Students experience virtual nature.

Cris’s subsequent Letter to the Editor “Wow Factor”

Your December 21, 2011 article “Students tour virtual rainforest – complete with all the bugs – without leaving class” certainly meets the “Wow Factor” for advances in education technology, but do children actually learn anything from this experience, or is it just a really cool technology application? Studies also show that increasing exposure to technology impairs attention and learning by short circuiting the frontal cortex. Exposure to nature’s “green space” is attention restorative and enhances learning, but what about virtual nature? Maybe the attention restorative aspects of nature will counteract the attention deficits aspects of technology, but then what’s the point if the child doesn’t learn anything. Answering the salient question “Can technology teach?” with evidenced –based research, might be a fiscally wise endeavor for educational institutions.

Research

Studies show relationships between internet porn use among young people and the following sexually related behaviors:

• sexual compulsion and/or addictions
• early sexuality
• sexual abuse of others (assault, rape, molestation)
• sexual abuse by predators

In the March issue of Sex Roles researchers found a link between the type and explicitness of sexual media the teens saw and their tendency to view women as sexual “play things.” The more explicit the material viewed, the more likely young people were to see women in these ways. Researchers have found that children and adolescents who frequent porn sites are more likely to view sex as a purely physical function and to view women as sex objects. Another study found a relationship between porn use and the feeling that it wasn’t necessary to have affection for people to have sex with them. Aggression toward women, lack of empathy, and difficulty developing intimacy with sexual partners are common problems of adults who view pornography. What happens when children start using pornography as young as ten years of age, and how will their future relationships with their partners be affected? For years a widely accepted concept in addiction theory is that one of the underlying factors in addiction, especially child addition, is a failure or dysfunctional primary attachment between child and parent(s). Also found in addiction/attachment research is that children who overuse technology have increased incidence of isolation, depression and more problematic relationships with their parent(s). As child pornography use escalates, tolerance to sexual stimulus develops, making the child more prone toward a sexual addiction. In teen years, what was once a pornography addiction can now escalate toward engagement in risky behaviours, as the need for increased intensity of stimuli builds, resulting in the purchasing the services of prostitutes. Does the type of life parents and teachers envision for the New Millennium Child include prostitutes? Likely not, yet adults are continuing to ramp up the use of unrestricted and unsupervised technology by young children in schools and homes, without providing the most basic media literacy education.

Red Flags

1. Excessive use of the internet (pediatric experts recommend no more than 1-2 hours of total technology use per day)
2. Isolation and/or depression
3. Seeking mood-altering experiences (drugs, alcohol, high risk behavior)
4. Few friends and difficulty with interpersonal relationships
5. Low pursuit or engagement in social activities
6. Substance abuse and delinquent behaviour
7. Sexually deviant behaviours

Solutions

Addressing child addictions, whether to technologies in general or pornography, is going to be a long, arduous and costly journey for parents, as well as the education and health professions. As research continues to discover problems associated with technology overuse by children (see Virtual Child – The terrifying truth about what technology is doing to children www.virtualchild.ca), parents, teachers and health professionals need to team together to create educational programs for managing balance between technology and activity (see Balanced Technology Management slide show www.zonein.ca). The following list of solution-based initiatives are to serve as a guideline for parents, education and health professionals.

1. Improve Primary Attachments

Parents and teachers alike could look at ways in which they can improve their relationships with children, and hence improve the primary attachment. Children learn about healthy relationships from viewing how the adults in their lives interact with them, as well as each other. All pornography should be removed from the home and from parent’s computers. If children view their parents using pornography, or even pursuing relationships with virtual avatars, this supports the idea that these type of relationships are normal and should be condoned. Primary attachments can be improved by parents spending more quality time with their children, engaged in non-technology related activities. The new “Unplug’in” game helps children and families develop interest and build confidence and skills in alternate activities www.zonein.ca under products.

2. Education

Children require formal education on both the healthy forms of expressing human sexuality (talking intimately, holding hands, hugging, kissing), as well as unhealthy expressions (abuse, aggression, humiliation, and human degradation) which are portrayed in pornography. School-based media literacy programs (see Live’in Resource Guide www.zonein.ca) seem to be the most efficient and effective initiative to address the growing problems associated with technology overuse by children. Children should also understand that child use of pornography is illegal, and that they could be arrested.

3. Restriction and Supervision

All technologies should be kept in a place where adults can view what the child is doing, in home and in school-based settings. One teacher supervising a class of 30 students using a variety of technologies is impossible to monitor. While using filters and tracking devices might work for some children, others are very tech-savvy and will be able to disable these programs as fast as they are downloaded.

Future

Technology is like a train going a hundred miles an hour toward an unknown destination. What is now very clear to researchers is many children are falling off this train with devastating consequences. Until research catches up and provides adequate information for education and health professionals on the impact of pornography on children, we should proceed with the utmost of caution and strive to educate, restrict, and supervise technology usage. Determining risk vs. benefit is essential when attempting to reduce the use of technologies, especially in the educational system where there minimal to no studies that report any educational benefit at all. Researchers require a more detailed look at the effects of internet pornography on children, more longitudinal studies, and a closer look at how inadvertent exposure may affect the young.

