To Tech or Not to Tech: That is the Question. But What's the Answer?

When it comes to parenting, nearly everything stirs up the opportunity for controversy. Practices that were accepted for years, from vaccinating to spanking your children, are called into question on a nearly daily basis, and leave parents with plenty to worry about when making decisions about child-rearing.

When it comes to more recent additions to our world of Things to Worry About, there seems to be a consensus that it makes sense to limit screen time for children, for a variety of reasons; however, there are differing opinions (and conflicting research) out there in the attempt to determine whether using mobile devices, such as iPads or smartphones, should be a part of that equation and what, if any, benefit or detriment these devices have on children.

A recent article in The Washington Post had the tantalizing headline, "Researchers: Using an iPad or smartphone can harm a toddler’s learning and social skills."

Whoa! Does that mean my five-year-old is going to have a hard time in school, or be a social outcast because I let him play with my iPad when he was a toddler?

As I read on, I discovered that the article really didn't live up to its tantalizing title. It recapped some recent research about the potential downsides of young children using mobile devices, which pretty much boiled down to the following message: if kids use mobile devices by themselves (without parental supervision or guidance) exclusively for entertainment that is not in any way educational, it's not likely to do much for them and might leave them with gaps in social skills and possible learning deficits.

OK...

This is not particularly groundbreaking news. Mindless entertainment has never done much to help develop individuals of any age, regardless of the format in which it's delivered. I don't see how this message is much different from the one that advises parents not to let kids spend too much time with the TV as a babysitter, especially if it's not educational programming.

An article published in The Guardian not long after, criticized the aforementioned article, first latching onto the fact that the title didn't match the contents of the article, then pointing out that the article in question wasn't actually citing research, but rather guidelines that had recently published based on research. The Article with the Tantalizing Title had not cited the research behind the guidelines, but instead provided selected quotes from the article under discussion that had been published in a press release about it. It made it sound like someone at The Washington Post forgot to do his homework. The Guardian's article, however, went on to elaborate on the topic, point out the conflicting results of studies on the topic, and provide a reasonably well-rounded discussion of the issue.

The titles of the articles make it sound like this is the debate of the minute: "Researchers: Using an iPad or smartphone can harm a toddler’s learning and social skills" vs. "No, research does not say that ‘iPads and smartphones may damage toddlers’ brains." In reality, both articles point to a body of research that is, at best, inconclusive and invites those perspectives to coexist. While each writer decided to take a different approach to the issue, neither one provided sufficient evidence to persuade this reader that he "got it right." A quick look at the research cited in the articles, as well as the articles themselves, points to the idea that there is no "right answer" right now.

The scientific and academic community is doing research, collecting evidence, analyzing results, and discovering how the results fit within the other research that has already been done on the topic. This is all part of the scientific process, but there isn't much of a body of research to apply new findings to just yet. The field is not yet saturated enough with research to be able to reliably predict where a study will go based on previous results, and technology is changing too fast for formal research to be able to keep up with its effects and report data within a meaningful time frame. I read those articles, which were based on research that was conducted around the time my child was a toddler. Oops! If I messed up, it's a little too late to undo it now.

For the time being, parents (and educators who follow similar studies) will need to rely, more than anything else, on common sense to make determinations about using mobile devices with their children. Keeping abreast of guidelines and recommendations based on research as it emerges is another chapter we have now added to the book of Being a Good Parent. We need to be researchers ourselves; we need to read about the topic, and we need to read with a critical eye. We need to think about who published what we're reading, and what biases they may have brought to their discussion with them. We need to be wary of the Trick of the Tantalizing Title and not let the title itself substitute for the content of the article. And we need to stop and ask if what we're reading makes sense. By taking the time to use our own common sense and apply what we learn to what we know and observe, I have every confidence that responsible parents will be able to make decisions that allow their children to thrive -- mobile device in-hand, or not -- in an ever-changing world devoid of absolute guidelines.

And in case you're wondering, my five-year-old is doing just fine. He's bored at school because he already knows what they're teaching him (we can discuss my concerns about differentiation, or lack thereof, in another post), and he's one of the most social and empathetic children in his class. I guess that time with the iPad wasn't so harmful, after all.

Whew! I was worried there for a minute!



Resources:
Etchells, P. (2015). No, research does not say that ‘iPads and smartphones may damage toddlers’ brains’. The Guardian.  Retrieved from http://www.theguardian.com/science/head-quarters/2015/feb/02/no-research-does-not-say-that-ipads-and-smartphones-may-damage-toddlers-brains.

McCoy, T. (2015). Researchers: Using an iPad or smartphone can harm a toddler’s learning and social skills. The Washington Post. Retrieved from http://www.theguardian.com/science/head-quarters/2015/feb/02/no-research-does-not-say-that-ipads-and-smartphones-may-damage-toddlers-brains.