Your Small Child Could be
Harmed by Too Much Time with the Computer!
From "False Promise", U.S. News & World Report
, September 25, 2000
A growing number of educators, child development specialists, and doctors are
warning us about early childhood computer use. The Alliance for Childhood,
a child-advocacy group released a report in September entitled Fool's Gold: A
Critical Look at Computers in Childhood, that suggests that computers have
the potential to damage the intellectual and social development of young
children. The report emphasizes the children's need for strong personal
bonds with adults, and suggests that computer use distracts adults and children
from each other. The U.S. News article reports that some teachers are
reporting "shrinking attention spans and decreasing motivation."
The article quotes psychologist Jane Healy, Ph.D., author of Failure to Connect:
How
Computers Affect Our Children's Minds, who states,
"For certain types of learning, certain mental habits such as motivation,
perseverance, concentration, and certainly reading and language skills,
everything we know suggests that this technology may do more harm than
good." Kathy Hirsh-Pasek, director of the Infant Language Laboratory
at Temple University in Philadelphia, points out that computers reduce three
dimensional play activities down to two dimensions. Yet in early years
children should be learning both fine and gross motor skills, along with depth
perception, and eye-hand coordination.
Even so-called "educational software" is
problematic. Much of it is "drill and practice" by design,
emphasizing memorization rather that understanding. While children exposed
to high-quality developmental software can make gains in intelligence, and
nonverbal communication skills, those exposed only to "drill and
practice" software show a significant drop in creativity. Bob McCannon of the
New Mexico Media Literacy Project points out that much of the software detracts
from concentration, attention span, and enjoyment of detail. The growing
controversy may result in new action in our schools. Harvard professor of
psychiatry Alvin Poussaint and noted child psychiatrist Marilyn Benoit signed a
petition calling for a moratorium on introduction of computers in early
childhood and elementary education until more research can determine the long
term effects of such use.
The risk of harm from excessive computer use extends into the teen years.
Our current teens are the first generation to be truly raised on computers
throughout their childhood. In 1998 a Carnegie Mellon University study
found that loneliness and isolation were more prevalent among teens who used
computers heavily. Harvey Waxman, of the Harvard Medical School, has
researched the impact of the internet on the behavior of teens, and finds that
loneliness is indeed a real risk. Time spent on line also has implications
for moral development. Elizabeth Kiss, Director of the Kenan Institute for
Ethics at Duke University suggests that the impersonal nature of the on line
experience allows teens to act in socially unacceptable ways without fear of
being confronted. For some, such as teen "hackers", this becomes
a lesson in criminal behavior. Dr. Jane Healy suggests, "our passion
for the fruits of technology has caused us to separate intellectual and moral
values," and that "We seem to care more about how fast our children
can learn than how deeply they can feel."
A Comment From David
Peters -
In my practice I am finding more
teens and children who appear to be very dependent upon the intense, but narrow
stimulation of the computer or video games. These children frequently find
the classroom environment boring by comparison. They honestly experience
"nothing's happening" in the classroom. They have been
"disabled" from learning! While using the computer, a child
responds to the feeling of boredom by "clicking" on to the next game
or web page. They are trained to give up early. We must teach our children
that they cannot "point and click" their way past challenging school
material. The ability to maintain focus on mundane material is an
essential skill for learning. More importantly, our children must benefit
from the enrichment of real human interaction in order to mature into
adults. We learn every day from our interactions with others, and this is
lost every hour we spend in front of the "artificial intelligence" of
the computer.
It seems clear that we should be cautious in pushing our children
to rely on the family computer for their education and entertainment. In
measured quantity, computer use can enhance their learning. But just as
with the television, a clever machine is no substitute for real-live play time
with real-live people and toys that are held in the hand. We must take a
leadership role in our children's development. Let's offer them a variety
of intellectual and social stimulation. And don't forget the hugs!