ADDENDUM TO CHAPTER 15 IN JOE’S BOOK, “HOW TO RAISE SUCCESSFUL CHILDREN”  — Joe Wilkins, Copyright © 2015

 

When I wrote the above book, I was not fully aware of the pervasiveness of the electronic media on all our lives. Since the early 1950’s my generation was initially aware of how television was interrupting the study habits of some of our school children, and how many of us had curtailed our reading habits in favor of getting our information and entertainment from television instead. However, in those days it was not  a major problem, and was in fact considered to be a blessing, freeing us from some degree of tediousness and boredom in those who suffered from humdrum lives.

However, in recent years there has been an explosion of electronic devices, beyond the simple television set: cell phones, video games, earphone players, laptops, i-pads, tablets, and numerous other instruments that are quickly becoming integral parts of our lives. In and of themselves, these devices are good for the advancement of civilization–if we use them properly. Communication is easier and faster. Research about particular topics has been greatly facilitated by the availability of the Internet. Commerce, advertising, and shopping can be conducted from home. The future of our technology seems so wonderful that some believe it will promote a world with little or no limits.

Some of these positive dreams will happen, but like with all technology there will be some prices to pay. This article is to up-date my readers with some cautionary considerations with which they may not be aware, and which are especially important for child-rearing parents to know.

In Chapters 4,5,and 6 of my book we discussed, respectively, Thinking, Emotional, and Behavioral/Social skill development in children. Many experts believe that the earliest years, ages 0 to 6, are the most important, setting the stage for the years leading to the teens and adulthood. Everyone is aware of the many trials of the teenage years, but after a few years of awkward growth and development, ending at about age eighteen or so, most people progress on into the adult world feeling they have most of what they need to pursue their life goals. About all else they think will be needed is education to prepare them for specific jobs or careers, usually at college, technical training, or on-the-job instruction.

However, recent neurological and psychological research has now demonstrated that what we used to believe about human growth and development was a book without an ending. There is now a final chapter being written, which we can tentatively title, “The Human Brain Does Not Stop Growing Until About Age 25, Or Thereabouts!” What is being discovered is that parts of the brain continue to grow, developing its unique wiring diagram of neuron connections until the mid-twenties. And the most affected part of the brain is the pre-frontal cortex, where most of our “higher civilization” skills are developed–skills such as rational thinking, socialization, complex abstract reasoning, and other neurological growths that go to produce competent, productive adults.

So what, one may ask, does all this have to do with modern media devices? The crux of the situation is this: the development of certain critical  parts of the brain require extensive face-to-face communication and socialization among children, from birth until the mid twenties. The brain is not finished growing as soon as the child graduates from high school–or college! And the pervasive use of cell phones, i-pads, computers, and other electronic media by developing children and young adults, inhibits the development of those parts of the brain necessary to becoming a complete person!

One may legitimately ask how does being overly involved in the use of  electronic media inhibit the brain from developing to its maximum? It’s a complicated process, but avoiding direct communication with others limits face-to-face interaction, obscures the ability to observe body language, pick up subtle inflections in family and social situations, and other sophisticated nuances that families, tribes, schools, communities, and countries require of our citizens.

Almost all electronic involvement  on computers, the internet, electronic games, e-mail, Twitter, Facebook, cellphones, and telephones, in varying degrees, limits the total impact of the communication from one person to another. Can one imagine the messages that a young man and woman would get should the beau propose marriage to his girl over some electronic media, versus doing it in person while holding her hand! Absent would be the smell of her perfume, the cadence of their breathing, the look in both their eyes, the surrounding sounds, the anticipatory expectations, and all the other subtle nuances of the event. And all  the stimuli arising from a personal, face-to-face marriage proposal would have a radically different impact on both their developing brains, versus a proposal made over some electronic media!  And it is the presence of critical, personal stimuli which causes new brain connections to form, many stimuli which would be absent over a cell phone or Twitter.

Back when this counselor was working with mentally ill patients, several professional colleagues in private practice told me how they were doing more “phone counseling and therapy.” Initially, I didn’t know what to make of this, because all my training and experience consisted of dealing with clients face-to-face, either individually or in groups. Phone conversations were to set appointments for direct meetings or other minor issues. Soon, professional journal articles began to appear as to the benefits of this “phone counseling.” I never accepted it, because I always valued all the information I could get by directly observing the client’s body language: pupils in their eyes getting wider or narrower, wringing of hands, perspiring, blushing or blanching, arms defensively crossing, leaning forward or backward, shuffling of feet, smiling or frowning–all non- verbal information important to the situation and permanently being inscribed on their brains in their intellectual and emotional systems. None of this would have been available to me or them over a phone or on Facebook.

Therapy consists of helping clients develop “corrective” programs in their thinking, feeling, and behaving brains, trying to overcome and replace “bad” programs that they learned in earlier years–or never were taught in the first place! Now, imagine a child brought up on a steady diet of electronic media communication–to the neglect of interpersonal, intimate interaction with others. Such a child arriving at post-age 25 adulthood would be quite sophisticated in the electronic media world, but would be less capable in other important areas of life. Imagine a person whose spelling lessons were from Twitter only, or whose math ability always required the use of a computer!

The Dana Foundation, an organization advancing brain research, found that the human brain continues to develop its “wiring” diagram well into the mid twenties. The most affected areas of the brain are the frontal lobes, which are critical to the development of high level cognitive skills, such as judgement, intellectual capabilities, and the regulation of emotions. And a Kaiser Foundation study noted that high school students spent about 6.5 hours per day on their computers, supposedly studying, but actually two-thirds of that time was spent on other things, such as playing games, cruising the internet, etc. These students became very good at multi-tasking, but became superficial in many important behavioral skills, and the learning quality was not good. They were spending too much time in front of a media screen, communicating with their friends electronically.

A review of several studies indicates the following results in people who have spent too much time with electronic media:

1. There is depersonalization (lack of empathy) from limited direct contact with people. They often don’t have a good sense of what society’s normal behavior is.
2. They communicate more often– but the quality of their communication is weaker.
3. Kids who spend too much time in front of a media screen, communicating with their friends, rather than being with them personally, are less likely to understand emotions, don’t create strong relationships, and tend to become more dependent on others.
4. Because kids need to be hugged and touched a lot instead of being texted, their overuse of technology directly affects their brain development.
5. The more children interact with others through electronic media, rather than in person, their emotions are connected to the media exchange itself, resulting in a deficit in intimacy need fulfillment.
6. Social media communication makes it easy to “hide”, while still appearing to be okay.
7. Cellphone usage while driving is like driving drunk
8. Technology and screen time rewires brains in certain patterns that can inhibit the development of brain neurological circuits that control more traditional learning, such as reading, writing and arithmetic skills. Any attention deficit disorder causes here?
9. In a 2011 study girls sent about 4000 texts per month, while boys sent around 2800. It doesn’t take much speculation to imagine what that is doing to their developing brains. Not being in substantial, direct contact with others during childhood, rather than being with them personally, makes people less likely to understand emotions, less able to create strong relationships, and tending  to become more dependent on others.

 

Summing all this up shows that parents need to use good sense in allowing their children in the use of all these modern media devices. Obviously there are benefits to learning their use, however, it is abundantly clear that nothing should interfere with also exposing them to an abundance of social interactions;  reading books, magazines, newspapers, and other printed materials where proper English is used; exposure to stimulating conversations face to face; and developing the other skills outlined in this book.

All new inventions and technical advances promote the growth of the human race in many ways. Yet, there is always a downside, or unintended consequences, to these advances. If we were all robots there would be few problems, but the hard reality is we all possess a brain that has been pretty much the same for thousands of years. And this brain, while capable of marvelous things when properly programmed, still requires a lot of good, old-fashioned learning. Make sure your children get it all.

 

( If you like this article, the book to which this article is an addition is available on amazon.com. The reviews have been very favorable. Check them out. You won’t find a book like this one.)

ADDENDUM TO CHAPTER 15 IN JOE’S BOOK, “HOW TO RAISE SUCCESSFUL CHILDREN”  — Joe Wilkins, Copyright © 2015

 

When I wrote the above book, I was not fully aware of the pervasiveness of the electronic media on all our lives. Since the early 1950’s my generation was initially aware of how television was interrupting the study habits of some of our school children, and how many of us had curtailed our reading habits in favor of getting our information and entertainment from television instead. However, in those days it was not  a major problem, and was in fact considered to be a blessing, freeing us from some degree of tediousness and boredom in those who suffered from humdrum lives.

However, in recent years there has been an explosion of electronic devices, beyond the simple television set: cell phones, video games, earphone players, laptops, i-pads, tablets, and numerous other instruments that are quickly becoming integral parts of our lives. In and of themselves, these devices are good for the advancement of civilization–if we use them properly. Communication is easier and faster. Research about particular topics has been greatly facilitated by the availability of the Internet. Commerce, advertising, and shopping can be conducted from home. The future of our technology seems so wonderful that some believe it will promote a world with little or no limits.

Some of these positive dreams will happen, but like with all technology there will be some prices to pay. This article is to up-date my readers with some cautionary considerations with which they may not be aware, and which are especially important for child-rearing parents to know.

In Chapters 4,5,and 6 of my book we discussed, respectively, Thinking, Emotional, and Behavioral/Social skill development in children. Many experts believe that the earliest years, ages 0 to 6, are the most important, setting the stage for the years leading to the teens and adulthood. Everyone is aware of the many trials of the teenage years, but after a few years of awkward growth and development, ending at about age eighteen or so, most people progress on into the adult world feeling they have most of what they need to pursue their life goals. About all else they think will be needed is education to prepare them for specific jobs or careers, usually at college, technical training, or on-the-job instruction.

However, recent neurological and psychological research has now demonstrated that what we used to believe about human growth and development was a book without an ending. There is now a final chapter being written, which we can tentatively title, “The Human Brain Does Not Stop Growing Until About Age 25, Or Thereabouts!” What is being discovered is that parts of the brain continue to grow, developing its unique wiring diagram of neuron connections until the mid-twenties. And the most affected part of the brain is the pre-frontal cortex, where most of our “higher civilization” skills are developed–skills such as rational thinking, socialization, complex abstract reasoning, and other neurological growths that go to produce competent, productive adults.

So what, one may ask, does all this have to do with modern media devices? The crux of the situation is this: the development of certain critical  parts of the brain require extensive face-to-face communication and socialization among children, from birth until the mid twenties. The brain is not finished growing as soon as the child graduates from high school–or college! And the pervasive use of cell phones, i-pads, computers, and other electronic media by developing children and young adults, inhibits the development of those parts of the brain necessary to becoming a complete person!

One may legitimately ask how does being overly involved in the use of  electronic media inhibit the brain from developing to its maximum? It’s a complicated process, but avoiding direct communication with others limits face-to-face interaction, obscures the ability to observe body language, pick up subtle inflections in family and social situations, and other sophisticated nuances that families, tribes, schools, communities, and countries require of our citizens.

Almost all electronic involvement  on computers, the internet, electronic games, e-mail, Twitter, Facebook, cellphones, and telephones, in varying degrees, limits the total impact of the communication from one person to another. Can one imagine the messages that a young man and woman would get should the beau propose marriage to his girl over some electronic media, versus doing it in person while holding her hand! Absent would be the smell of her perfume, the cadence of their breathing, the look in both their eyes, the surrounding sounds, the anticipatory expectations, and all the other subtle nuances of the event. And all  the stimuli arising from a personal, face-to-face marriage proposal would have a radically different impact on both their developing brains, versus a proposal made over some electronic media!  And it is the presence of critical, personal stimuli which causes new brain connections to form, many stimuli which would be absent over a cell phone or Twitter.

Back when this counselor was working with mentally ill patients, several professional colleagues in private practice told me how they were doing more “phone counseling and therapy.” Initially, I didn’t know what to make of this, because all my training and experience consisted of dealing with clients face-to-face, either individually or in groups. Phone conversations were to set appointments for direct meetings or other minor issues. Soon, professional journal articles began to appear as to the benefits of this “phone counseling.” I never accepted it, because I always valued all the information I could get by directly observing the client’s body language: pupils in their eyes getting wider or narrower, wringing of hands, perspiring, blushing or blanching, arms defensively crossing, leaning forward or backward, shuffling of feet, smiling or frowning–all non- verbal information important to the situation and permanently being inscribed on their brains in their intellectual and emotional systems. None of this would have been available to me or them over a phone or on Facebook.

Therapy consists of helping clients develop “corrective” programs in their thinking, feeling, and behaving brains, trying to overcome and replace “bad” programs that they learned in earlier years–or never were taught in the first place! Now, imagine a child brought up on a steady diet of electronic media communication–to the neglect of interpersonal, intimate interaction with others. Such a child arriving at post-age 25 adulthood would be quite sophisticated in the electronic media world, but would be less capable in other important areas of life. Imagine a person whose spelling lessons were from Twitter only, or whose math ability always required the use of a computer!

The Dana Foundation, an organization advancing brain research, found that the human brain continues to develop its “wiring” diagram well into the mid twenties. The most affected areas of the brain are the frontal lobes, which are critical to the development of high level cognitive skills, such as judgement, intellectual capabilities, and the regulation of emotions. And a Kaiser Foundation study noted that high school students spent about 6.5 hours per day on their computers, supposedly studying, but actually two-thirds of that time was spent on other things, such as playing games, cruising the internet, etc. These students became very good at multi-tasking, but became superficial in many important behavioral skills, and the learning quality was not good. They were spending too much time in front of a media screen, communicating with their friends electronically.

A review of several studies indicates the following results in people who have spent too much time with electronic media:

1. There is depersonalization (lack of empathy) from limited direct contact with people. They often don’t have a good sense of what society’s normal behavior is.
2. They communicate more often– but the quality of their communication is weaker.
3. Kids who spend too much time in front of a media screen, communicating with their friends, rather than being with them personally, are less likely to understand emotions, don’t create strong relationships, and tend to become more dependent on others.
4. Because kids need to be hugged and touched a lot instead of being texted, their overuse of technology directly affects their brain development.
5. The more children interact with others through electronic media, rather than in person, their emotions are connected to the media exchange itself, resulting in a deficit in intimacy need fulfillment.
6. Social media communication makes it easy to “hide”, while still appearing to be okay.
7. Cellphone usage while driving is like driving drunk
8. Technology and screen time rewires brains in certain patterns that can inhibit the development of brain neurological circuits that control more traditional learning, such as reading, writing and arithmetic skills. Any attention deficit disorder causes here?
9. In a 2011 study girls sent about 4000 texts per month, while boys sent around 2800. It doesn’t take much speculation to imagine what that is doing to their developing brains. Not being in substantial, direct contact with others during childhood, rather than being with them personally, makes people less likely to understand emotions, less able to create strong relationships, and tending  to become more dependent on others.

 

Summing all this up shows that parents need to use good sense in allowing their children in the use of all these modern media devices. Obviously there are benefits to learning their use, however, it is abundantly clear that nothing should interfere with also exposing them to an abundance of social interactions;  reading books, magazines, newspapers, and other printed materials where proper English is used; exposure to stimulating conversations face to face; and developing the other skills outlined in this book.

All new inventions and technical advances promote the growth of the human race in many ways. Yet, there is always a downside, or unintended consequences, to these advances. If we were all robots there would be few problems, but the hard reality is we all possess a brain that has been pretty much the same for thousands of years. And this brain, while capable of marvelous things when properly programmed, still requires a lot of good, old-fashioned learning. Make sure your children get it all.

 

( If you like this article, the book to which this article is an addition is available on amazon.com. The reviews have been very favorable. Check them out. You won’t find a book like this one.)

