Is digital technology doing our children good or, on the contrary, it is ‘dumbing’ them down and hooking them on smart devices. Doubt arises among parents, teachers and doctors who wonder what today’s children will be like in the future, minors who spend hours playing video games, surfing the internet or watching TV.
A book has ignited the debate because it ensures that technology affects the neural development of children creating “digital cretins”. This is the latest book by neuroscientist Michel Desmurget , director of research at the French National Institute of Health., in which he forcefully recounts how digital devices are seriously affecting, and for the worse, the neuronal development of children and young people.
With control
The French neuroscientist affirms that “no one says that the digital revolution is bad and should be stopped. I myself spend a good part of my working day with digital tools. And when my daughter entered elementary school, she started to teach her how to use some office software and search for information on the internet”. It should be a controlled and educational use.
However, when a screen is put into the hands of a child or adolescent, “ recreational uses ” almost always prevail.more impoverishing” and points out studies carried out where it is confirmed that minors spend the day watching television , then video games and in adolescence, social networks.
Less IQ
The book, a bestseller in France , points out that ” digital natives ” are the first children to have a lowerIQthan their parents, a trend documented in countries such as Norway, Denmark, Finland, the Netherlands or France. “Unfortunately, it is not yet possible to determine the specific role of each factor, including, for example, pollution or exposure to screens. What we know for sure is that even if a child’s screen time isn’t the only culprit, it does have a significant effect on IQ.”
Several studies have shown that when the use of television or video games increases , IQ and cognitive development decrease.
The brain, a modeling clay
. And why does the use of digital devices cause all this
The author replies that the causes are clearly identified: decrease in the quality and quantity of intra-family interactions , essential for the development of language and emotional development; decrease in time dedicated to other more enriching activities (homework, music , art, reading ); sleep disruption , which is quantitatively shortened and qualitatively degraded; overstimulation of attention, which causes concentration , learning and impulsivity disorders; intellectual understimulation, which prevents the brain from displaying its full potential; and a sedentary lifestyleexcessive that, in addition to body development, influences brain maturation.
“The brain can be compared to a plasticine . At first, it is moist and easy to sculpt. But over time it becomes drier and much harder to mold.”
The problem with recreational screens is that they alter the development of the children’s brain and impoverish it.
