There are already testimonies that claim how children who are more exposed to gadgets such as tablets, laptops, and smartphones are experiencing abnormal intellectual growth. Unfortunately, there has been no scientific evidence that can back this up, not until now.
The study called Adolescent Brain Cognitive Development, which was funded by the National Institute of Health (NIH), reveals that participants who are exposed to gadgets longer have an abnormal "different patterns" in their brain scan's result.
Through the research, experts found that the more children use screens, the more their brain cortex, which is the outermost layer of the brain responsible for understanding, thinking, producing, and perceiving, is damaged prematurely. It becomes thinner and functions abnormally unable to process information as compared to those who are not exposed to gadgets that long.
To find the results, the NIH invested about 300 million US dollars or more than 2 billion Chinese Yuan for it.
Throughout the research, experts were able to study the brains of about 4,500 children with ages between nine and 10 years old. Their brain was scanned at the end of their study to fully analyze the effect of technology on their nervous system.
Results showed that kids who were exposed to using gadgets for more than seven hours a day show thinning of the cortex, while those that spend more than two hours a day are not doing well with their reasoning and language tests, as posted by Daily Mail.
The goal of the study is to be able to debunk the negative effects of technology towards children, especially when it comes to their mental and emotional state by studying the relation of the time they invest in using these gadgets and the effects of it towards their brain.
Given all these, Gaya Dowling, one of the NIH doctors who is working on the project, said that these preliminary findings are still not enough for them to conclude yet. The study needs more time and more data for them to be more accurate of it.
Dowling added, "We don't know if it's [different patterns] being caused by the screen time. We don't know yet if it's a bad thing."
Just to make sure, experts warn parents not to expose their children to digital media for too long, according to New Vision. If your children want to play, it is better to stick to board games or sports instead of turning to gadgets for game apps. Doing so can't just make your kids' time worthwhile, but you are also keeping their physical and emotional health better.