ADDENDUM TO CHAPTER 15 IN JOE’S BOOK, “HOW TO RAISE SUCCESSFUL CHILDREN”  — Joe Wilkins, Copyright © 2015

 

When I wrote the above book, I was not fully aware of the pervasiveness of the electronic media on all our lives. Since the early 1950’s my generation was initially aware of how television was interrupting the study habits of some of our school children, and how many of us had curtailed our reading habits in favor of getting our information and entertainment from television instead. However, in those days it was not  a major problem, and was in fact considered to be a blessing, freeing us from some degree of tediousness and boredom in those who suffered from humdrum lives.

However, in recent years there has been an explosion of electronic devices, beyond the simple television set: cell phones, video games, earphone players, laptops, i-pads, tablets, and numerous other instruments that are quickly becoming integral parts of our lives. In and of themselves, these devices are good for the advancement of civilization–if we use them properly. Communication is easier and faster. Research about particular topics has been greatly facilitated by the availability of the Internet. Commerce, advertising, and shopping can be conducted from home. The future of our technology seems so wonderful that some believe it will promote a world with little or no limits.

Some of these positive dreams will happen, but like with all technology there will be some prices to pay. This article is to up-date my readers with some cautionary considerations with which they may not be aware, and which are especially important for child-rearing parents to know.

In Chapters 4,5,and 6 of my book we discussed, respectively, Thinking, Emotional, and Behavioral/Social skill development in children. Many experts believe that the earliest years, ages 0 to 6, are the most important, setting the stage for the years leading to the teens and adulthood. Everyone is aware of the many trials of the teenage years, but after a few years of awkward growth and development, ending at about age eighteen or so, most people progress on into the adult world feeling they have most of what they need to pursue their life goals. About all else they think will be needed is education to prepare them for specific jobs or careers, usually at college, technical training, or on-the-job instruction.

However, recent neurological and psychological research has now demonstrated that what we used to believe about human growth and development was a book without an ending. There is now a final chapter being written, which we can tentatively title, “The Human Brain Does Not Stop Growing Until About Age 25, Or Thereabouts!” What is being discovered is that parts of the brain continue to grow, developing its unique wiring diagram of neuron connections until the mid-twenties. And the most affected part of the brain is the pre-frontal cortex, where most of our “higher civilization” skills are developed–skills such as rational thinking, socialization, complex abstract reasoning, and other neurological growths that go to produce competent, productive adults.

So what, one may ask, does all this have to do with modern media devices? The crux of the situation is this: the development of certain critical  parts of the brain require extensive face-to-face communication and socialization among children, from birth until the mid twenties. The brain is not finished growing as soon as the child graduates from high school–or college! And the pervasive use of cell phones, i-pads, computers, and other electronic media by developing children and young adults, inhibits the development of those parts of the brain necessary to becoming a complete person!

One may legitimately ask how does being overly involved in the use of  electronic media inhibit the brain from developing to its maximum? It’s a complicated process, but avoiding direct communication with others limits face-to-face interaction, obscures the ability to observe body language, pick up subtle inflections in family and social situations, and other sophisticated nuances that families, tribes, schools, communities, and countries require of our citizens.

Almost all electronic involvement  on computers, the internet, electronic games, e-mail, Twitter, Facebook, cellphones, and telephones, in varying degrees, limits the total impact of the communication from one person to another. Can one imagine the messages that a young man and woman would get should the beau propose marriage to his girl over some electronic media, versus doing it in person while holding her hand! Absent would be the smell of her perfume, the cadence of their breathing, the look in both their eyes, the surrounding sounds, the anticipatory expectations, and all the other subtle nuances of the event. And all  the stimuli arising from a personal, face-to-face marriage proposal would have a radically different impact on both their developing brains, versus a proposal made over some electronic media!  And it is the presence of critical, personal stimuli which causes new brain connections to form, many stimuli which would be absent over a cell phone or Twitter.

Back when this counselor was working with mentally ill patients, several professional colleagues in private practice told me how they were doing more “phone counseling and therapy.” Initially, I didn’t know what to make of this, because all my training and experience consisted of dealing with clients face-to-face, either individually or in groups. Phone conversations were to set appointments for direct meetings or other minor issues. Soon, professional journal articles began to appear as to the benefits of this “phone counseling.” I never accepted it, because I always valued all the information I could get by directly observing the client’s body language: pupils in their eyes getting wider or narrower, wringing of hands, perspiring, blushing or blanching, arms defensively crossing, leaning forward or backward, shuffling of feet, smiling or frowning–all non- verbal information important to the situation and permanently being inscribed on their brains in their intellectual and emotional systems. None of this would have been available to me or them over a phone or on Facebook.

Therapy consists of helping clients develop “corrective” programs in their thinking, feeling, and behaving brains, trying to overcome and replace “bad” programs that they learned in earlier years–or never were taught in the first place! Now, imagine a child brought up on a steady diet of electronic media communication–to the neglect of interpersonal, intimate interaction with others. Such a child arriving at post-age 25 adulthood would be quite sophisticated in the electronic media world, but would be less capable in other important areas of life. Imagine a person whose spelling lessons were from Twitter only, or whose math ability always required the use of a computer!

The Dana Foundation, an organization advancing brain research, found that the human brain continues to develop its “wiring” diagram well into the mid twenties. The most affected areas of the brain are the frontal lobes, which are critical to the development of high level cognitive skills, such as judgement, intellectual capabilities, and the regulation of emotions. And a Kaiser Foundation study noted that high school students spent about 6.5 hours per day on their computers, supposedly studying, but actually two-thirds of that time was spent on other things, such as playing games, cruising the internet, etc. These students became very good at multi-tasking, but became superficial in many important behavioral skills, and the learning quality was not good. They were spending too much time in front of a media screen, communicating with their friends electronically.

A review of several studies indicates the following results in people who have spent too much time with electronic media:

1. There is depersonalization (lack of empathy) from limited direct contact with people. They often don’t have a good sense of what society’s normal behavior is.
2. They communicate more often– but the quality of their communication is weaker.
3. Kids who spend too much time in front of a media screen, communicating with their friends, rather than being with them personally, are less likely to understand emotions, don’t create strong relationships, and tend to become more dependent on others.
4. Because kids need to be hugged and touched a lot instead of being texted, their overuse of technology directly affects their brain development.
5. The more children interact with others through electronic media, rather than in person, their emotions are connected to the media exchange itself, resulting in a deficit in intimacy need fulfillment.
6. Social media communication makes it easy to “hide”, while still appearing to be okay.
7. Cellphone usage while driving is like driving drunk
8. Technology and screen time rewires brains in certain patterns that can inhibit the development of brain neurological circuits that control more traditional learning, such as reading, writing and arithmetic skills. Any attention deficit disorder causes here?
9. In a 2011 study girls sent about 4000 texts per month, while boys sent around 2800. It doesn’t take much speculation to imagine what that is doing to their developing brains. Not being in substantial, direct contact with others during childhood, rather than being with them personally, makes people less likely to understand emotions, less able to create strong relationships, and tending  to become more dependent on others.

 

Summing all this up shows that parents need to use good sense in allowing their children in the use of all these modern media devices. Obviously there are benefits to learning their use, however, it is abundantly clear that nothing should interfere with also exposing them to an abundance of social interactions;  reading books, magazines, newspapers, and other printed materials where proper English is used; exposure to stimulating conversations face to face; and developing the other skills outlined in this book.

All new inventions and technical advances promote the growth of the human race in many ways. Yet, there is always a downside, or unintended consequences, to these advances. If we were all robots there would be few problems, but the hard reality is we all possess a brain that has been pretty much the same for thousands of years. And this brain, while capable of marvelous things when properly programmed, still requires a lot of good, old-fashioned learning. Make sure your children get it all.

 

( If you like this article, the book to which this article is an addition is available on amazon.com. The reviews have been very favorable. Check them out. You won’t find a book like this one.)

ADDENDUM TO CHAPTER 15 IN JOE’S BOOK, “HOW TO RAISE SUCCESSFUL CHILDREN”  — Joe Wilkins, Copyright © 2015

 

When I wrote the above book, I was not fully aware of the pervasiveness of the electronic media on all our lives. Since the early 1950’s my generation was initially aware of how television was interrupting the study habits of some of our school children, and how many of us had curtailed our reading habits in favor of getting our information and entertainment from television instead. However, in those days it was not  a major problem, and was in fact considered to be a blessing, freeing us from some degree of tediousness and boredom in those who suffered from humdrum lives.

However, in recent years there has been an explosion of electronic devices, beyond the simple television set: cell phones, video games, earphone players, laptops, i-pads, tablets, and numerous other instruments that are quickly becoming integral parts of our lives. In and of themselves, these devices are good for the advancement of civilization–if we use them properly. Communication is easier and faster. Research about particular topics has been greatly facilitated by the availability of the Internet. Commerce, advertising, and shopping can be conducted from home. The future of our technology seems so wonderful that some believe it will promote a world with little or no limits.

Some of these positive dreams will happen, but like with all technology there will be some prices to pay. This article is to up-date my readers with some cautionary considerations with which they may not be aware, and which are especially important for child-rearing parents to know.

In Chapters 4,5,and 6 of my book we discussed, respectively, Thinking, Emotional, and Behavioral/Social skill development in children. Many experts believe that the earliest years, ages 0 to 6, are the most important, setting the stage for the years leading to the teens and adulthood. Everyone is aware of the many trials of the teenage years, but after a few years of awkward growth and development, ending at about age eighteen or so, most people progress on into the adult world feeling they have most of what they need to pursue their life goals. About all else they think will be needed is education to prepare them for specific jobs or careers, usually at college, technical training, or on-the-job instruction.

However, recent neurological and psychological research has now demonstrated that what we used to believe about human growth and development was a book without an ending. There is now a final chapter being written, which we can tentatively title, “The Human Brain Does Not Stop Growing Until About Age 25, Or Thereabouts!” What is being discovered is that parts of the brain continue to grow, developing its unique wiring diagram of neuron connections until the mid-twenties. And the most affected part of the brain is the pre-frontal cortex, where most of our “higher civilization” skills are developed–skills such as rational thinking, socialization, complex abstract reasoning, and other neurological growths that go to produce competent, productive adults.

So what, one may ask, does all this have to do with modern media devices? The crux of the situation is this: the development of certain critical  parts of the brain require extensive face-to-face communication and socialization among children, from birth until the mid twenties. The brain is not finished growing as soon as the child graduates from high school–or college! And the pervasive use of cell phones, i-pads, computers, and other electronic media by developing children and young adults, inhibits the development of those parts of the brain necessary to becoming a complete person!

One may legitimately ask how does being overly involved in the use of  electronic media inhibit the brain from developing to its maximum? It’s a complicated process, but avoiding direct communication with others limits face-to-face interaction, obscures the ability to observe body language, pick up subtle inflections in family and social situations, and other sophisticated nuances that families, tribes, schools, communities, and countries require of our citizens.

Almost all electronic involvement  on computers, the internet, electronic games, e-mail, Twitter, Facebook, cellphones, and telephones, in varying degrees, limits the total impact of the communication from one person to another. Can one imagine the messages that a young man and woman would get should the beau propose marriage to his girl over some electronic media, versus doing it in person while holding her hand! Absent would be the smell of her perfume, the cadence of their breathing, the look in both their eyes, the surrounding sounds, the anticipatory expectations, and all the other subtle nuances of the event. And all  the stimuli arising from a personal, face-to-face marriage proposal would have a radically different impact on both their developing brains, versus a proposal made over some electronic media!  And it is the presence of critical, personal stimuli which causes new brain connections to form, many stimuli which would be absent over a cell phone or Twitter.

Back when this counselor was working with mentally ill patients, several professional colleagues in private practice told me how they were doing more “phone counseling and therapy.” Initially, I didn’t know what to make of this, because all my training and experience consisted of dealing with clients face-to-face, either individually or in groups. Phone conversations were to set appointments for direct meetings or other minor issues. Soon, professional journal articles began to appear as to the benefits of this “phone counseling.” I never accepted it, because I always valued all the information I could get by directly observing the client’s body language: pupils in their eyes getting wider or narrower, wringing of hands, perspiring, blushing or blanching, arms defensively crossing, leaning forward or backward, shuffling of feet, smiling or frowning–all non- verbal information important to the situation and permanently being inscribed on their brains in their intellectual and emotional systems. None of this would have been available to me or them over a phone or on Facebook.

Therapy consists of helping clients develop “corrective” programs in their thinking, feeling, and behaving brains, trying to overcome and replace “bad” programs that they learned in earlier years–or never were taught in the first place! Now, imagine a child brought up on a steady diet of electronic media communication–to the neglect of interpersonal, intimate interaction with others. Such a child arriving at post-age 25 adulthood would be quite sophisticated in the electronic media world, but would be less capable in other important areas of life. Imagine a person whose spelling lessons were from Twitter only, or whose math ability always required the use of a computer!

The Dana Foundation, an organization advancing brain research, found that the human brain continues to develop its “wiring” diagram well into the mid twenties. The most affected areas of the brain are the frontal lobes, which are critical to the development of high level cognitive skills, such as judgement, intellectual capabilities, and the regulation of emotions. And a Kaiser Foundation study noted that high school students spent about 6.5 hours per day on their computers, supposedly studying, but actually two-thirds of that time was spent on other things, such as playing games, cruising the internet, etc. These students became very good at multi-tasking, but became superficial in many important behavioral skills, and the learning quality was not good. They were spending too much time in front of a media screen, communicating with their friends electronically.

A review of several studies indicates the following results in people who have spent too much time with electronic media:

1. There is depersonalization (lack of empathy) from limited direct contact with people. They often don’t have a good sense of what society’s normal behavior is.
2. They communicate more often– but the quality of their communication is weaker.
3. Kids who spend too much time in front of a media screen, communicating with their friends, rather than being with them personally, are less likely to understand emotions, don’t create strong relationships, and tend to become more dependent on others.
4. Because kids need to be hugged and touched a lot instead of being texted, their overuse of technology directly affects their brain development.
5. The more children interact with others through electronic media, rather than in person, their emotions are connected to the media exchange itself, resulting in a deficit in intimacy need fulfillment.
6. Social media communication makes it easy to “hide”, while still appearing to be okay.
7. Cellphone usage while driving is like driving drunk
8. Technology and screen time rewires brains in certain patterns that can inhibit the development of brain neurological circuits that control more traditional learning, such as reading, writing and arithmetic skills. Any attention deficit disorder causes here?
9. In a 2011 study girls sent about 4000 texts per month, while boys sent around 2800. It doesn’t take much speculation to imagine what that is doing to their developing brains. Not being in substantial, direct contact with others during childhood, rather than being with them personally, makes people less likely to understand emotions, less able to create strong relationships, and tending  to become more dependent on others.

 

Summing all this up shows that parents need to use good sense in allowing their children in the use of all these modern media devices. Obviously there are benefits to learning their use, however, it is abundantly clear that nothing should interfere with also exposing them to an abundance of social interactions;  reading books, magazines, newspapers, and other printed materials where proper English is used; exposure to stimulating conversations face to face; and developing the other skills outlined in this book.

All new inventions and technical advances promote the growth of the human race in many ways. Yet, there is always a downside, or unintended consequences, to these advances. If we were all robots there would be few problems, but the hard reality is we all possess a brain that has been pretty much the same for thousands of years. And this brain, while capable of marvelous things when properly programmed, still requires a lot of good, old-fashioned learning. Make sure your children get it all.

 

( If you like this article, the book to which this article is an addition is available on amazon.com. The reviews have been very favorable. Check them out. You won’t find a book like this one.)

