Changes to the World of Media and their Impacts on the Cognitive Development of Children 1. Meagan Wells

Size: px

Start display at page:

Download "Changes to the World of Media and their Impacts on the Cognitive Development of Children 1. Meagan Wells"

Warren Cummings
5 years ago
Views:

1 1 Changes to the World of Media and their Impacts on the Cognitive Development of Children Meagan Wells

2 2 The focus on the effects of media and technology on the young first emerged as early as the 1920s, when entertainment media first reached popularity. Since then, the prevalence of mass media has increased exponentially, finding its place in homes where it can reach the most impressionable of the human population. The television and videogame industries are now boiling over with various types of children s programming, each with its own agenda. Television shows with educational and prosocial agendas, while being linked to positive development trends, are losing their popularity at the hands of video games and fast paced, humor based programming, which can detrimentally impact mental health patterns for the United States current youth and many generations to come (e.g. Zimmerman & Christakis, 2005). The most prevalent of the impacts of the current state of television and videogame industries can be seen in the recent rises in diagnoses of attention deficit and behavioral disorders in children, which can be linked to cognitive overload and overused reward mechanisms in the brain. THE CURRENT STATE OF MASS MEDIA AVAILABLE TO CHILDREN The effects of the multitudes of media to which society is exposed has been a hot topic for decades. It is nearly impossible for an individual to go through one s day without being exposed to mass media, whether it be books, television, games, music, advertisements, or newspapers. Given the numerous uses of mass media and propaganda for power and control throughout history (e.g., Stuteville, 1970) communications researchers, psychologists, and society as a whole has become wary of the effects such programming may have on the most susceptible of our society to suggestion children.

3 3 In recent decades, there has been a visible shift in the types of programming available to children. The most obvious of these changes is the debut of video games and their increasing mobility, making it possible for children to be engrossed in a variety of genres of games at nearly all conscious hours of the day. Another more subtle shift has been the gradual decrease in availability of what is considered prosocial or educational programming, which the Federal Communications Commission defines as any content that further[s] the positive development of the child s cognitive/intellectual or emotional/social needs (Federal Communications Commission, 2015). Prosocial television programs like Mr. Roger s Neighborhood and Sesame Street, which promote positive, helpful, and accepting behaviors, have been linked time and time again to calmer, more obedient, and more tolerant responses to everyday stimuli in children (e.g. Salomon & Cohen, 1977). Television shows and movies without such agendas, which are often violent and fast paced, have been linked to decreases in task persistence, rule obedience, and tolerance relative to baseline figures in the same studies. In 1996, the FCC adopted guidelines that require television broadcasters to air a minimum of 3 hours per week of what they consider educational and prosocial programming (Federal Communications Commission 1996), which have yet to be revised, despite findings that today s children average close to 7 and a half hours of screen time each day (Rock, 2013). This lack of beneficial programming available to children, combined with the increasing appeal of current programming, means that children are more drawn than ever to media that is non impactful, if not detrimental, to their mental health. The advancement of production technologies for the television, movies, and videogames to which children are so drawn gives the

4 4 ability for media producers to create flashy, fast paced, and unrealistic scenes, further increasing the appeal of television and video games, while making educational programming a last resort for entertainment. At the same time, there has been a sharp increase in technological dependence in recent years, largely accredited to astonishing scientific advances that improve the lives of millions. These advances, however, have also produced more video games; tablets; and bigger, brighter televisions than ever before. EFFECTS ON COGNITIVE DEVELOPMENT Studies by researchers and psychologists around the world have drawn correlations between certain cognitive development and behavioral issues and the amount of time spent watching certain types of television programming (e.g. Zimmerman & Christakis, 2005). It is no secret that there have been sharp upward trends in the amount of time people spend in front of screens in recent years. This increase for all ages, especially youth, has coincided with a sharp increase in the diagnosis of attention deficit disorder (ADD), attention deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD), and multitudes of other behavioral problems (Rock, 2013). Recent figures have shown that an estimated 6.4 million children ages 4 through 1 had received an ADHD diagnosis at some point in their lives, demonstrating a 41% increase from 2003 (Schwarz & Cohen, 2013). These disorders, which affect a child s ability to focus, to control one s own behavior, to maintain self esteem, and to maintain healthy relationships, can linger as a child ages into adulthood (Mayo Clinic, 2016). COGNITIVE MECHANISMS

5 5 The startling increases in the prevalence of behavioral issues and screen time has been examined closely by psychologists around the world, who have drawn strong correlations between the two. Many of the behavioral issues linked to media are blamed on cognitive overload, or the idea that exciting media overstimulate a child s brain, making it difficult to stay focused or obedient to the rules of everyday life. Most youth programming features fantasy situations, loud music, and scenes that change upwards of three times per minute (Christakis, 2011). The bright colors and constant movement found in such television shows and videogames flood a child s brain, stimulating it far more than real life ever can. A recent small experimental study compared three groups of children one that watched 9 minutes of a fast paced cartoon, one that watched 9 minutes of a much slower paced educational program, and one that colored (Christakis, 2001). The results showed significant impairment in executive function for the first group, when compared with the other two. The recent rise in gaming for children has also drawn attention from the science world, shedding light on more causes for behavioral disorders and attempting to explain the near addictive connection that children feel with their devices. Associate professor of child psychiatry Christopher Lucas has studied the way a child s brain operates while using gadgets like video games and has found an easy explanation for why today s youth is so addicted to their screens (Rock, 2013). Lucas describes the attention children pay while gaming as sustained attention with frequent intermittent rewards, with these rewards queueing the release of dopamine in the brain each time a child wins or scores points in a game. Psychiatrists compare this with the effects of ADHD treatment drugs like Ritalin, which increase dopamine activity in

