Kids' Screen Time May Cause Lasting Brain Changes
You may remember the things you were told as a child about watching too much TV — and in the UK, parents may even tell their kids their eyes will turn square!
Now, a new review of more than two decades of research into the effects of screen time on the brains of young children has found no evidence of square eyes. But the researchers have concluded that screen time does have a notable and lasting impact.
A team from universities in Asia and Australia analyzed 33 studies that used neuroimaging — or images of the brain — to review the effect of screen time on the brains of children up to the age of 12.
This included playing video games, watching television and using other electronic devices.
The team found that screen time can lead to changes in a number of different parts of the brain, including the prefrontal cortex, which has been called our "personality center."
The prefrontal cortex controls things like working memory and the ability to make plans and respond to situations.
Screen time has also been found to affect the temporal lobe, which deals with memory and language.
Some of the research also noted that children who use tablets to watch and play may be worse at problem-solving tasks, while playing a lot of video games and using the internet for long periods of time was found to affect intelligence scores.
However, other studies were not so negative. One suggested that playing video games could impact the frontal lobe in a way that could improve focus and the ability to learn.
In response to the results, one of the study's authors, Hui Li of The Education University of Hong Kong, said that limiting screen time is not the only answer.
He said this could be effective, but it may also cause confrontation. He suggested employing other "friendly and practical strategies," and urged teachers and parents to give advice to young people based on the latest research.