ADDENDUM TO CHAPTER 15 IN JOE’S BOOK, “HOW TO RAISE SUCCESSFUL CHILDREN”  — Joe Wilkins, Copyright © 2015

 

When I wrote the above book, I was not fully aware of the pervasiveness of the electronic media on all our lives. Since the early 1950’s my generation was initially aware of how television was interrupting the study habits of some of our school children, and how many of us had curtailed our reading habits in favor of getting our information and entertainment from television instead. However, in those days it was not  a major problem, and was in fact considered to be a blessing, freeing us from some degree of tediousness and boredom in those who suffered from humdrum lives.

However, in recent years there has been an explosion of electronic devices, beyond the simple television set: cell phones, video games, earphone players, laptops, i-pads, tablets, and numerous other instruments that are quickly becoming integral parts of our lives. In and of themselves, these devices are good for the advancement of civilization–if we use them properly. Communication is easier and faster. Research about particular topics has been greatly facilitated by the availability of the Internet. Commerce, advertising, and shopping can be conducted from home. The future of our technology seems so wonderful that some believe it will promote a world with little or no limits.

Some of these positive dreams will happen, but like with all technology there will be some prices to pay. This article is to up-date my readers with some cautionary considerations with which they may not be aware, and which are especially important for child-rearing parents to know.

In Chapters 4,5,and 6 of my book we discussed, respectively, Thinking, Emotional, and Behavioral/Social skill development in children. Many experts believe that the earliest years, ages 0 to 6, are the most important, setting the stage for the years leading to the teens and adulthood. Everyone is aware of the many trials of the teenage years, but after a few years of awkward growth and development, ending at about age eighteen or so, most people progress on into the adult world feeling they have most of what they need to pursue their life goals. About all else they think will be needed is education to prepare them for specific jobs or careers, usually at college, technical training, or on-the-job instruction.

However, recent neurological and psychological research has now demonstrated that what we used to believe about human growth and development was a book without an ending. There is now a final chapter being written, which we can tentatively title, “The Human Brain Does Not Stop Growing Until About Age 25, Or Thereabouts!” What is being discovered is that parts of the brain continue to grow, developing its unique wiring diagram of neuron connections until the mid-twenties. And the most affected part of the brain is the pre-frontal cortex, where most of our “higher civilization” skills are developed–skills such as rational thinking, socialization, complex abstract reasoning, and other neurological growths that go to produce competent, productive adults.

So what, one may ask, does all this have to do with modern media devices? The crux of the situation is this: the development of certain critical  parts of the brain require extensive face-to-face communication and socialization among children, from birth until the mid twenties. The brain is not finished growing as soon as the child graduates from high school–or college! And the pervasive use of cell phones, i-pads, computers, and other electronic media by developing children and young adults, inhibits the development of those parts of the brain necessary to becoming a complete person!

One may legitimately ask how does being overly involved in the use of  electronic media inhibit the brain from developing to its maximum? It’s a complicated process, but avoiding direct communication with others limits face-to-face interaction, obscures the ability to observe body language, pick up subtle inflections in family and social situations, and other sophisticated nuances that families, tribes, schools, communities, and countries require of our citizens.

Almost all electronic involvement  on computers, the internet, electronic games, e-mail, Twitter, Facebook, cellphones, and telephones, in varying degrees, limits the total impact of the communication from one person to another. Can one imagine the messages that a young man and woman would get should the beau propose marriage to his girl over some electronic media, versus doing it in person while holding her hand! Absent would be the smell of her perfume, the cadence of their breathing, the look in both their eyes, the surrounding sounds, the anticipatory expectations, and all the other subtle nuances of the event. And all  the stimuli arising from a personal, face-to-face marriage proposal would have a radically different impact on both their developing brains, versus a proposal made over some electronic media!  And it is the presence of critical, personal stimuli which causes new brain connections to form, many stimuli which would be absent over a cell phone or Twitter.

Back when this counselor was working with mentally ill patients, several professional colleagues in private practice told me how they were doing more “phone counseling and therapy.” Initially, I didn’t know what to make of this, because all my training and experience consisted of dealing with clients face-to-face, either individually or in groups. Phone conversations were to set appointments for direct meetings or other minor issues. Soon, professional journal articles began to appear as to the benefits of this “phone counseling.” I never accepted it, because I always valued all the information I could get by directly observing the client’s body language: pupils in their eyes getting wider or narrower, wringing of hands, perspiring, blushing or blanching, arms defensively crossing, leaning forward or backward, shuffling of feet, smiling or frowning–all non- verbal information important to the situation and permanently being inscribed on their brains in their intellectual and emotional systems. None of this would have been available to me or them over a phone or on Facebook.

Therapy consists of helping clients develop “corrective” programs in their thinking, feeling, and behaving brains, trying to overcome and replace “bad” programs that they learned in earlier years–or never were taught in the first place! Now, imagine a child brought up on a steady diet of electronic media communication–to the neglect of interpersonal, intimate interaction with others. Such a child arriving at post-age 25 adulthood would be quite sophisticated in the electronic media world, but would be less capable in other important areas of life. Imagine a person whose spelling lessons were from Twitter only, or whose math ability always required the use of a computer!

The Dana Foundation, an organization advancing brain research, found that the human brain continues to develop its “wiring” diagram well into the mid twenties. The most affected areas of the brain are the frontal lobes, which are critical to the development of high level cognitive skills, such as judgement, intellectual capabilities, and the regulation of emotions. And a Kaiser Foundation study noted that high school students spent about 6.5 hours per day on their computers, supposedly studying, but actually two-thirds of that time was spent on other things, such as playing games, cruising the internet, etc. These students became very good at multi-tasking, but became superficial in many important behavioral skills, and the learning quality was not good. They were spending too much time in front of a media screen, communicating with their friends electronically.

A review of several studies indicates the following results in people who have spent too much time with electronic media:

1. There is depersonalization (lack of empathy) from limited direct contact with people. They often don’t have a good sense of what society’s normal behavior is.
2. They communicate more often– but the quality of their communication is weaker.
3. Kids who spend too much time in front of a media screen, communicating with their friends, rather than being with them personally, are less likely to understand emotions, don’t create strong relationships, and tend to become more dependent on others.
4. Because kids need to be hugged and touched a lot instead of being texted, their overuse of technology directly affects their brain development.
5. The more children interact with others through electronic media, rather than in person, their emotions are connected to the media exchange itself, resulting in a deficit in intimacy need fulfillment.
6. Social media communication makes it easy to “hide”, while still appearing to be okay.
7. Cellphone usage while driving is like driving drunk
8. Technology and screen time rewires brains in certain patterns that can inhibit the development of brain neurological circuits that control more traditional learning, such as reading, writing and arithmetic skills. Any attention deficit disorder causes here?
9. In a 2011 study girls sent about 4000 texts per month, while boys sent around 2800. It doesn’t take much speculation to imagine what that is doing to their developing brains. Not being in substantial, direct contact with others during childhood, rather than being with them personally, makes people less likely to understand emotions, less able to create strong relationships, and tending  to become more dependent on others.

 

Summing all this up shows that parents need to use good sense in allowing their children in the use of all these modern media devices. Obviously there are benefits to learning their use, however, it is abundantly clear that nothing should interfere with also exposing them to an abundance of social interactions;  reading books, magazines, newspapers, and other printed materials where proper English is used; exposure to stimulating conversations face to face; and developing the other skills outlined in this book.

All new inventions and technical advances promote the growth of the human race in many ways. Yet, there is always a downside, or unintended consequences, to these advances. If we were all robots there would be few problems, but the hard reality is we all possess a brain that has been pretty much the same for thousands of years. And this brain, while capable of marvelous things when properly programmed, still requires a lot of good, old-fashioned learning. Make sure your children get it all.

 

( If you like this article, the book to which this article is an addition is available on amazon.com. The reviews have been very favorable. Check them out. You won’t find a book like this one.)

ADDENDUM TO CHAPTER 15 IN JOE’S BOOK, “HOW TO RAISE SUCCESSFUL CHILDREN”  — Joe Wilkins, Copyright © 2015

 

When I wrote the above book, I was not fully aware of the pervasiveness of the electronic media on all our lives. Since the early 1950’s my generation was initially aware of how television was interrupting the study habits of some of our school children, and how many of us had curtailed our reading habits in favor of getting our information and entertainment from television instead. However, in those days it was not  a major problem, and was in fact considered to be a blessing, freeing us from some degree of tediousness and boredom in those who suffered from humdrum lives.

However, in recent years there has been an explosion of electronic devices, beyond the simple television set: cell phones, video games, earphone players, laptops, i-pads, tablets, and numerous other instruments that are quickly becoming integral parts of our lives. In and of themselves, these devices are good for the advancement of civilization–if we use them properly. Communication is easier and faster. Research about particular topics has been greatly facilitated by the availability of the Internet. Commerce, advertising, and shopping can be conducted from home. The future of our technology seems so wonderful that some believe it will promote a world with little or no limits.

Some of these positive dreams will happen, but like with all technology there will be some prices to pay. This article is to up-date my readers with some cautionary considerations with which they may not be aware, and which are especially important for child-rearing parents to know.

In Chapters 4,5,and 6 of my book we discussed, respectively, Thinking, Emotional, and Behavioral/Social skill development in children. Many experts believe that the earliest years, ages 0 to 6, are the most important, setting the stage for the years leading to the teens and adulthood. Everyone is aware of the many trials of the teenage years, but after a few years of awkward growth and development, ending at about age eighteen or so, most people progress on into the adult world feeling they have most of what they need to pursue their life goals. About all else they think will be needed is education to prepare them for specific jobs or careers, usually at college, technical training, or on-the-job instruction.

However, recent neurological and psychological research has now demonstrated that what we used to believe about human growth and development was a book without an ending. There is now a final chapter being written, which we can tentatively title, “The Human Brain Does Not Stop Growing Until About Age 25, Or Thereabouts!” What is being discovered is that parts of the brain continue to grow, developing its unique wiring diagram of neuron connections until the mid-twenties. And the most affected part of the brain is the pre-frontal cortex, where most of our “higher civilization” skills are developed–skills such as rational thinking, socialization, complex abstract reasoning, and other neurological growths that go to produce competent, productive adults.

So what, one may ask, does all this have to do with modern media devices? The crux of the situation is this: the development of certain critical  parts of the brain require extensive face-to-face communication and socialization among children, from birth until the mid twenties. The brain is not finished growing as soon as the child graduates from high school–or college! And the pervasive use of cell phones, i-pads, computers, and other electronic media by developing children and young adults, inhibits the development of those parts of the brain necessary to becoming a complete person!

One may legitimately ask how does being overly involved in the use of  electronic media inhibit the brain from developing to its maximum? It’s a complicated process, but avoiding direct communication with others limits face-to-face interaction, obscures the ability to observe body language, pick up subtle inflections in family and social situations, and other sophisticated nuances that families, tribes, schools, communities, and countries require of our citizens.

Almost all electronic involvement  on computers, the internet, electronic games, e-mail, Twitter, Facebook, cellphones, and telephones, in varying degrees, limits the total impact of the communication from one person to another. Can one imagine the messages that a young man and woman would get should the beau propose marriage to his girl over some electronic media, versus doing it in person while holding her hand! Absent would be the smell of her perfume, the cadence of their breathing, the look in both their eyes, the surrounding sounds, the anticipatory expectations, and all the other subtle nuances of the event. And all  the stimuli arising from a personal, face-to-face marriage proposal would have a radically different impact on both their developing brains, versus a proposal made over some electronic media!  And it is the presence of critical, personal stimuli which causes new brain connections to form, many stimuli which would be absent over a cell phone or Twitter.

Back when this counselor was working with mentally ill patients, several professional colleagues in private practice told me how they were doing more “phone counseling and therapy.” Initially, I didn’t know what to make of this, because all my training and experience consisted of dealing with clients face-to-face, either individually or in groups. Phone conversations were to set appointments for direct meetings or other minor issues. Soon, professional journal articles began to appear as to the benefits of this “phone counseling.” I never accepted it, because I always valued all the information I could get by directly observing the client’s body language: pupils in their eyes getting wider or narrower, wringing of hands, perspiring, blushing or blanching, arms defensively crossing, leaning forward or backward, shuffling of feet, smiling or frowning–all non- verbal information important to the situation and permanently being inscribed on their brains in their intellectual and emotional systems. None of this would have been available to me or them over a phone or on Facebook.

Therapy consists of helping clients develop “corrective” programs in their thinking, feeling, and behaving brains, trying to overcome and replace “bad” programs that they learned in earlier years–or never were taught in the first place! Now, imagine a child brought up on a steady diet of electronic media communication–to the neglect of interpersonal, intimate interaction with others. Such a child arriving at post-age 25 adulthood would be quite sophisticated in the electronic media world, but would be less capable in other important areas of life. Imagine a person whose spelling lessons were from Twitter only, or whose math ability always required the use of a computer!

The Dana Foundation, an organization advancing brain research, found that the human brain continues to develop its “wiring” diagram well into the mid twenties. The most affected areas of the brain are the frontal lobes, which are critical to the development of high level cognitive skills, such as judgement, intellectual capabilities, and the regulation of emotions. And a Kaiser Foundation study noted that high school students spent about 6.5 hours per day on their computers, supposedly studying, but actually two-thirds of that time was spent on other things, such as playing games, cruising the internet, etc. These students became very good at multi-tasking, but became superficial in many important behavioral skills, and the learning quality was not good. They were spending too much time in front of a media screen, communicating with their friends electronically.

A review of several studies indicates the following results in people who have spent too much time with electronic media:

1. There is depersonalization (lack of empathy) from limited direct contact with people. They often don’t have a good sense of what society’s normal behavior is.
2. They communicate more often– but the quality of their communication is weaker.
3. Kids who spend too much time in front of a media screen, communicating with their friends, rather than being with them personally, are less likely to understand emotions, don’t create strong relationships, and tend to become more dependent on others.
4. Because kids need to be hugged and touched a lot instead of being texted, their overuse of technology directly affects their brain development.
5. The more children interact with others through electronic media, rather than in person, their emotions are connected to the media exchange itself, resulting in a deficit in intimacy need fulfillment.
6. Social media communication makes it easy to “hide”, while still appearing to be okay.
7. Cellphone usage while driving is like driving drunk
8. Technology and screen time rewires brains in certain patterns that can inhibit the development of brain neurological circuits that control more traditional learning, such as reading, writing and arithmetic skills. Any attention deficit disorder causes here?
9. In a 2011 study girls sent about 4000 texts per month, while boys sent around 2800. It doesn’t take much speculation to imagine what that is doing to their developing brains. Not being in substantial, direct contact with others during childhood, rather than being with them personally, makes people less likely to understand emotions, less able to create strong relationships, and tending  to become more dependent on others.

 

Summing all this up shows that parents need to use good sense in allowing their children in the use of all these modern media devices. Obviously there are benefits to learning their use, however, it is abundantly clear that nothing should interfere with also exposing them to an abundance of social interactions;  reading books, magazines, newspapers, and other printed materials where proper English is used; exposure to stimulating conversations face to face; and developing the other skills outlined in this book.

All new inventions and technical advances promote the growth of the human race in many ways. Yet, there is always a downside, or unintended consequences, to these advances. If we were all robots there would be few problems, but the hard reality is we all possess a brain that has been pretty much the same for thousands of years. And this brain, while capable of marvelous things when properly programmed, still requires a lot of good, old-fashioned learning. Make sure your children get it all.

 

( If you like this article, the book to which this article is an addition is available on amazon.com. The reviews have been very favorable. Check them out. You won’t find a book like this one.)

