In reading over the results of this study I had a similar reaction--though less visceral--to the video we watched in class at the beginning of the semester re: the rise of the internet and the fact that China will be the number one english speaking country in the world in a matter of years. Perhaps this is due in part to the fact that I have reached middle age and have an 11-year old boy who is beginning adolescence which, according to this study, is concurrent with a huge rise in media usage. To think that he could be spending 8+ hours a day playing video games, texting, talking on the phone, watching video etc. makes my head shrink. More importantly, it reiterates to me that as parents we must be aware of what our kids are doing and how much time they spend doing it. After all, we are
immigrants to the new technology, whereas young people are
natives, as the recent PBS documentary "Digital Nation" noted.
What disturbs me the most about the study are:
- the decrease in reading books (not to mention the non-reading of newspapers)
- 4 1/2 hours a day of watching tv (45% leave tv on all the time)
- 47% of 'heavy' media users (>16hrs.) are mediocre students and are often sad, unhappy and bored.
If these statistics are to be taken at face value, there is a serious penalty that will be played out in the future--one that may involve an entire generation of kids who are under educated, under employed, and struggling to find a mental equilibrium. I find the onus of this scenario to rest securely upon parents, and their ability to use sound judgment in overseeing their kids phones, computers, and video games. It is a proven fact that the area where judgment takes place, the frontal lobe, is now known to be developing for young people well into their 20's. Therefore we must be their guides to reasonable behavior, and provide the appropriate structure within which they can act, grow, and
earn privileges.
I would be the first to admit that living in the 'Future'-- as we are now doing, provides an incredible opportunity, through technology, to expand our human capacities for knowledge and understanding. However, with all of these new potentialities we must remember that our responsibilities to practice sound judgment, empathy, and the rearing of our children to face the future with confidence and insight has never been greater. The Kaiser Foundation study is a tool, and a warning, towards this goal.
A very thoughtful post. I think you are pointing to the need for more education -- both for students and for parents -- on the responsible consumption of media. I suspect parents hear a lot more about physical nutrition than they do about mental nutrition. Perhaps the direct connections between media consumption, mental health and cognitive development are not as obvious, or as clearcut, as with diet and the physical body. And there is, I think, much more debate over the relative benefits vs. harm that might come from media. Case in point -- the survey points out a coincidence of high media use and low grades, boredom, etc., but does not try to say in which direction causation might go (if at all). Still, I think we sense the problem here, and have a good idea as to possible solutions (as your point out).
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