More screen time means less talk between parents and children, study finds
The News
New research shows 'technoference' is real.
Toddlers who are exposed to more screen time have fewer conversations with their parents or guardians by a range of measures. They speak less, hear less and have fewer exchanges with adults than children who spend less time in front of screens.
These results, published Monday in the journal JAMA Pediatrics, constitute one of the first sets of longitudinal evidence to confirm an intuitive reality: screens are not only linked to higher rates of obesity, depression, and hyperactivity in children; they also limit face-to-face interactions at home, with long-term implications that could be worrying.
Credit...Jessica Kourkounis for the New York TimesA little background: What interrupts chatter at home?Researchers have long known that growing up in a language-rich environment is vital for early development of language. Greater exposure to language early in life is associated with social development, higher IQ, and even better brain function.
Given the value of With such exposure, Australian researchers were eager to study the potential factors within the home environment that might interrupt opportunities for parents to interact verbally with their children. Previous studies on the impact of technology primarily examined a parent's mobile device use rather than a child's screen use, and relied on self-reported measures of screen time rather than on automated monitoring.
What the researchers found: Every minute counts.The new study, led by Mary E. Brushe, a researcher at...
New research shows 'technoference' is real.
Toddlers who are exposed to more screen time have fewer conversations with their parents or guardians by a range of measures. They speak less, hear less and have fewer exchanges with adults than children who spend less time in front of screens.
These results, published Monday in the journal JAMA Pediatrics, constitute one of the first sets of longitudinal evidence to confirm an intuitive reality: screens are not only linked to higher rates of obesity, depression, and hyperactivity in children; they also limit face-to-face interactions at home, with long-term implications that could be worrying.
Credit...Jessica Kourkounis for the New York TimesA little background: What interrupts chatter at home?Researchers have long known that growing up in a language-rich environment is vital for early development of language. Greater exposure to language early in life is associated with social development, higher IQ, and even better brain function.
Given the value of With such exposure, Australian researchers were eager to study the potential factors within the home environment that might interrupt opportunities for parents to interact verbally with their children. Previous studies on the impact of technology primarily examined a parent's mobile device use rather than a child's screen use, and relied on self-reported measures of screen time rather than on automated monitoring.
What the researchers found: Every minute counts.The new study, led by Mary E. Brushe, a researcher at...
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