ADDENDUM TO CHAPTER 15 IN JOE’S BOOK, “HOW TO RAISE SUCCESSFUL CHILDREN”  — Joe Wilkins, Copyright © 2015

 

When I wrote the above book, I was not fully aware of the pervasiveness of the electronic media on all our lives. Since the early 1950’s my generation was initially aware of how television was interrupting the study habits of some of our school children, and how many of us had curtailed our reading habits in favor of getting our information and entertainment from television instead. However, in those days it was not  a major problem, and was in fact considered to be a blessing, freeing us from some degree of tediousness and boredom in those who suffered from humdrum lives.

However, in recent years there has been an explosion of electronic devices, beyond the simple television set: cell phones, video games, earphone players, laptops, i-pads, tablets, and numerous other instruments that are quickly becoming integral parts of our lives. In and of themselves, these devices are good for the advancement of civilization–if we use them properly. Communication is easier and faster. Research about particular topics has been greatly facilitated by the availability of the Internet. Commerce, advertising, and shopping can be conducted from home. The future of our technology seems so wonderful that some believe it will promote a world with little or no limits.

Some of these positive dreams will happen, but like with all technology there will be some prices to pay. This article is to up-date my readers with some cautionary considerations with which they may not be aware, and which are especially important for child-rearing parents to know.

In Chapters 4,5,and 6 of my book we discussed, respectively, Thinking, Emotional, and Behavioral/Social skill development in children. Many experts believe that the earliest years, ages 0 to 6, are the most important, setting the stage for the years leading to the teens and adulthood. Everyone is aware of the many trials of the teenage years, but after a few years of awkward growth and development, ending at about age eighteen or so, most people progress on into the adult world feeling they have most of what they need to pursue their life goals. About all else they think will be needed is education to prepare them for specific jobs or careers, usually at college, technical training, or on-the-job instruction.

However, recent neurological and psychological research has now demonstrated that what we used to believe about human growth and development was a book without an ending. There is now a final chapter being written, which we can tentatively title, “The Human Brain Does Not Stop Growing Until About Age 25, Or Thereabouts!” What is being discovered is that parts of the brain continue to grow, developing its unique wiring diagram of neuron connections until the mid-twenties. And the most affected part of the brain is the pre-frontal cortex, where most of our “higher civilization” skills are developed–skills such as rational thinking, socialization, complex abstract reasoning, and other neurological growths that go to produce competent, productive adults.

So what, one may ask, does all this have to do with modern media devices? The crux of the situation is this: the development of certain critical  parts of the brain require extensive face-to-face communication and socialization among children, from birth until the mid twenties. The brain is not finished growing as soon as the child graduates from high school–or college! And the pervasive use of cell phones, i-pads, computers, and other electronic media by developing children and young adults, inhibits the development of those parts of the brain necessary to becoming a complete person!

One may legitimately ask how does being overly involved in the use of  electronic media inhibit the brain from developing to its maximum? It’s a complicated process, but avoiding direct communication with others limits face-to-face interaction, obscures the ability to observe body language, pick up subtle inflections in family and social situations, and other sophisticated nuances that families, tribes, schools, communities, and countries require of our citizens.

Almost all electronic involvement  on computers, the internet, electronic games, e-mail, Twitter, Facebook, cellphones, and telephones, in varying degrees, limits the total impact of the communication from one person to another. Can one imagine the messages that a young man and woman would get should the beau propose marriage to his girl over some electronic media, versus doing it in person while holding her hand! Absent would be the smell of her perfume, the cadence of their breathing, the look in both their eyes, the surrounding sounds, the anticipatory expectations, and all the other subtle nuances of the event. And all  the stimuli arising from a personal, face-to-face marriage proposal would have a radically different impact on both their developing brains, versus a proposal made over some electronic media!  And it is the presence of critical, personal stimuli which causes new brain connections to form, many stimuli which would be absent over a cell phone or Twitter.

Back when this counselor was working with mentally ill patients, several professional colleagues in private practice told me how they were doing more “phone counseling and therapy.” Initially, I didn’t know what to make of this, because all my training and experience consisted of dealing with clients face-to-face, either individually or in groups. Phone conversations were to set appointments for direct meetings or other minor issues. Soon, professional journal articles began to appear as to the benefits of this “phone counseling.” I never accepted it, because I always valued all the information I could get by directly observing the client’s body language: pupils in their eyes getting wider or narrower, wringing of hands, perspiring, blushing or blanching, arms defensively crossing, leaning forward or backward, shuffling of feet, smiling or frowning–all non- verbal information important to the situation and permanently being inscribed on their brains in their intellectual and emotional systems. None of this would have been available to me or them over a phone or on Facebook.

Therapy consists of helping clients develop “corrective” programs in their thinking, feeling, and behaving brains, trying to overcome and replace “bad” programs that they learned in earlier years–or never were taught in the first place! Now, imagine a child brought up on a steady diet of electronic media communication–to the neglect of interpersonal, intimate interaction with others. Such a child arriving at post-age 25 adulthood would be quite sophisticated in the electronic media world, but would be less capable in other important areas of life. Imagine a person whose spelling lessons were from Twitter only, or whose math ability always required the use of a computer!

The Dana Foundation, an organization advancing brain research, found that the human brain continues to develop its “wiring” diagram well into the mid twenties. The most affected areas of the brain are the frontal lobes, which are critical to the development of high level cognitive skills, such as judgement, intellectual capabilities, and the regulation of emotions. And a Kaiser Foundation study noted that high school students spent about 6.5 hours per day on their computers, supposedly studying, but actually two-thirds of that time was spent on other things, such as playing games, cruising the internet, etc. These students became very good at multi-tasking, but became superficial in many important behavioral skills, and the learning quality was not good. They were spending too much time in front of a media screen, communicating with their friends electronically.

A review of several studies indicates the following results in people who have spent too much time with electronic media:

1. There is depersonalization (lack of empathy) from limited direct contact with people. They often don’t have a good sense of what society’s normal behavior is.
2. They communicate more often– but the quality of their communication is weaker.
3. Kids who spend too much time in front of a media screen, communicating with their friends, rather than being with them personally, are less likely to understand emotions, don’t create strong relationships, and tend to become more dependent on others.
4. Because kids need to be hugged and touched a lot instead of being texted, their overuse of technology directly affects their brain development.
5. The more children interact with others through electronic media, rather than in person, their emotions are connected to the media exchange itself, resulting in a deficit in intimacy need fulfillment.
6. Social media communication makes it easy to “hide”, while still appearing to be okay.
7. Cellphone usage while driving is like driving drunk
8. Technology and screen time rewires brains in certain patterns that can inhibit the development of brain neurological circuits that control more traditional learning, such as reading, writing and arithmetic skills. Any attention deficit disorder causes here?
9. In a 2011 study girls sent about 4000 texts per month, while boys sent around 2800. It doesn’t take much speculation to imagine what that is doing to their developing brains. Not being in substantial, direct contact with others during childhood, rather than being with them personally, makes people less likely to understand emotions, less able to create strong relationships, and tending  to become more dependent on others.

 

Summing all this up shows that parents need to use good sense in allowing their children in the use of all these modern media devices. Obviously there are benefits to learning their use, however, it is abundantly clear that nothing should interfere with also exposing them to an abundance of social interactions;  reading books, magazines, newspapers, and other printed materials where proper English is used; exposure to stimulating conversations face to face; and developing the other skills outlined in this book.

All new inventions and technical advances promote the growth of the human race in many ways. Yet, there is always a downside, or unintended consequences, to these advances. If we were all robots there would be few problems, but the hard reality is we all possess a brain that has been pretty much the same for thousands of years. And this brain, while capable of marvelous things when properly programmed, still requires a lot of good, old-fashioned learning. Make sure your children get it all.

 

( If you like this article, the book to which this article is an addition is available on amazon.com. The reviews have been very favorable. Check them out. You won’t find a book like this one.)

ADDENDUM TO CHAPTER 15 IN JOE’S BOOK, “HOW TO RAISE SUCCESSFUL CHILDREN”  — Joe Wilkins, Copyright © 2015

 

When I wrote the above book, I was not fully aware of the pervasiveness of the electronic media on all our lives. Since the early 1950’s my generation was initially aware of how television was interrupting the study habits of some of our school children, and how many of us had curtailed our reading habits in favor of getting our information and entertainment from television instead. However, in those days it was not  a major problem, and was in fact considered to be a blessing, freeing us from some degree of tediousness and boredom in those who suffered from humdrum lives.

However, in recent years there has been an explosion of electronic devices, beyond the simple television set: cell phones, video games, earphone players, laptops, i-pads, tablets, and numerous other instruments that are quickly becoming integral parts of our lives. In and of themselves, these devices are good for the advancement of civilization–if we use them properly. Communication is easier and faster. Research about particular topics has been greatly facilitated by the availability of the Internet. Commerce, advertising, and shopping can be conducted from home. The future of our technology seems so wonderful that some believe it will promote a world with little or no limits.

Some of these positive dreams will happen, but like with all technology there will be some prices to pay. This article is to up-date my readers with some cautionary considerations with which they may not be aware, and which are especially important for child-rearing parents to know.

In Chapters 4,5,and 6 of my book we discussed, respectively, Thinking, Emotional, and Behavioral/Social skill development in children. Many experts believe that the earliest years, ages 0 to 6, are the most important, setting the stage for the years leading to the teens and adulthood. Everyone is aware of the many trials of the teenage years, but after a few years of awkward growth and development, ending at about age eighteen or so, most people progress on into the adult world feeling they have most of what they need to pursue their life goals. About all else they think will be needed is education to prepare them for specific jobs or careers, usually at college, technical training, or on-the-job instruction.

However, recent neurological and psychological research has now demonstrated that what we used to believe about human growth and development was a book without an ending. There is now a final chapter being written, which we can tentatively title, “The Human Brain Does Not Stop Growing Until About Age 25, Or Thereabouts!” What is being discovered is that parts of the brain continue to grow, developing its unique wiring diagram of neuron connections until the mid-twenties. And the most affected part of the brain is the pre-frontal cortex, where most of our “higher civilization” skills are developed–skills such as rational thinking, socialization, complex abstract reasoning, and other neurological growths that go to produce competent, productive adults.

So what, one may ask, does all this have to do with modern media devices? The crux of the situation is this: the development of certain critical  parts of the brain require extensive face-to-face communication and socialization among children, from birth until the mid twenties. The brain is not finished growing as soon as the child graduates from high school–or college! And the pervasive use of cell phones, i-pads, computers, and other electronic media by developing children and young adults, inhibits the development of those parts of the brain necessary to becoming a complete person!

One may legitimately ask how does being overly involved in the use of  electronic media inhibit the brain from developing to its maximum? It’s a complicated process, but avoiding direct communication with others limits face-to-face interaction, obscures the ability to observe body language, pick up subtle inflections in family and social situations, and other sophisticated nuances that families, tribes, schools, communities, and countries require of our citizens.

Almost all electronic involvement  on computers, the internet, electronic games, e-mail, Twitter, Facebook, cellphones, and telephones, in varying degrees, limits the total impact of the communication from one person to another. Can one imagine the messages that a young man and woman would get should the beau propose marriage to his girl over some electronic media, versus doing it in person while holding her hand! Absent would be the smell of her perfume, the cadence of their breathing, the look in both their eyes, the surrounding sounds, the anticipatory expectations, and all the other subtle nuances of the event. And all  the stimuli arising from a personal, face-to-face marriage proposal would have a radically different impact on both their developing brains, versus a proposal made over some electronic media!  And it is the presence of critical, personal stimuli which causes new brain connections to form, many stimuli which would be absent over a cell phone or Twitter.

Back when this counselor was working with mentally ill patients, several professional colleagues in private practice told me how they were doing more “phone counseling and therapy.” Initially, I didn’t know what to make of this, because all my training and experience consisted of dealing with clients face-to-face, either individually or in groups. Phone conversations were to set appointments for direct meetings or other minor issues. Soon, professional journal articles began to appear as to the benefits of this “phone counseling.” I never accepted it, because I always valued all the information I could get by directly observing the client’s body language: pupils in their eyes getting wider or narrower, wringing of hands, perspiring, blushing or blanching, arms defensively crossing, leaning forward or backward, shuffling of feet, smiling or frowning–all non- verbal information important to the situation and permanently being inscribed on their brains in their intellectual and emotional systems. None of this would have been available to me or them over a phone or on Facebook.

Therapy consists of helping clients develop “corrective” programs in their thinking, feeling, and behaving brains, trying to overcome and replace “bad” programs that they learned in earlier years–or never were taught in the first place! Now, imagine a child brought up on a steady diet of electronic media communication–to the neglect of interpersonal, intimate interaction with others. Such a child arriving at post-age 25 adulthood would be quite sophisticated in the electronic media world, but would be less capable in other important areas of life. Imagine a person whose spelling lessons were from Twitter only, or whose math ability always required the use of a computer!

The Dana Foundation, an organization advancing brain research, found that the human brain continues to develop its “wiring” diagram well into the mid twenties. The most affected areas of the brain are the frontal lobes, which are critical to the development of high level cognitive skills, such as judgement, intellectual capabilities, and the regulation of emotions. And a Kaiser Foundation study noted that high school students spent about 6.5 hours per day on their computers, supposedly studying, but actually two-thirds of that time was spent on other things, such as playing games, cruising the internet, etc. These students became very good at multi-tasking, but became superficial in many important behavioral skills, and the learning quality was not good. They were spending too much time in front of a media screen, communicating with their friends electronically.

A review of several studies indicates the following results in people who have spent too much time with electronic media:

1. There is depersonalization (lack of empathy) from limited direct contact with people. They often don’t have a good sense of what society’s normal behavior is.
2. They communicate more often– but the quality of their communication is weaker.
3. Kids who spend too much time in front of a media screen, communicating with their friends, rather than being with them personally, are less likely to understand emotions, don’t create strong relationships, and tend to become more dependent on others.
4. Because kids need to be hugged and touched a lot instead of being texted, their overuse of technology directly affects their brain development.
5. The more children interact with others through electronic media, rather than in person, their emotions are connected to the media exchange itself, resulting in a deficit in intimacy need fulfillment.
6. Social media communication makes it easy to “hide”, while still appearing to be okay.
7. Cellphone usage while driving is like driving drunk
8. Technology and screen time rewires brains in certain patterns that can inhibit the development of brain neurological circuits that control more traditional learning, such as reading, writing and arithmetic skills. Any attention deficit disorder causes here?
9. In a 2011 study girls sent about 4000 texts per month, while boys sent around 2800. It doesn’t take much speculation to imagine what that is doing to their developing brains. Not being in substantial, direct contact with others during childhood, rather than being with them personally, makes people less likely to understand emotions, less able to create strong relationships, and tending  to become more dependent on others.

 

Summing all this up shows that parents need to use good sense in allowing their children in the use of all these modern media devices. Obviously there are benefits to learning their use, however, it is abundantly clear that nothing should interfere with also exposing them to an abundance of social interactions;  reading books, magazines, newspapers, and other printed materials where proper English is used; exposure to stimulating conversations face to face; and developing the other skills outlined in this book.

All new inventions and technical advances promote the growth of the human race in many ways. Yet, there is always a downside, or unintended consequences, to these advances. If we were all robots there would be few problems, but the hard reality is we all possess a brain that has been pretty much the same for thousands of years. And this brain, while capable of marvelous things when properly programmed, still requires a lot of good, old-fashioned learning. Make sure your children get it all.

 

( If you like this article, the book to which this article is an addition is available on amazon.com. The reviews have been very favorable. Check them out. You won’t find a book like this one.)

