Recently, researchers at the University of California, Los Angeles analyzed how two groups of sixth-graders were able to identify human emotion. Both groups were shown 50 images of human faces and asked to name the emotions present. The control group consisted of teens who had regular access to computers, phones and televisions. It was “life as usual,” as Juana Summers reported in her NPR piece entitled “Kids and Screen Time: What does The Research Say?” The other group participated in a five-day technology-free retreat and “were significantly better at reading human emotions” after having no access to screen time for five days. If we want what is best for our children, we must summon the strength to limit our own screen time. For nothing predicts a child’s use of screen time than the frequency of a parent’s use. Patricia Greenfield, the main author of the study notes, “Our species evolved in an environment where there was only face-to face-interaction. … If we reduce face-to-face interaction drastically, its not surprising that the social skills would also get reduced.” On our crowded, increasingly connected, globalized, and environmentally challenged planet, these are skills we can’t afford to lose. Article by Amy Wright Glenn, writing in PhillyVoice
Posted on: Sun, 11 Jan 2015 17:01:00 +0000
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