problem solving, attention, and decision-making.
Children who spend more time on any media are more likely to be obese.
Media-related activities comprise 6-9 hours of American youths’ time each day.
Changes in adolescent brain matter volume are most pronounced in regions important for social understanding.
Social influences, which can occur through media, are likely particularly potent from age 12-13. Social rejection or acceptance online can be experienced similarly as face-to-face.
Late development of dlPFC may make adolescents more susceptible to emotional influence by media content which may blur the border between fact and fiction.
Adolescents with internet addiction may have lower grey matter and other structural changes in the brain.
Discussion:
Does a responsibility exist in society to protect minors from hazards associated with media consumption?
Media has become a tool for education as well as for entertainment and communication. Limiting it may limit information access, which is unjust.
Access to the Internet does not imply educational use.
Who is responsible for what young people consume?
Parents/Guardians: household rules and helping young people set boundaries. Parental controls, kids’ mode, etc.
Schools block websites and put restrictions on access. Note: some people don’t receive tech education in school. Teachers are more or less savvy.
Kids can get access to information they want access to regardless of filters.
What can education do to improve how students are interacting with information online?
Students need 21st Century Skills. Information literacy education should also include training on how to use media healthily.
Resources:
Brown, Hapern, L’Engle (2005) Mass media as a sexual super peer for early maturing girls. Journal of Adolescent Health.
Giedd (2012) The Digital Revolution and Adolescent Brain Evolution. Journal of Adolescent Health.
Rios (2016) Positive and Negative Effects of Media on Children’s Health.
Tang, Darlington, Ma, & Hanes (2018) Mothers’ and fathers’ media parenting practices associated with young children’s screen-time: a cross-sectional study. BMC Obesity 5(37).
Thompson & Nelson (2001) Developmental science and the media: Early brain development. American Psychologist.