ADDENDUM TO CHAPTER 15 IN JOE’S BOOK, “HOW TO RAISE SUCCESSFUL CHILDREN”  — Joe Wilkins, Copyright © 2015

 

When I wrote the above book, I was not fully aware of the pervasiveness of the electronic media on all our lives. Since the early 1950’s my generation was initially aware of how television was interrupting the study habits of some of our school children, and how many of us had curtailed our reading habits in favor of getting our information and entertainment from television instead. However, in those days it was not  a major problem, and was in fact considered to be a blessing, freeing us from some degree of tediousness and boredom in those who suffered from humdrum lives.

However, in recent years there has been an explosion of electronic devices, beyond the simple television set: cell phones, video games, earphone players, laptops, i-pads, tablets, and numerous other instruments that are quickly becoming integral parts of our lives. In and of themselves, these devices are good for the advancement of civilization–if we use them properly. Communication is easier and faster. Research about particular topics has been greatly facilitated by the availability of the Internet. Commerce, advertising, and shopping can be conducted from home. The future of our technology seems so wonderful that some believe it will promote a world with little or no limits.

Some of these positive dreams will happen, but like with all technology there will be some prices to pay. This article is to up-date my readers with some cautionary considerations with which they may not be aware, and which are especially important for child-rearing parents to know.

In Chapters 4,5,and 6 of my book we discussed, respectively, Thinking, Emotional, and Behavioral/Social skill development in children. Many experts believe that the earliest years, ages 0 to 6, are the most important, setting the stage for the years leading to the teens and adulthood. Everyone is aware of the many trials of the teenage years, but after a few years of awkward growth and development, ending at about age eighteen or so, most people progress on into the adult world feeling they have most of what they need to pursue their life goals. About all else they think will be needed is education to prepare them for specific jobs or careers, usually at college, technical training, or on-the-job instruction.

However, recent neurological and psychological research has now demonstrated that what we used to believe about human growth and development was a book without an ending. There is now a final chapter being written, which we can tentatively title, “The Human Brain Does Not Stop Growing Until About Age 25, Or Thereabouts!” What is being discovered is that parts of the brain continue to grow, developing its unique wiring diagram of neuron connections until the mid-twenties. And the most affected part of the brain is the pre-frontal cortex, where most of our “higher civilization” skills are developed–skills such as rational thinking, socialization, complex abstract reasoning, and other neurological growths that go to produce competent, productive adults.

So what, one may ask, does all this have to do with modern media devices? The crux of the situation is this: the development of certain critical  parts of the brain require extensive face-to-face communication and socialization among children, from birth until the mid twenties. The brain is not finished growing as soon as the child graduates from high school–or college! And the pervasive use of cell phones, i-pads, computers, and other electronic media by developing children and young adults, inhibits the development of those parts of the brain necessary to becoming a complete person!

One may legitimately ask how does being overly involved in the use of  electronic media inhibit the brain from developing to its maximum? It’s a complicated process, but avoiding direct communication with others limits face-to-face interaction, obscures the ability to observe body language, pick up subtle inflections in family and social situations, and other sophisticated nuances that families, tribes, schools, communities, and countries require of our citizens.

Almost all electronic involvement  on computers, the internet, electronic games, e-mail, Twitter, Facebook, cellphones, and telephones, in varying degrees, limits the total impact of the communication from one person to another. Can one imagine the messages that a young man and woman would get should the beau propose marriage to his girl over some electronic media, versus doing it in person while holding her hand! Absent would be the smell of her perfume, the cadence of their breathing, the look in both their eyes, the surrounding sounds, the anticipatory expectations, and all the other subtle nuances of the event. And all  the stimuli arising from a personal, face-to-face marriage proposal would have a radically different impact on both their developing brains, versus a proposal made over some electronic media!  And it is the presence of critical, personal stimuli which causes new brain connections to form, many stimuli which would be absent over a cell phone or Twitter.

Back when this counselor was working with mentally ill patients, several professional colleagues in private practice told me how they were doing more “phone counseling and therapy.” Initially, I didn’t know what to make of this, because all my training and experience consisted of dealing with clients face-to-face, either individually or in groups. Phone conversations were to set appointments for direct meetings or other minor issues. Soon, professional journal articles began to appear as to the benefits of this “phone counseling.” I never accepted it, because I always valued all the information I could get by directly observing the client’s body language: pupils in their eyes getting wider or narrower, wringing of hands, perspiring, blushing or blanching, arms defensively crossing, leaning forward or backward, shuffling of feet, smiling or frowning–all non- verbal information important to the situation and permanently being inscribed on their brains in their intellectual and emotional systems. None of this would have been available to me or them over a phone or on Facebook.

Therapy consists of helping clients develop “corrective” programs in their thinking, feeling, and behaving brains, trying to overcome and replace “bad” programs that they learned in earlier years–or never were taught in the first place! Now, imagine a child brought up on a steady diet of electronic media communication–to the neglect of interpersonal, intimate interaction with others. Such a child arriving at post-age 25 adulthood would be quite sophisticated in the electronic media world, but would be less capable in other important areas of life. Imagine a person whose spelling lessons were from Twitter only, or whose math ability always required the use of a computer!

The Dana Foundation, an organization advancing brain research, found that the human brain continues to develop its “wiring” diagram well into the mid twenties. The most affected areas of the brain are the frontal lobes, which are critical to the development of high level cognitive skills, such as judgement, intellectual capabilities, and the regulation of emotions. And a Kaiser Foundation study noted that high school students spent about 6.5 hours per day on their computers, supposedly studying, but actually two-thirds of that time was spent on other things, such as playing games, cruising the internet, etc. These students became very good at multi-tasking, but became superficial in many important behavioral skills, and the learning quality was not good. They were spending too much time in front of a media screen, communicating with their friends electronically.

A review of several studies indicates the following results in people who have spent too much time with electronic media:

1. There is depersonalization (lack of empathy) from limited direct contact with people. They often don’t have a good sense of what society’s normal behavior is.
2. They communicate more often– but the quality of their communication is weaker.
3. Kids who spend too much time in front of a media screen, communicating with their friends, rather than being with them personally, are less likely to understand emotions, don’t create strong relationships, and tend to become more dependent on others.
4. Because kids need to be hugged and touched a lot instead of being texted, their overuse of technology directly affects their brain development.
5. The more children interact with others through electronic media, rather than in person, their emotions are connected to the media exchange itself, resulting in a deficit in intimacy need fulfillment.
6. Social media communication makes it easy to “hide”, while still appearing to be okay.
7. Cellphone usage while driving is like driving drunk
8. Technology and screen time rewires brains in certain patterns that can inhibit the development of brain neurological circuits that control more traditional learning, such as reading, writing and arithmetic skills. Any attention deficit disorder causes here?
9. In a 2011 study girls sent about 4000 texts per month, while boys sent around 2800. It doesn’t take much speculation to imagine what that is doing to their developing brains. Not being in substantial, direct contact with others during childhood, rather than being with them personally, makes people less likely to understand emotions, less able to create strong relationships, and tending  to become more dependent on others.

 

Summing all this up shows that parents need to use good sense in allowing their children in the use of all these modern media devices. Obviously there are benefits to learning their use, however, it is abundantly clear that nothing should interfere with also exposing them to an abundance of social interactions;  reading books, magazines, newspapers, and other printed materials where proper English is used; exposure to stimulating conversations face to face; and developing the other skills outlined in this book.

All new inventions and technical advances promote the growth of the human race in many ways. Yet, there is always a downside, or unintended consequences, to these advances. If we were all robots there would be few problems, but the hard reality is we all possess a brain that has been pretty much the same for thousands of years. And this brain, while capable of marvelous things when properly programmed, still requires a lot of good, old-fashioned learning. Make sure your children get it all.

 

( If you like this article, the book to which this article is an addition is available on amazon.com. The reviews have been very favorable. Check them out. You won’t find a book like this one.)

ADDENDUM TO CHAPTER 15 IN JOE’S BOOK, “HOW TO RAISE SUCCESSFUL CHILDREN”  — Joe Wilkins, Copyright © 2015

 

When I wrote the above book, I was not fully aware of the pervasiveness of the electronic media on all our lives. Since the early 1950’s my generation was initially aware of how television was interrupting the study habits of some of our school children, and how many of us had curtailed our reading habits in favor of getting our information and entertainment from television instead. However, in those days it was not  a major problem, and was in fact considered to be a blessing, freeing us from some degree of tediousness and boredom in those who suffered from humdrum lives.

However, in recent years there has been an explosion of electronic devices, beyond the simple television set: cell phones, video games, earphone players, laptops, i-pads, tablets, and numerous other instruments that are quickly becoming integral parts of our lives. In and of themselves, these devices are good for the advancement of civilization–if we use them properly. Communication is easier and faster. Research about particular topics has been greatly facilitated by the availability of the Internet. Commerce, advertising, and shopping can be conducted from home. The future of our technology seems so wonderful that some believe it will promote a world with little or no limits.

Some of these positive dreams will happen, but like with all technology there will be some prices to pay. This article is to up-date my readers with some cautionary considerations with which they may not be aware, and which are especially important for child-rearing parents to know.

In Chapters 4,5,and 6 of my book we discussed, respectively, Thinking, Emotional, and Behavioral/Social skill development in children. Many experts believe that the earliest years, ages 0 to 6, are the most important, setting the stage for the years leading to the teens and adulthood. Everyone is aware of the many trials of the teenage years, but after a few years of awkward growth and development, ending at about age eighteen or so, most people progress on into the adult world feeling they have most of what they need to pursue their life goals. About all else they think will be needed is education to prepare them for specific jobs or careers, usually at college, technical training, or on-the-job instruction.

However, recent neurological and psychological research has now demonstrated that what we used to believe about human growth and development was a book without an ending. There is now a final chapter being written, which we can tentatively title, “The Human Brain Does Not Stop Growing Until About Age 25, Or Thereabouts!” What is being discovered is that parts of the brain continue to grow, developing its unique wiring diagram of neuron connections until the mid-twenties. And the most affected part of the brain is the pre-frontal cortex, where most of our “higher civilization” skills are developed–skills such as rational thinking, socialization, complex abstract reasoning, and other neurological growths that go to produce competent, productive adults.

So what, one may ask, does all this have to do with modern media devices? The crux of the situation is this: the development of certain critical  parts of the brain require extensive face-to-face communication and socialization among children, from birth until the mid twenties. The brain is not finished growing as soon as the child graduates from high school–or college! And the pervasive use of cell phones, i-pads, computers, and other electronic media by developing children and young adults, inhibits the development of those parts of the brain necessary to becoming a complete person!

One may legitimately ask how does being overly involved in the use of  electronic media inhibit the brain from developing to its maximum? It’s a complicated process, but avoiding direct communication with others limits face-to-face interaction, obscures the ability to observe body language, pick up subtle inflections in family and social situations, and other sophisticated nuances that families, tribes, schools, communities, and countries require of our citizens.

Almost all electronic involvement  on computers, the internet, electronic games, e-mail, Twitter, Facebook, cellphones, and telephones, in varying degrees, limits the total impact of the communication from one person to another. Can one imagine the messages that a young man and woman would get should the beau propose marriage to his girl over some electronic media, versus doing it in person while holding her hand! Absent would be the smell of her perfume, the cadence of their breathing, the look in both their eyes, the surrounding sounds, the anticipatory expectations, and all the other subtle nuances of the event. And all  the stimuli arising from a personal, face-to-face marriage proposal would have a radically different impact on both their developing brains, versus a proposal made over some electronic media!  And it is the presence of critical, personal stimuli which causes new brain connections to form, many stimuli which would be absent over a cell phone or Twitter.

Back when this counselor was working with mentally ill patients, several professional colleagues in private practice told me how they were doing more “phone counseling and therapy.” Initially, I didn’t know what to make of this, because all my training and experience consisted of dealing with clients face-to-face, either individually or in groups. Phone conversations were to set appointments for direct meetings or other minor issues. Soon, professional journal articles began to appear as to the benefits of this “phone counseling.” I never accepted it, because I always valued all the information I could get by directly observing the client’s body language: pupils in their eyes getting wider or narrower, wringing of hands, perspiring, blushing or blanching, arms defensively crossing, leaning forward or backward, shuffling of feet, smiling or frowning–all non- verbal information important to the situation and permanently being inscribed on their brains in their intellectual and emotional systems. None of this would have been available to me or them over a phone or on Facebook.

Therapy consists of helping clients develop “corrective” programs in their thinking, feeling, and behaving brains, trying to overcome and replace “bad” programs that they learned in earlier years–or never were taught in the first place! Now, imagine a child brought up on a steady diet of electronic media communication–to the neglect of interpersonal, intimate interaction with others. Such a child arriving at post-age 25 adulthood would be quite sophisticated in the electronic media world, but would be less capable in other important areas of life. Imagine a person whose spelling lessons were from Twitter only, or whose math ability always required the use of a computer!

The Dana Foundation, an organization advancing brain research, found that the human brain continues to develop its “wiring” diagram well into the mid twenties. The most affected areas of the brain are the frontal lobes, which are critical to the development of high level cognitive skills, such as judgement, intellectual capabilities, and the regulation of emotions. And a Kaiser Foundation study noted that high school students spent about 6.5 hours per day on their computers, supposedly studying, but actually two-thirds of that time was spent on other things, such as playing games, cruising the internet, etc. These students became very good at multi-tasking, but became superficial in many important behavioral skills, and the learning quality was not good. They were spending too much time in front of a media screen, communicating with their friends electronically.

A review of several studies indicates the following results in people who have spent too much time with electronic media:

1. There is depersonalization (lack of empathy) from limited direct contact with people. They often don’t have a good sense of what society’s normal behavior is.
2. They communicate more often– but the quality of their communication is weaker.
3. Kids who spend too much time in front of a media screen, communicating with their friends, rather than being with them personally, are less likely to understand emotions, don’t create strong relationships, and tend to become more dependent on others.
4. Because kids need to be hugged and touched a lot instead of being texted, their overuse of technology directly affects their brain development.
5. The more children interact with others through electronic media, rather than in person, their emotions are connected to the media exchange itself, resulting in a deficit in intimacy need fulfillment.
6. Social media communication makes it easy to “hide”, while still appearing to be okay.
7. Cellphone usage while driving is like driving drunk
8. Technology and screen time rewires brains in certain patterns that can inhibit the development of brain neurological circuits that control more traditional learning, such as reading, writing and arithmetic skills. Any attention deficit disorder causes here?
9. In a 2011 study girls sent about 4000 texts per month, while boys sent around 2800. It doesn’t take much speculation to imagine what that is doing to their developing brains. Not being in substantial, direct contact with others during childhood, rather than being with them personally, makes people less likely to understand emotions, less able to create strong relationships, and tending  to become more dependent on others.

 

Summing all this up shows that parents need to use good sense in allowing their children in the use of all these modern media devices. Obviously there are benefits to learning their use, however, it is abundantly clear that nothing should interfere with also exposing them to an abundance of social interactions;  reading books, magazines, newspapers, and other printed materials where proper English is used; exposure to stimulating conversations face to face; and developing the other skills outlined in this book.

All new inventions and technical advances promote the growth of the human race in many ways. Yet, there is always a downside, or unintended consequences, to these advances. If we were all robots there would be few problems, but the hard reality is we all possess a brain that has been pretty much the same for thousands of years. And this brain, while capable of marvelous things when properly programmed, still requires a lot of good, old-fashioned learning. Make sure your children get it all.

 

( If you like this article, the book to which this article is an addition is available on amazon.com. The reviews have been very favorable. Check them out. You won’t find a book like this one.)