6 6 the brain, finding that these activities are so similar that for a hyperactive mind, video games are almost a form of self medication. This strange attachment that children form with their devices and constant rewards can be connected to other behavioral problems that hyperactive and attention deficit children also exhibit, such as isolation, irritability, and rule disobedience. It is so hard to separate children and teens from their screens and devices because they create the same feelings of love and happiness that the rest of humanity seeks on a daily basis, and all it takes to receive these emotions is the touch of a power button. When these same children power down their devices and return to reality, it is easy to assume that everything else seems bleak in comparison. Why should they spend their time interacting with others when they know they are guaranteed positive feedback from their video games? WORSENING THE PROBLEM Because of these findings, many have worked to create media and video games with educational and prosocial agendas, hoping to make learning just as rewarding as the games that children choose to play. Teachers and developmental researchers create educational videogames, catchy songs, and action packed videos to teach lessons in the classroom in an attempt to keep kids interested in learning. This, however, could be fueling the problem. The short term solution created by these fun learning games may teach children basic concepts and skills, but continues to increase their dependence on constant dopamine rewards and therefore increases their dependence on the virtual world. Many researchers have demonstrated that because of these certain factors that may produce cognitive overload, screen time should be closely monitored and decreased for children at young ages (e.g., Christakis et al., 2004). Longitudinal studies have shown strong

7 7 associations between the amount of time spent watching television before age three and the presence of developmental problems at age seven, concluding with strong recommendation that television viewing time be limited in early childhood. The use of such technology may be only teaching children that every part of their lives needs to be as colorful and exciting as today s television and videogames, making anything that excludes these factors, like books and nature, seem like a bore. Therefore, incorporating media further into more facets of a child s daily life, while possibly helping them to learn more in the short term, may be causing mental development problems that will prevail as they age. IN CONCLUSION Tying together the different cognitive and social development issues that have been on the rise in recent years, it is easy to see that the explanations of things like cognitive overload and excess rewarding have warrant and that society as a whole has a reason to seek solutions and change. With astounding advances in technology come increases in technology usage and improvements in animation and special effects. These, combined, make the virtual world more appealing and exciting than reality while simultaneously making these worlds more available than they have ever been before. The media that is so constantly available today gives users and consumers opportunity to develop unique dependencies on them, as they receive the same rewards and positive feelings that they would receive from things like hard work and human interaction more easily and readily through technology than would ever be possible in the real world. In desperate attempts to engage children in learning, the use of technology, gaming, and animation has been brought into the classroom. This may seem to solve problems in the short term by

8 8 getting children more interested in school subjects, but may, in fact, cause them even more detrimental attention problems for the rest of their lives. The outdated regulations that monitor the amount of prosocial and educational broadcasting on television networks only leave room for more detrimental screen time for today s youth. Looking into the future of this ever changing and media powered world, further understanding of these cognitive mechanisms and the causes of behavioral problems brings hope to those who seek to protect the futures of the most vulnerable and the most powerful members of the human race the youth.

9 9 Sources Christakis, D. A. (2011). The Effects of Fast Paced Cartoons. American Academy of Pediatrics 128(4). doi: /peds Christakis, D. A., Zimmerman, F. J., DiGiuseppe, D. L., & McCarty, C. A. (2004). Early Television Exposure and Subsequent Attentional Problems in Children. American Academy of Pediatrics 113(4). Retrieved from Federal Communications Commission. (1996). Policies and Rules Concerning Children s Television Programming. Retrieved from Federal Communications Commission. (2015). Children s Educational Television. Retrieved from educational television Mayo Clinic Staff. (2016). Attention deficit/hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) in children. Mayo Foundation for Medical Education and Research. Retrieved from conditions/adhd/home/ovc Rock, M. (2013). A Nation of Kids with Gadgets and ADHD. Time Magazine. Retrieved from nation of kids with gadgets and adhd/ Salomon, G. & Cohen, A. (1977). Television Formats: Mastery of Mental Skills and the Acquisition of Knowledge, Journal of Educational Psychology 69 : Schwarz, A. & Cohen, S. (2013). A.D.H.D. Seen in 11% of U.S. Children as Diagnoses Rise. The New York Times. Retrieved from

10 10 diagnoses of hyperactivity causing con cern.html?_r=1 Stuteville, J. (1970). Psychic Defenses against High Fear Appeals: A Key Marketing Variable. Journal of Marketing, 34 (2), doi:1. Retrieved from doi:1 Zimmerman, F. J., Christakis, D. A. (2005). Children s Television Viewing and Cognitive Outcomes: A Longitudinal Analysis of National Data. Archive of Pediatrics and Adolescent Medicine, 159(7) doi: /archpedi

Entertaining Violence or Violent Entertainment? Mapping the Media Violence Controversy

Entertaining Violence or Violent Entertainment? Mapping the Media Violence Controversy The media violence controversy basically centers around the questions of effects: Does watching violent media make