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RESEARCH ABOUT KIDS AND TECHNOLOGY
Articles and research to help us understand the benefits and risks.
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Adolescent self-harm episodes have increased in all five of the Anglo Countries (USA, Canada, UK, Australia, and New Zealand). Since 2010, in the USA: increases of 48% (boys) and 166% (girls), in the UK: Increases of 134% (boys) and 78% (girls), in Australia: increases of 29% (boys) and 83% (girls), in New Zealand: increases of 116% (boys) and 138% (girls), and in Ontario: increases of 75% (boys) and 138% (girls).
In their 2022 report, Teens and Pornography, Common Sense Media reported that 75% of boys ages 13-17 have consumed online porn. Another study published in Sexuality Research and Social Policy found that 97.3% of the 166 boys ages 12-17 had consumed porn, which was 24.2% more than girls the same age.
An overall sense of adolescent pessimism has overrun both genders since 2010, with boys experiencing a 42% increase in their agreement with this statement, “People like me don’t have much of a chance at a successful life.” In girls, we saw a 68% increase from 2010 to 2021
University of California San Francisco Beioff Children’s Hospitals: The more time kids spend using screens from ages 9 to 11 years old, the higher their odds of suicidal behaviors two years later, at ages 11 to 13. Specifically, each additional hour of screen time increased the risk by 9%. The risk was highest with texting, followed by video chatting, watching videos, and playing video games.
Longitudinal analyses of 17,409 participants (10–21 years old) suggest distinct developmental windows of sensitivity to social media in adolescence when higher estimated social media use predicts a decrease in life satisfaction ratings one year later (and vice-versa: lower estimated social media use predicts an increase in life satisfaction ratings). These windows occur at different ages for males (14–15 and 19 years old) and females (11–13 and 19 years old).
Researchers found that 3- and 4-year-old children had more activation in language regions of the brain when they read a book with an adult like a parent than when they listened to an audiobook or read from a digital app. When they read on an iPad, activation was the lowest of all. In another study, MRI scans of 8- to 12-year-olds showed stronger reading circuits in those who spent more time reading paper books than those who spent their time on screens.
Horowitz-Kraus T, Hutton JS. From emergent literacy to reading: how learning to read changes a child's brain. Acta Paediatr. 2015 Jul;104(7):648-56. doi: 10.1111/apa.13018. Epub 2015 May 7. PMID: 25847632. Horowitz-Kraus T, Hutton JS. Brain connectivity in children is increased by the time they spend reading books and decreased by the length of exposure to screen-based media. Acta Paediatr. 2018 Apr;107(4):685-693. doi: 10.1111/apa.14176. Epub 2017 Dec 27. PMID: 29215151.
A 2023 Sapien Labs study of 27,969 18-24-year-olds found that mental health outcomes were significantly better the older the young person was when they got a smartphone. The percentage of females experiencing mental health challenges decreased from 74% for those who received their first smartphone at age 6, to 46% for those who received it at age 18. For males, the percentage declined from 42% at age 6 to 36% at age 18.
A report from the UK Children’s Commissioner that surveyed 1,000 young people aged 16-21, showed 79% had encountered violent porn before the age of 18. Frequent users of pornography are more likely to engage in physically aggressive sex acts.
MRI scans of young children show screen time reduces the size of the brain areas responsible for visual processing, empathy, attention, complex memory, and early reading skills.
Children who spend 5-7 hrs/day on a digital device are 49 points (the equivalent of two school years) behind children who use screens <1hr/day. 65% of students reported being distracted while using digital devices for school work and 59% reported being distracted when students near them used digital devices.
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