ADDENDUM TO CHAPTER 15 IN JOE’S BOOK, “HOW TO RAISE SUCCESSFUL CHILDREN”  — Joe Wilkins, Copyright © 2015

 

When I wrote the above book, I was not fully aware of the pervasiveness of the electronic media on all our lives. Since the early 1950’s my generation was initially aware of how television was interrupting the study habits of some of our school children, and how many of us had curtailed our reading habits in favor of getting our information and entertainment from television instead. However, in those days it was not  a major problem, and was in fact considered to be a blessing, freeing us from some degree of tediousness and boredom in those who suffered from humdrum lives.

However, in recent years there has been an explosion of electronic devices, beyond the simple television set: cell phones, video games, earphone players, laptops, i-pads, tablets, and numerous other instruments that are quickly becoming integral parts of our lives. In and of themselves, these devices are good for the advancement of civilization–if we use them properly. Communication is easier and faster. Research about particular topics has been greatly facilitated by the availability of the Internet. Commerce, advertising, and shopping can be conducted from home. The future of our technology seems so wonderful that some believe it will promote a world with little or no limits.

Some of these positive dreams will happen, but like with all technology there will be some prices to pay. This article is to up-date my readers with some cautionary considerations with which they may not be aware, and which are especially important for child-rearing parents to know.

In Chapters 4,5,and 6 of my book we discussed, respectively, Thinking, Emotional, and Behavioral/Social skill development in children. Many experts believe that the earliest years, ages 0 to 6, are the most important, setting the stage for the years leading to the teens and adulthood. Everyone is aware of the many trials of the teenage years, but after a few years of awkward growth and development, ending at about age eighteen or so, most people progress on into the adult world feeling they have most of what they need to pursue their life goals. About all else they think will be needed is education to prepare them for specific jobs or careers, usually at college, technical training, or on-the-job instruction.

However, recent neurological and psychological research has now demonstrated that what we used to believe about human growth and development was a book without an ending. There is now a final chapter being written, which we can tentatively title, “The Human Brain Does Not Stop Growing Until About Age 25, Or Thereabouts!” What is being discovered is that parts of the brain continue to grow, developing its unique wiring diagram of neuron connections until the mid-twenties. And the most affected part of the brain is the pre-frontal cortex, where most of our “higher civilization” skills are developed–skills such as rational thinking, socialization, complex abstract reasoning, and other neurological growths that go to produce competent, productive adults.

So what, one may ask, does all this have to do with modern media devices? The crux of the situation is this: the development of certain critical  parts of the brain require extensive face-to-face communication and socialization among children, from birth until the mid twenties. The brain is not finished growing as soon as the child graduates from high school–or college! And the pervasive use of cell phones, i-pads, computers, and other electronic media by developing children and young adults, inhibits the development of those parts of the brain necessary to becoming a complete person!

One may legitimately ask how does being overly involved in the use of  electronic media inhibit the brain from developing to its maximum? It’s a complicated process, but avoiding direct communication with others limits face-to-face interaction, obscures the ability to observe body language, pick up subtle inflections in family and social situations, and other sophisticated nuances that families, tribes, schools, communities, and countries require of our citizens.

Almost all electronic involvement  on computers, the internet, electronic games, e-mail, Twitter, Facebook, cellphones, and telephones, in varying degrees, limits the total impact of the communication from one person to another. Can one imagine the messages that a young man and woman would get should the beau propose marriage to his girl over some electronic media, versus doing it in person while holding her hand! Absent would be the smell of her perfume, the cadence of their breathing, the look in both their eyes, the surrounding sounds, the anticipatory expectations, and all the other subtle nuances of the event. And all  the stimuli arising from a personal, face-to-face marriage proposal would have a radically different impact on both their developing brains, versus a proposal made over some electronic media!  And it is the presence of critical, personal stimuli which causes new brain connections to form, many stimuli which would be absent over a cell phone or Twitter.

Back when this counselor was working with mentally ill patients, several professional colleagues in private practice told me how they were doing more “phone counseling and therapy.” Initially, I didn’t know what to make of this, because all my training and experience consisted of dealing with clients face-to-face, either individually or in groups. Phone conversations were to set appointments for direct meetings or other minor issues. Soon, professional journal articles began to appear as to the benefits of this “phone counseling.” I never accepted it, because I always valued all the information I could get by directly observing the client’s body language: pupils in their eyes getting wider or narrower, wringing of hands, perspiring, blushing or blanching, arms defensively crossing, leaning forward or backward, shuffling of feet, smiling or frowning–all non- verbal information important to the situation and permanently being inscribed on their brains in their intellectual and emotional systems. None of this would have been available to me or them over a phone or on Facebook.

Therapy consists of helping clients develop “corrective” programs in their thinking, feeling, and behaving brains, trying to overcome and replace “bad” programs that they learned in earlier years–or never were taught in the first place! Now, imagine a child brought up on a steady diet of electronic media communication–to the neglect of interpersonal, intimate interaction with others. Such a child arriving at post-age 25 adulthood would be quite sophisticated in the electronic media world, but would be less capable in other important areas of life. Imagine a person whose spelling lessons were from Twitter only, or whose math ability always required the use of a computer!

The Dana Foundation, an organization advancing brain research, found that the human brain continues to develop its “wiring” diagram well into the mid twenties. The most affected areas of the brain are the frontal lobes, which are critical to the development of high level cognitive skills, such as judgement, intellectual capabilities, and the regulation of emotions. And a Kaiser Foundation study noted that high school students spent about 6.5 hours per day on their computers, supposedly studying, but actually two-thirds of that time was spent on other things, such as playing games, cruising the internet, etc. These students became very good at multi-tasking, but became superficial in many important behavioral skills, and the learning quality was not good. They were spending too much time in front of a media screen, communicating with their friends electronically.

A review of several studies indicates the following results in people who have spent too much time with electronic media:

1. There is depersonalization (lack of empathy) from limited direct contact with people. They often don’t have a good sense of what society’s normal behavior is.
2. They communicate more often– but the quality of their communication is weaker.
3. Kids who spend too much time in front of a media screen, communicating with their friends, rather than being with them personally, are less likely to understand emotions, don’t create strong relationships, and tend to become more dependent on others.
4. Because kids need to be hugged and touched a lot instead of being texted, their overuse of technology directly affects their brain development.
5. The more children interact with others through electronic media, rather than in person, their emotions are connected to the media exchange itself, resulting in a deficit in intimacy need fulfillment.
6. Social media communication makes it easy to “hide”, while still appearing to be okay.
7. Cellphone usage while driving is like driving drunk
8. Technology and screen time rewires brains in certain patterns that can inhibit the development of brain neurological circuits that control more traditional learning, such as reading, writing and arithmetic skills. Any attention deficit disorder causes here?
9. In a 2011 study girls sent about 4000 texts per month, while boys sent around 2800. It doesn’t take much speculation to imagine what that is doing to their developing brains. Not being in substantial, direct contact with others during childhood, rather than being with them personally, makes people less likely to understand emotions, less able to create strong relationships, and tending  to become more dependent on others.

 

Summing all this up shows that parents need to use good sense in allowing their children in the use of all these modern media devices. Obviously there are benefits to learning their use, however, it is abundantly clear that nothing should interfere with also exposing them to an abundance of social interactions;  reading books, magazines, newspapers, and other printed materials where proper English is used; exposure to stimulating conversations face to face; and developing the other skills outlined in this book.

All new inventions and technical advances promote the growth of the human race in many ways. Yet, there is always a downside, or unintended consequences, to these advances. If we were all robots there would be few problems, but the hard reality is we all possess a brain that has been pretty much the same for thousands of years. And this brain, while capable of marvelous things when properly programmed, still requires a lot of good, old-fashioned learning. Make sure your children get it all.

 

( If you like this article, the book to which this article is an addition is available on amazon.com. The reviews have been very favorable. Check them out. You won’t find a book like this one.)

ADDENDUM TO CHAPTER 15 IN JOE’S BOOK, “HOW TO RAISE SUCCESSFUL CHILDREN”  — Joe Wilkins, Copyright © 2015

 

When I wrote the above book, I was not fully aware of the pervasiveness of the electronic media on all our lives. Since the early 1950’s my generation was initially aware of how television was interrupting the study habits of some of our school children, and how many of us had curtailed our reading habits in favor of getting our information and entertainment from television instead. However, in those days it was not  a major problem, and was in fact considered to be a blessing, freeing us from some degree of tediousness and boredom in those who suffered from humdrum lives.

However, in recent years there has been an explosion of electronic devices, beyond the simple television set: cell phones, video games, earphone players, laptops, i-pads, tablets, and numerous other instruments that are quickly becoming integral parts of our lives. In and of themselves, these devices are good for the advancement of civilization–if we use them properly. Communication is easier and faster. Research about particular topics has been greatly facilitated by the availability of the Internet. Commerce, advertising, and shopping can be conducted from home. The future of our technology seems so wonderful that some believe it will promote a world with little or no limits.

Some of these positive dreams will happen, but like with all technology there will be some prices to pay. This article is to up-date my readers with some cautionary considerations with which they may not be aware, and which are especially important for child-rearing parents to know.

In Chapters 4,5,and 6 of my book we discussed, respectively, Thinking, Emotional, and Behavioral/Social skill development in children. Many experts believe that the earliest years, ages 0 to 6, are the most important, setting the stage for the years leading to the teens and adulthood. Everyone is aware of the many trials of the teenage years, but after a few years of awkward growth and development, ending at about age eighteen or so, most people progress on into the adult world feeling they have most of what they need to pursue their life goals. About all else they think will be needed is education to prepare them for specific jobs or careers, usually at college, technical training, or on-the-job instruction.

However, recent neurological and psychological research has now demonstrated that what we used to believe about human growth and development was a book without an ending. There is now a final chapter being written, which we can tentatively title, “The Human Brain Does Not Stop Growing Until About Age 25, Or Thereabouts!” What is being discovered is that parts of the brain continue to grow, developing its unique wiring diagram of neuron connections until the mid-twenties. And the most affected part of the brain is the pre-frontal cortex, where most of our “higher civilization” skills are developed–skills such as rational thinking, socialization, complex abstract reasoning, and other neurological growths that go to produce competent, productive adults.

So what, one may ask, does all this have to do with modern media devices? The crux of the situation is this: the development of certain critical  parts of the brain require extensive face-to-face communication and socialization among children, from birth until the mid twenties. The brain is not finished growing as soon as the child graduates from high school–or college! And the pervasive use of cell phones, i-pads, computers, and other electronic media by developing children and young adults, inhibits the development of those parts of the brain necessary to becoming a complete person!

One may legitimately ask how does being overly involved in the use of  electronic media inhibit the brain from developing to its maximum? It’s a complicated process, but avoiding direct communication with others limits face-to-face interaction, obscures the ability to observe body language, pick up subtle inflections in family and social situations, and other sophisticated nuances that families, tribes, schools, communities, and countries require of our citizens.

Almost all electronic involvement  on computers, the internet, electronic games, e-mail, Twitter, Facebook, cellphones, and telephones, in varying degrees, limits the total impact of the communication from one person to another. Can one imagine the messages that a young man and woman would get should the beau propose marriage to his girl over some electronic media, versus doing it in person while holding her hand! Absent would be the smell of her perfume, the cadence of their breathing, the look in both their eyes, the surrounding sounds, the anticipatory expectations, and all the other subtle nuances of the event. And all  the stimuli arising from a personal, face-to-face marriage proposal would have a radically different impact on both their developing brains, versus a proposal made over some electronic media!  And it is the presence of critical, personal stimuli which causes new brain connections to form, many stimuli which would be absent over a cell phone or Twitter.

Back when this counselor was working with mentally ill patients, several professional colleagues in private practice told me how they were doing more “phone counseling and therapy.” Initially, I didn’t know what to make of this, because all my training and experience consisted of dealing with clients face-to-face, either individually or in groups. Phone conversations were to set appointments for direct meetings or other minor issues. Soon, professional journal articles began to appear as to the benefits of this “phone counseling.” I never accepted it, because I always valued all the information I could get by directly observing the client’s body language: pupils in their eyes getting wider or narrower, wringing of hands, perspiring, blushing or blanching, arms defensively crossing, leaning forward or backward, shuffling of feet, smiling or frowning–all non- verbal information important to the situation and permanently being inscribed on their brains in their intellectual and emotional systems. None of this would have been available to me or them over a phone or on Facebook.

Therapy consists of helping clients develop “corrective” programs in their thinking, feeling, and behaving brains, trying to overcome and replace “bad” programs that they learned in earlier years–or never were taught in the first place! Now, imagine a child brought up on a steady diet of electronic media communication–to the neglect of interpersonal, intimate interaction with others. Such a child arriving at post-age 25 adulthood would be quite sophisticated in the electronic media world, but would be less capable in other important areas of life. Imagine a person whose spelling lessons were from Twitter only, or whose math ability always required the use of a computer!

The Dana Foundation, an organization advancing brain research, found that the human brain continues to develop its “wiring” diagram well into the mid twenties. The most affected areas of the brain are the frontal lobes, which are critical to the development of high level cognitive skills, such as judgement, intellectual capabilities, and the regulation of emotions. And a Kaiser Foundation study noted that high school students spent about 6.5 hours per day on their computers, supposedly studying, but actually two-thirds of that time was spent on other things, such as playing games, cruising the internet, etc. These students became very good at multi-tasking, but became superficial in many important behavioral skills, and the learning quality was not good. They were spending too much time in front of a media screen, communicating with their friends electronically.

A review of several studies indicates the following results in people who have spent too much time with electronic media:

1. There is depersonalization (lack of empathy) from limited direct contact with people. They often don’t have a good sense of what society’s normal behavior is.
2. They communicate more often– but the quality of their communication is weaker.
3. Kids who spend too much time in front of a media screen, communicating with their friends, rather than being with them personally, are less likely to understand emotions, don’t create strong relationships, and tend to become more dependent on others.
4. Because kids need to be hugged and touched a lot instead of being texted, their overuse of technology directly affects their brain development.
5. The more children interact with others through electronic media, rather than in person, their emotions are connected to the media exchange itself, resulting in a deficit in intimacy need fulfillment.
6. Social media communication makes it easy to “hide”, while still appearing to be okay.
7. Cellphone usage while driving is like driving drunk
8. Technology and screen time rewires brains in certain patterns that can inhibit the development of brain neurological circuits that control more traditional learning, such as reading, writing and arithmetic skills. Any attention deficit disorder causes here?
9. In a 2011 study girls sent about 4000 texts per month, while boys sent around 2800. It doesn’t take much speculation to imagine what that is doing to their developing brains. Not being in substantial, direct contact with others during childhood, rather than being with them personally, makes people less likely to understand emotions, less able to create strong relationships, and tending  to become more dependent on others.

 

Summing all this up shows that parents need to use good sense in allowing their children in the use of all these modern media devices. Obviously there are benefits to learning their use, however, it is abundantly clear that nothing should interfere with also exposing them to an abundance of social interactions;  reading books, magazines, newspapers, and other printed materials where proper English is used; exposure to stimulating conversations face to face; and developing the other skills outlined in this book.

All new inventions and technical advances promote the growth of the human race in many ways. Yet, there is always a downside, or unintended consequences, to these advances. If we were all robots there would be few problems, but the hard reality is we all possess a brain that has been pretty much the same for thousands of years. And this brain, while capable of marvelous things when properly programmed, still requires a lot of good, old-fashioned learning. Make sure your children get it all.

 

( If you like this article, the book to which this article is an addition is available on amazon.com. The reviews have been very favorable. Check them out. You won’t find a book like this one.)

