Effects of television and the computer on learning and emotional intelligence
As a counselor and life coach, I have always taken a strong stand against having a TV or computer in any child’s or teen’s room, period. Yes, we use this ruler in our own home. We had objections at times and that’s okay. It did not change our actions.
My reason is twofold. First, I see social isolation, decreased social/emotional skills, decreased interaction with peers, and increased disrespect for authority by children and adolescents who have electronic devices in their bedrooms.
Having visual electronic devices in children’s rooms decreases the amount of time families spend together, increases the risk of early exposure to pornography and children who act out sexually, decreases the number of family dinners, and decreases the amount of family time social game with other youngsters. The negative impact of this is also evident in the school. These children have a shorter attention span, want to get their way more often, have lower than average social skills, and often feel socially isolated.
The second reason is to know a thing or two about brain development. He knew that television and computer use does not take advantage of normal brain development and the brain stimulation necessary for our young people to be healthy and happy. We now have a lot of research to back that up.
Let’s look at the summary of the research of Joseph Chilton Pearce, a scholar, scientist and teacher. He states: “First, if you want smart, successful, and healthy children, they must have positive emotional experiences. This begins at home through unconditional love, appropriate loving contact, and a safe and secure environment. Then it extends to our learning environments. learning. If you want true learning, learning that involves the upper frontal lobes… the intellectual creative brain… the emotional environment has to be positive and supportive. defenses of the reptilian brain.” Bottom line: to have a better-functioning child, we need to nurture both the head and the heart. The heart and brain communicate with each other in an intricate symphony of ganglion cells, neural networks, and neurotransmitters.
Pearce talks about the harmful effects of television and computers on growing brains Nonetheless of content “TV literally prevents neural growth in children’s developing brains. When young children watch too much, it suppresses their brain’s ability to develop imagination.” This has to do with the way the brain reacts to radiant light. Children’s brains “shut down” (stop the thought process).
The television industry has countered this by introducing “startle effects” into children’s programming. This makes the brain think there might be an emergency and alerts the brain to pay special attention. This is accomplished through dramatic changes in light intensity, sound, and rapidly changing camera angles. According to Pearce, “Every 10 years the TV industry ups the ante by making the scares bigger, now there are an average of 16 bits of violence every half hour in children’s cartoons. By the time the heart receives any indication of negativity or danger, it falls.” from its usual harmonious mode to an incoherent one, triggering the release of the most potent hormone in the human body, known as cortisol.
Computer monitors have a similar effect due to radiant light. The researchers assigned students to 3 groups where the same information was presented at a 4th grade reading level in 3 different media. Group A had a regular sheet of paper; Group B was shown a movie with the page; Group C saw a computer monitor. Then, the students were tested for retention of the information.
Group A averaged 85% retention after viewing an article; Group B averaged 25% – 30% retention after viewing a movie screen; Group C averaged 3% – 5% retention after viewing a computer monitor. “Computers and television are changing our children’s brains. We must encourage our children to develop the ability to think first and then give them a computer. Pearce cites Piaget’s developmental research “The first twelve years of life are devoted to establish the structures of knowledge that enable young people to grasp abstract, metaphorical, and symbolic types of information…the danger is that the computer and television will disrupt that development.”