ADDENDUM TO CHAPTER 15 IN JOE’S BOOK, “HOW TO RAISE SUCCESSFUL CHILDREN”  — Joe Wilkins, Copyright © 2015

 

When I wrote the above book, I was not fully aware of the pervasiveness of the electronic media on all our lives. Since the early 1950’s my generation was initially aware of how television was interrupting the study habits of some of our school children, and how many of us had curtailed our reading habits in favor of getting our information and entertainment from television instead. However, in those days it was not  a major problem, and was in fact considered to be a blessing, freeing us from some degree of tediousness and boredom in those who suffered from humdrum lives.

However, in recent years there has been an explosion of electronic devices, beyond the simple television set: cell phones, video games, earphone players, laptops, i-pads, tablets, and numerous other instruments that are quickly becoming integral parts of our lives. In and of themselves, these devices are good for the advancement of civilization–if we use them properly. Communication is easier and faster. Research about particular topics has been greatly facilitated by the availability of the Internet. Commerce, advertising, and shopping can be conducted from home. The future of our technology seems so wonderful that some believe it will promote a world with little or no limits.

Some of these positive dreams will happen, but like with all technology there will be some prices to pay. This article is to up-date my readers with some cautionary considerations with which they may not be aware, and which are especially important for child-rearing parents to know.

In Chapters 4,5,and 6 of my book we discussed, respectively, Thinking, Emotional, and Behavioral/Social skill development in children. Many experts believe that the earliest years, ages 0 to 6, are the most important, setting the stage for the years leading to the teens and adulthood. Everyone is aware of the many trials of the teenage years, but after a few years of awkward growth and development, ending at about age eighteen or so, most people progress on into the adult world feeling they have most of what they need to pursue their life goals. About all else they think will be needed is education to prepare them for specific jobs or careers, usually at college, technical training, or on-the-job instruction.

However, recent neurological and psychological research has now demonstrated that what we used to believe about human growth and development was a book without an ending. There is now a final chapter being written, which we can tentatively title, “The Human Brain Does Not Stop Growing Until About Age 25, Or Thereabouts!” What is being discovered is that parts of the brain continue to grow, developing its unique wiring diagram of neuron connections until the mid-twenties. And the most affected part of the brain is the pre-frontal cortex, where most of our “higher civilization” skills are developed–skills such as rational thinking, socialization, complex abstract reasoning, and other neurological growths that go to produce competent, productive adults.

So what, one may ask, does all this have to do with modern media devices? The crux of the situation is this: the development of certain critical  parts of the brain require extensive face-to-face communication and socialization among children, from birth until the mid twenties. The brain is not finished growing as soon as the child graduates from high school–or college! And the pervasive use of cell phones, i-pads, computers, and other electronic media by developing children and young adults, inhibits the development of those parts of the brain necessary to becoming a complete person!

One may legitimately ask how does being overly involved in the use of  electronic media inhibit the brain from developing to its maximum? It’s a complicated process, but avoiding direct communication with others limits face-to-face interaction, obscures the ability to observe body language, pick up subtle inflections in family and social situations, and other sophisticated nuances that families, tribes, schools, communities, and countries require of our citizens.

Almost all electronic involvement  on computers, the internet, electronic games, e-mail, Twitter, Facebook, cellphones, and telephones, in varying degrees, limits the total impact of the communication from one person to another. Can one imagine the messages that a young man and woman would get should the beau propose marriage to his girl over some electronic media, versus doing it in person while holding her hand! Absent would be the smell of her perfume, the cadence of their breathing, the look in both their eyes, the surrounding sounds, the anticipatory expectations, and all the other subtle nuances of the event. And all  the stimuli arising from a personal, face-to-face marriage proposal would have a radically different impact on both their developing brains, versus a proposal made over some electronic media!  And it is the presence of critical, personal stimuli which causes new brain connections to form, many stimuli which would be absent over a cell phone or Twitter.

Back when this counselor was working with mentally ill patients, several professional colleagues in private practice told me how they were doing more “phone counseling and therapy.” Initially, I didn’t know what to make of this, because all my training and experience consisted of dealing with clients face-to-face, either individually or in groups. Phone conversations were to set appointments for direct meetings or other minor issues. Soon, professional journal articles began to appear as to the benefits of this “phone counseling.” I never accepted it, because I always valued all the information I could get by directly observing the client’s body language: pupils in their eyes getting wider or narrower, wringing of hands, perspiring, blushing or blanching, arms defensively crossing, leaning forward or backward, shuffling of feet, smiling or frowning–all non- verbal information important to the situation and permanently being inscribed on their brains in their intellectual and emotional systems. None of this would have been available to me or them over a phone or on Facebook.

Therapy consists of helping clients develop “corrective” programs in their thinking, feeling, and behaving brains, trying to overcome and replace “bad” programs that they learned in earlier years–or never were taught in the first place! Now, imagine a child brought up on a steady diet of electronic media communication–to the neglect of interpersonal, intimate interaction with others. Such a child arriving at post-age 25 adulthood would be quite sophisticated in the electronic media world, but would be less capable in other important areas of life. Imagine a person whose spelling lessons were from Twitter only, or whose math ability always required the use of a computer!

The Dana Foundation, an organization advancing brain research, found that the human brain continues to develop its “wiring” diagram well into the mid twenties. The most affected areas of the brain are the frontal lobes, which are critical to the development of high level cognitive skills, such as judgement, intellectual capabilities, and the regulation of emotions. And a Kaiser Foundation study noted that high school students spent about 6.5 hours per day on their computers, supposedly studying, but actually two-thirds of that time was spent on other things, such as playing games, cruising the internet, etc. These students became very good at multi-tasking, but became superficial in many important behavioral skills, and the learning quality was not good. They were spending too much time in front of a media screen, communicating with their friends electronically.

A review of several studies indicates the following results in people who have spent too much time with electronic media:

1. There is depersonalization (lack of empathy) from limited direct contact with people. They often don’t have a good sense of what society’s normal behavior is.
2. They communicate more often– but the quality of their communication is weaker.
3. Kids who spend too much time in front of a media screen, communicating with their friends, rather than being with them personally, are less likely to understand emotions, don’t create strong relationships, and tend to become more dependent on others.
4. Because kids need to be hugged and touched a lot instead of being texted, their overuse of technology directly affects their brain development.
5. The more children interact with others through electronic media, rather than in person, their emotions are connected to the media exchange itself, resulting in a deficit in intimacy need fulfillment.
6. Social media communication makes it easy to “hide”, while still appearing to be okay.
7. Cellphone usage while driving is like driving drunk
8. Technology and screen time rewires brains in certain patterns that can inhibit the development of brain neurological circuits that control more traditional learning, such as reading, writing and arithmetic skills. Any attention deficit disorder causes here?
9. In a 2011 study girls sent about 4000 texts per month, while boys sent around 2800. It doesn’t take much speculation to imagine what that is doing to their developing brains. Not being in substantial, direct contact with others during childhood, rather than being with them personally, makes people less likely to understand emotions, less able to create strong relationships, and tending  to become more dependent on others.

 

Summing all this up shows that parents need to use good sense in allowing their children in the use of all these modern media devices. Obviously there are benefits to learning their use, however, it is abundantly clear that nothing should interfere with also exposing them to an abundance of social interactions;  reading books, magazines, newspapers, and other printed materials where proper English is used; exposure to stimulating conversations face to face; and developing the other skills outlined in this book.

All new inventions and technical advances promote the growth of the human race in many ways. Yet, there is always a downside, or unintended consequences, to these advances. If we were all robots there would be few problems, but the hard reality is we all possess a brain that has been pretty much the same for thousands of years. And this brain, while capable of marvelous things when properly programmed, still requires a lot of good, old-fashioned learning. Make sure your children get it all.

 

( If you like this article, the book to which this article is an addition is available on amazon.com. The reviews have been very favorable. Check them out. You won’t find a book like this one.)

ADDENDUM TO CHAPTER 15 IN JOE’S BOOK, “HOW TO RAISE SUCCESSFUL CHILDREN”  — Joe Wilkins, Copyright © 2015

 

When I wrote the above book, I was not fully aware of the pervasiveness of the electronic media on all our lives. Since the early 1950’s my generation was initially aware of how television was interrupting the study habits of some of our school children, and how many of us had curtailed our reading habits in favor of getting our information and entertainment from television instead. However, in those days it was not  a major problem, and was in fact considered to be a blessing, freeing us from some degree of tediousness and boredom in those who suffered from humdrum lives.

However, in recent years there has been an explosion of electronic devices, beyond the simple television set: cell phones, video games, earphone players, laptops, i-pads, tablets, and numerous other instruments that are quickly becoming integral parts of our lives. In and of themselves, these devices are good for the advancement of civilization–if we use them properly. Communication is easier and faster. Research about particular topics has been greatly facilitated by the availability of the Internet. Commerce, advertising, and shopping can be conducted from home. The future of our technology seems so wonderful that some believe it will promote a world with little or no limits.

Some of these positive dreams will happen, but like with all technology there will be some prices to pay. This article is to up-date my readers with some cautionary considerations with which they may not be aware, and which are especially important for child-rearing parents to know.

In Chapters 4,5,and 6 of my book we discussed, respectively, Thinking, Emotional, and Behavioral/Social skill development in children. Many experts believe that the earliest years, ages 0 to 6, are the most important, setting the stage for the years leading to the teens and adulthood. Everyone is aware of the many trials of the teenage years, but after a few years of awkward growth and development, ending at about age eighteen or so, most people progress on into the adult world feeling they have most of what they need to pursue their life goals. About all else they think will be needed is education to prepare them for specific jobs or careers, usually at college, technical training, or on-the-job instruction.

However, recent neurological and psychological research has now demonstrated that what we used to believe about human growth and development was a book without an ending. There is now a final chapter being written, which we can tentatively title, “The Human Brain Does Not Stop Growing Until About Age 25, Or Thereabouts!” What is being discovered is that parts of the brain continue to grow, developing its unique wiring diagram of neuron connections until the mid-twenties. And the most affected part of the brain is the pre-frontal cortex, where most of our “higher civilization” skills are developed–skills such as rational thinking, socialization, complex abstract reasoning, and other neurological growths that go to produce competent, productive adults.

So what, one may ask, does all this have to do with modern media devices? The crux of the situation is this: the development of certain critical  parts of the brain require extensive face-to-face communication and socialization among children, from birth until the mid twenties. The brain is not finished growing as soon as the child graduates from high school–or college! And the pervasive use of cell phones, i-pads, computers, and other electronic media by developing children and young adults, inhibits the development of those parts of the brain necessary to becoming a complete person!

One may legitimately ask how does being overly involved in the use of  electronic media inhibit the brain from developing to its maximum? It’s a complicated process, but avoiding direct communication with others limits face-to-face interaction, obscures the ability to observe body language, pick up subtle inflections in family and social situations, and other sophisticated nuances that families, tribes, schools, communities, and countries require of our citizens.

Almost all electronic involvement  on computers, the internet, electronic games, e-mail, Twitter, Facebook, cellphones, and telephones, in varying degrees, limits the total impact of the communication from one person to another. Can one imagine the messages that a young man and woman would get should the beau propose marriage to his girl over some electronic media, versus doing it in person while holding her hand! Absent would be the smell of her perfume, the cadence of their breathing, the look in both their eyes, the surrounding sounds, the anticipatory expectations, and all the other subtle nuances of the event. And all  the stimuli arising from a personal, face-to-face marriage proposal would have a radically different impact on both their developing brains, versus a proposal made over some electronic media!  And it is the presence of critical, personal stimuli which causes new brain connections to form, many stimuli which would be absent over a cell phone or Twitter.

Back when this counselor was working with mentally ill patients, several professional colleagues in private practice told me how they were doing more “phone counseling and therapy.” Initially, I didn’t know what to make of this, because all my training and experience consisted of dealing with clients face-to-face, either individually or in groups. Phone conversations were to set appointments for direct meetings or other minor issues. Soon, professional journal articles began to appear as to the benefits of this “phone counseling.” I never accepted it, because I always valued all the information I could get by directly observing the client’s body language: pupils in their eyes getting wider or narrower, wringing of hands, perspiring, blushing or blanching, arms defensively crossing, leaning forward or backward, shuffling of feet, smiling or frowning–all non- verbal information important to the situation and permanently being inscribed on their brains in their intellectual and emotional systems. None of this would have been available to me or them over a phone or on Facebook.

Therapy consists of helping clients develop “corrective” programs in their thinking, feeling, and behaving brains, trying to overcome and replace “bad” programs that they learned in earlier years–or never were taught in the first place! Now, imagine a child brought up on a steady diet of electronic media communication–to the neglect of interpersonal, intimate interaction with others. Such a child arriving at post-age 25 adulthood would be quite sophisticated in the electronic media world, but would be less capable in other important areas of life. Imagine a person whose spelling lessons were from Twitter only, or whose math ability always required the use of a computer!

The Dana Foundation, an organization advancing brain research, found that the human brain continues to develop its “wiring” diagram well into the mid twenties. The most affected areas of the brain are the frontal lobes, which are critical to the development of high level cognitive skills, such as judgement, intellectual capabilities, and the regulation of emotions. And a Kaiser Foundation study noted that high school students spent about 6.5 hours per day on their computers, supposedly studying, but actually two-thirds of that time was spent on other things, such as playing games, cruising the internet, etc. These students became very good at multi-tasking, but became superficial in many important behavioral skills, and the learning quality was not good. They were spending too much time in front of a media screen, communicating with their friends electronically.

A review of several studies indicates the following results in people who have spent too much time with electronic media:

1. There is depersonalization (lack of empathy) from limited direct contact with people. They often don’t have a good sense of what society’s normal behavior is.
2. They communicate more often– but the quality of their communication is weaker.
3. Kids who spend too much time in front of a media screen, communicating with their friends, rather than being with them personally, are less likely to understand emotions, don’t create strong relationships, and tend to become more dependent on others.
4. Because kids need to be hugged and touched a lot instead of being texted, their overuse of technology directly affects their brain development.
5. The more children interact with others through electronic media, rather than in person, their emotions are connected to the media exchange itself, resulting in a deficit in intimacy need fulfillment.
6. Social media communication makes it easy to “hide”, while still appearing to be okay.
7. Cellphone usage while driving is like driving drunk
8. Technology and screen time rewires brains in certain patterns that can inhibit the development of brain neurological circuits that control more traditional learning, such as reading, writing and arithmetic skills. Any attention deficit disorder causes here?
9. In a 2011 study girls sent about 4000 texts per month, while boys sent around 2800. It doesn’t take much speculation to imagine what that is doing to their developing brains. Not being in substantial, direct contact with others during childhood, rather than being with them personally, makes people less likely to understand emotions, less able to create strong relationships, and tending  to become more dependent on others.

 

Summing all this up shows that parents need to use good sense in allowing their children in the use of all these modern media devices. Obviously there are benefits to learning their use, however, it is abundantly clear that nothing should interfere with also exposing them to an abundance of social interactions;  reading books, magazines, newspapers, and other printed materials where proper English is used; exposure to stimulating conversations face to face; and developing the other skills outlined in this book.

All new inventions and technical advances promote the growth of the human race in many ways. Yet, there is always a downside, or unintended consequences, to these advances. If we were all robots there would be few problems, but the hard reality is we all possess a brain that has been pretty much the same for thousands of years. And this brain, while capable of marvelous things when properly programmed, still requires a lot of good, old-fashioned learning. Make sure your children get it all.

 

( If you like this article, the book to which this article is an addition is available on amazon.com. The reviews have been very favorable. Check them out. You won’t find a book like this one.)

ADDENDUM TO CHAPTER 15 IN JOE’S BOOK, “HOW TO RAISE SUCCESSFUL CHILDREN”  — Joe Wilkins, Copyright © 2015

 

When I wrote the above book, I was not fully aware of the pervasiveness of the electronic media on all our lives. Since the early 1950’s my generation was initially aware of how television was interrupting the study habits of some of our school children, and how many of us had curtailed our reading habits in favor of getting our information and entertainment from television instead. However, in those days it was not  a major problem, and was in fact considered to be a blessing, freeing us from some degree of tediousness and boredom in those who suffered from humdrum lives.

However, in recent years there has been an explosion of electronic devices, beyond the simple television set: cell phones, video games, earphone players, laptops, i-pads, tablets, and numerous other instruments that are quickly becoming integral parts of our lives. In and of themselves, these devices are good for the advancement of civilization–if we use them properly. Communication is easier and faster. Research about particular topics has been greatly facilitated by the availability of the Internet. Commerce, advertising, and shopping can be conducted from home. The future of our technology seems so wonderful that some believe it will promote a world with little or no limits.

Some of these positive dreams will happen, but like with all technology there will be some prices to pay. This article is to up-date my readers with some cautionary considerations with which they may not be aware, and which are especially important for child-rearing parents to know.

In Chapters 4,5,and 6 of my book we discussed, respectively, Thinking, Emotional, and Behavioral/Social skill development in children. Many experts believe that the earliest years, ages 0 to 6, are the most important, setting the stage for the years leading to the teens and adulthood. Everyone is aware of the many trials of the teenage years, but after a few years of awkward growth and development, ending at about age eighteen or so, most people progress on into the adult world feeling they have most of what they need to pursue their life goals. About all else they think will be needed is education to prepare them for specific jobs or careers, usually at college, technical training, or on-the-job instruction.

However, recent neurological and psychological research has now demonstrated that what we used to believe about human growth and development was a book without an ending. There is now a final chapter being written, which we can tentatively title, “The Human Brain Does Not Stop Growing Until About Age 25, Or Thereabouts!” What is being discovered is that parts of the brain continue to grow, developing its unique wiring diagram of neuron connections until the mid-twenties. And the most affected part of the brain is the pre-frontal cortex, where most of our “higher civilization” skills are developed–skills such as rational thinking, socialization, complex abstract reasoning, and other neurological growths that go to produce competent, productive adults.

So what, one may ask, does all this have to do with modern media devices? The crux of the situation is this: the development of certain critical  parts of the brain require extensive face-to-face communication and socialization among children, from birth until the mid twenties. The brain is not finished growing as soon as the child graduates from high school–or college! And the pervasive use of cell phones, i-pads, computers, and other electronic media by developing children and young adults, inhibits the development of those parts of the brain necessary to becoming a complete person!

One may legitimately ask how does being overly involved in the use of  electronic media inhibit the brain from developing to its maximum? It’s a complicated process, but avoiding direct communication with others limits face-to-face interaction, obscures the ability to observe body language, pick up subtle inflections in family and social situations, and other sophisticated nuances that families, tribes, schools, communities, and countries require of our citizens.

Almost all electronic involvement  on computers, the internet, electronic games, e-mail, Twitter, Facebook, cellphones, and telephones, in varying degrees, limits the total impact of the communication from one person to another. Can one imagine the messages that a young man and woman would get should the beau propose marriage to his girl over some electronic media, versus doing it in person while holding her hand! Absent would be the smell of her perfume, the cadence of their breathing, the look in both their eyes, the surrounding sounds, the anticipatory expectations, and all the other subtle nuances of the event. And all  the stimuli arising from a personal, face-to-face marriage proposal would have a radically different impact on both their developing brains, versus a proposal made over some electronic media!  And it is the presence of critical, personal stimuli which causes new brain connections to form, many stimuli which would be absent over a cell phone or Twitter.

Back when this counselor was working with mentally ill patients, several professional colleagues in private practice told me how they were doing more “phone counseling and therapy.” Initially, I didn’t know what to make of this, because all my training and experience consisted of dealing with clients face-to-face, either individually or in groups. Phone conversations were to set appointments for direct meetings or other minor issues. Soon, professional journal articles began to appear as to the benefits of this “phone counseling.” I never accepted it, because I always valued all the information I could get by directly observing the client’s body language: pupils in their eyes getting wider or narrower, wringing of hands, perspiring, blushing or blanching, arms defensively crossing, leaning forward or backward, shuffling of feet, smiling or frowning–all non- verbal information important to the situation and permanently being inscribed on their brains in their intellectual and emotional systems. None of this would have been available to me or them over a phone or on Facebook.

Therapy consists of helping clients develop “corrective” programs in their thinking, feeling, and behaving brains, trying to overcome and replace “bad” programs that they learned in earlier years–or never were taught in the first place! Now, imagine a child brought up on a steady diet of electronic media communication–to the neglect of interpersonal, intimate interaction with others. Such a child arriving at post-age 25 adulthood would be quite sophisticated in the electronic media world, but would be less capable in other important areas of life. Imagine a person whose spelling lessons were from Twitter only, or whose math ability always required the use of a computer!

The Dana Foundation, an organization advancing brain research, found that the human brain continues to develop its “wiring” diagram well into the mid twenties. The most affected areas of the brain are the frontal lobes, which are critical to the development of high level cognitive skills, such as judgement, intellectual capabilities, and the regulation of emotions. And a Kaiser Foundation study noted that high school students spent about 6.5 hours per day on their computers, supposedly studying, but actually two-thirds of that time was spent on other things, such as playing games, cruising the internet, etc. These students became very good at multi-tasking, but became superficial in many important behavioral skills, and the learning quality was not good. They were spending too much time in front of a media screen, communicating with their friends electronically.

A review of several studies indicates the following results in people who have spent too much time with electronic media:

1. There is depersonalization (lack of empathy) from limited direct contact with people. They often don’t have a good sense of what society’s normal behavior is.
2. They communicate more often– but the quality of their communication is weaker.
3. Kids who spend too much time in front of a media screen, communicating with their friends, rather than being with them personally, are less likely to understand emotions, don’t create strong relationships, and tend to become more dependent on others.
4. Because kids need to be hugged and touched a lot instead of being texted, their overuse of technology directly affects their brain development.
5. The more children interact with others through electronic media, rather than in person, their emotions are connected to the media exchange itself, resulting in a deficit in intimacy need fulfillment.
6. Social media communication makes it easy to “hide”, while still appearing to be okay.
7. Cellphone usage while driving is like driving drunk
8. Technology and screen time rewires brains in certain patterns that can inhibit the development of brain neurological circuits that control more traditional learning, such as reading, writing and arithmetic skills. Any attention deficit disorder causes here?
9. In a 2011 study girls sent about 4000 texts per month, while boys sent around 2800. It doesn’t take much speculation to imagine what that is doing to their developing brains. Not being in substantial, direct contact with others during childhood, rather than being with them personally, makes people less likely to understand emotions, less able to create strong relationships, and tending  to become more dependent on others.

 

Summing all this up shows that parents need to use good sense in allowing their children in the use of all these modern media devices. Obviously there are benefits to learning their use, however, it is abundantly clear that nothing should interfere with also exposing them to an abundance of social interactions;  reading books, magazines, newspapers, and other printed materials where proper English is used; exposure to stimulating conversations face to face; and developing the other skills outlined in this book.

All new inventions and technical advances promote the growth of the human race in many ways. Yet, there is always a downside, or unintended consequences, to these advances. If we were all robots there would be few problems, but the hard reality is we all possess a brain that has been pretty much the same for thousands of years. And this brain, while capable of marvelous things when properly programmed, still requires a lot of good, old-fashioned learning. Make sure your children get it all.

 

( If you like this article, the book to which this article is an addition is available on amazon.com. The reviews have been very favorable. Check them out. You won’t find a book like this one.)

ADDENDUM TO CHAPTER 15 IN JOE’S BOOK, “HOW TO RAISE SUCCESSFUL CHILDREN”  — Joe Wilkins, Copyright © 2015

 

When I wrote the above book, I was not fully aware of the pervasiveness of the electronic media on all our lives. Since the early 1950’s my generation was initially aware of how television was interrupting the study habits of some of our school children, and how many of us had curtailed our reading habits in favor of getting our information and entertainment from television instead. However, in those days it was not  a major problem, and was in fact considered to be a blessing, freeing us from some degree of tediousness and boredom in those who suffered from humdrum lives.

However, in recent years there has been an explosion of electronic devices, beyond the simple television set: cell phones, video games, earphone players, laptops, i-pads, tablets, and numerous other instruments that are quickly becoming integral parts of our lives. In and of themselves, these devices are good for the advancement of civilization–if we use them properly. Communication is easier and faster. Research about particular topics has been greatly facilitated by the availability of the Internet. Commerce, advertising, and shopping can be conducted from home. The future of our technology seems so wonderful that some believe it will promote a world with little or no limits.

Some of these positive dreams will happen, but like with all technology there will be some prices to pay. This article is to up-date my readers with some cautionary considerations with which they may not be aware, and which are especially important for child-rearing parents to know.

In Chapters 4,5,and 6 of my book we discussed, respectively, Thinking, Emotional, and Behavioral/Social skill development in children. Many experts believe that the earliest years, ages 0 to 6, are the most important, setting the stage for the years leading to the teens and adulthood. Everyone is aware of the many trials of the teenage years, but after a few years of awkward growth and development, ending at about age eighteen or so, most people progress on into the adult world feeling they have most of what they need to pursue their life goals. About all else they think will be needed is education to prepare them for specific jobs or careers, usually at college, technical training, or on-the-job instruction.

However, recent neurological and psychological research has now demonstrated that what we used to believe about human growth and development was a book without an ending. There is now a final chapter being written, which we can tentatively title, “The Human Brain Does Not Stop Growing Until About Age 25, Or Thereabouts!” What is being discovered is that parts of the brain continue to grow, developing its unique wiring diagram of neuron connections until the mid-twenties. And the most affected part of the brain is the pre-frontal cortex, where most of our “higher civilization” skills are developed–skills such as rational thinking, socialization, complex abstract reasoning, and other neurological growths that go to produce competent, productive adults.

So what, one may ask, does all this have to do with modern media devices? The crux of the situation is this: the development of certain critical  parts of the brain require extensive face-to-face communication and socialization among children, from birth until the mid twenties. The brain is not finished growing as soon as the child graduates from high school–or college! And the pervasive use of cell phones, i-pads, computers, and other electronic media by developing children and young adults, inhibits the development of those parts of the brain necessary to becoming a complete person!

One may legitimately ask how does being overly involved in the use of  electronic media inhibit the brain from developing to its maximum? It’s a complicated process, but avoiding direct communication with others limits face-to-face interaction, obscures the ability to observe body language, pick up subtle inflections in family and social situations, and other sophisticated nuances that families, tribes, schools, communities, and countries require of our citizens.

Almost all electronic involvement  on computers, the internet, electronic games, e-mail, Twitter, Facebook, cellphones, and telephones, in varying degrees, limits the total impact of the communication from one person to another. Can one imagine the messages that a young man and woman would get should the beau propose marriage to his girl over some electronic media, versus doing it in person while holding her hand! Absent would be the smell of her perfume, the cadence of their breathing, the look in both their eyes, the surrounding sounds, the anticipatory expectations, and all the other subtle nuances of the event. And all  the stimuli arising from a personal, face-to-face marriage proposal would have a radically different impact on both their developing brains, versus a proposal made over some electronic media!  And it is the presence of critical, personal stimuli which causes new brain connections to form, many stimuli which would be absent over a cell phone or Twitter.

Back when this counselor was working with mentally ill patients, several professional colleagues in private practice told me how they were doing more “phone counseling and therapy.” Initially, I didn’t know what to make of this, because all my training and experience consisted of dealing with clients face-to-face, either individually or in groups. Phone conversations were to set appointments for direct meetings or other minor issues. Soon, professional journal articles began to appear as to the benefits of this “phone counseling.” I never accepted it, because I always valued all the information I could get by directly observing the client’s body language: pupils in their eyes getting wider or narrower, wringing of hands, perspiring, blushing or blanching, arms defensively crossing, leaning forward or backward, shuffling of feet, smiling or frowning–all non- verbal information important to the situation and permanently being inscribed on their brains in their intellectual and emotional systems. None of this would have been available to me or them over a phone or on Facebook.

Therapy consists of helping clients develop “corrective” programs in their thinking, feeling, and behaving brains, trying to overcome and replace “bad” programs that they learned in earlier years–or never were taught in the first place! Now, imagine a child brought up on a steady diet of electronic media communication–to the neglect of interpersonal, intimate interaction with others. Such a child arriving at post-age 25 adulthood would be quite sophisticated in the electronic media world, but would be less capable in other important areas of life. Imagine a person whose spelling lessons were from Twitter only, or whose math ability always required the use of a computer!

The Dana Foundation, an organization advancing brain research, found that the human brain continues to develop its “wiring” diagram well into the mid twenties. The most affected areas of the brain are the frontal lobes, which are critical to the development of high level cognitive skills, such as judgement, intellectual capabilities, and the regulation of emotions. And a Kaiser Foundation study noted that high school students spent about 6.5 hours per day on their computers, supposedly studying, but actually two-thirds of that time was spent on other things, such as playing games, cruising the internet, etc. These students became very good at multi-tasking, but became superficial in many important behavioral skills, and the learning quality was not good. They were spending too much time in front of a media screen, communicating with their friends electronically.

A review of several studies indicates the following results in people who have spent too much time with electronic media:

1. There is depersonalization (lack of empathy) from limited direct contact with people. They often don’t have a good sense of what society’s normal behavior is.
2. They communicate more often– but the quality of their communication is weaker.
3. Kids who spend too much time in front of a media screen, communicating with their friends, rather than being with them personally, are less likely to understand emotions, don’t create strong relationships, and tend to become more dependent on others.
4. Because kids need to be hugged and touched a lot instead of being texted, their overuse of technology directly affects their brain development.
5. The more children interact with others through electronic media, rather than in person, their emotions are connected to the media exchange itself, resulting in a deficit in intimacy need fulfillment.
6. Social media communication makes it easy to “hide”, while still appearing to be okay.
7. Cellphone usage while driving is like driving drunk
8. Technology and screen time rewires brains in certain patterns that can inhibit the development of brain neurological circuits that control more traditional learning, such as reading, writing and arithmetic skills. Any attention deficit disorder causes here?
9. In a 2011 study girls sent about 4000 texts per month, while boys sent around 2800. It doesn’t take much speculation to imagine what that is doing to their developing brains. Not being in substantial, direct contact with others during childhood, rather than being with them personally, makes people less likely to understand emotions, less able to create strong relationships, and tending  to become more dependent on others.

 

Summing all this up shows that parents need to use good sense in allowing their children in the use of all these modern media devices. Obviously there are benefits to learning their use, however, it is abundantly clear that nothing should interfere with also exposing them to an abundance of social interactions;  reading books, magazines, newspapers, and other printed materials where proper English is used; exposure to stimulating conversations face to face; and developing the other skills outlined in this book.

All new inventions and technical advances promote the growth of the human race in many ways. Yet, there is always a downside, or unintended consequences, to these advances. If we were all robots there would be few problems, but the hard reality is we all possess a brain that has been pretty much the same for thousands of years. And this brain, while capable of marvelous things when properly programmed, still requires a lot of good, old-fashioned learning. Make sure your children get it all.

 

( If you like this article, the book to which this article is an addition is available on amazon.com. The reviews have been very favorable. Check them out. You won’t find a book like this one.)