References

Ybarra ML, Mitchell KJ. Exposure to Internet Pornography amoung Children and Adolescents: A National Survey. Cyberpsychology and Behavior. 2005; Vol 8, No 5, 473-482

Wolack J, Mitchell K, Finkelhor D. Unwanted and Wanted Exposure to Online Pornography in a National Sample of Youth Internet Users. Pediatrics. 2007; Vol 119: No 2, 247-257

Freeman-Longo, RE. Children, Teens, and Sex on the Internet. Sexual Addiction and Compulsivity. 2000; Vol 7:75-90

DeAngelis T. Web Pornography’s Effects on Children. American Psychological Association. 2007; Vol 38: No 10, 50-51

Author

Elementary Pornography was written by pediatric occupational therapist and child development expert Cris Rowan, and can be reproduced with permission from author.

Cris Rowan, BScOT, BScBi, SIPT, AOTA Approved Provider Status

CEO Zone’in Programs Inc.

6840 Seaview Rd. Sechelt, BC V0N3A4

604-885-0986 p, 604-885-0389 f, 604-740-2264 c

crowan@zonein.ca

www.zonein.ca, ww.suncoastot.com, www.virtualchild.ca

Author of “Virtual Child – The terrifying truth about what technology is doing to children”

Curiosity about why children spend so much time engage with electronic devices, would offer valuable insight toward what to do to help them reduce the use. Child technology overuse in and of itself is not the problem, it’s a symptom of something far more worrisome, and much harder to address. As parents (and teachers!) become more and more connected to technology, they are disconnecting from children at a rapid pace. Parents report they find playing with their child “boring”. In the absence of parental care and attention, children will default to attaching to devices, and for the first time in the history of humankind, we now have children with addictions.

Sedentary, isolated, and neglected, Canadian children are suffering, and their very sustainability is now in question. One in three children now enters school developmentally delayed, one in four are obese, and one in six have a diagnosed mental illness, many of whom are taking dangerous psychotropic medications. With 5000 children now taking antipsychotic medications in BC alone, one has to ask why so many children are so mentally ill. It’s time to disconnect from technology and reconnect with our children. Unplug – Don’t Drug our children, before it’s too late.

I’ve summarized the research profiled in the December 2011 Child Development Series Newsletter in order to offer readers a comprehensive view of the impact of technology on children. This is just one month.

• Parents are preferring their Second Life avitars to real-life relationships
• Tablets and smartphones are the top requested Christmas gift by young children
• Screen time by children is higher than ever
• Problematic video game use is linked to poor mental and physical health
• Teenage video game players showing brains ‘like gambling addicts’
• Media profanity and substance abuse result in increased use of both, along with escalating aggression
• Illiteracy is rising, with boys’ poor results in reading feared to be spreading to math and science
• Effects of EMF radiation is underestimated in children, and in pregnancy, is linked to asthma in offspring, autism and adhd in children, as well as thyroid damage in adults
• Canadian Children are drugged in record numbers with atypical antipsychotics leading to complications such as long-term depression and apathy
• Health Canada warns public of increased risk of high blood pressure with Strattera (ADHD medication)
• Yet – Canadian Drug Agency supports drugs as first-line therapy for ADHD

Zone’in Programs Inc. offers a challenge this Christmas to families and school throughout the world. Spend Christmas day without technology. Put it in a box, or lock it in a filing cabinet if you have to, but spend time with each other, and especially spend time with your children. Write us a letter and tell us how you’re “no tech” Christmas day went, what DID you do, and we’ll post them in our January 2012 newsletter. Best story gets a free Unplug’in Game. Come on…it will be a blast!

Cris Rowan, BScOT, BScBi, SIPT, AOTA Approved Provider Status
CEO Zone’in Programs Inc.
6840 Seaview Rd. Sechelt, BC V0N3A4
604-885-0986 p, 604-885-0389 f, 604-740-2264 c
crowan@zonein.ca
www.zonein.ca, ww.suncoastot.com, www.virtualchild.ca
Author of “Virtual Child – The terrifying truth about what technology is doing to children”

Twas the night before Christmas, and all thru the house, glaring noise from cell phones, TV’s and video games, was impossible to douse.

My parents were nestled all snug in their beds, while visions of their 3-D avitars danced in their head.

My Nannybot stood next to me, attentive, and pure as a monk, while my parents slept fitfully, sedated and quite drunk.

I had earlier awakened to the sound of a mouse, sat bolt upright in bed, and excitedly ran through the house.

As Nannybots were not especially programmed for mice, she stood silently by and pretended to be nice.

Surrounded as we were by an invisible shield, the entry of the mouse to our house was especially weird.

Hermatically sealed in our dark, virtual tomb, a live creature was as rare as a flower in bloom.

I chased and I chased the mouse but to no avail, as he quickly and smartly escaped me – minus his tail.

My parents were useless in matters like this, as their many technologies captivated them in a world of mindless bliss.

I knew it was up to me to get the mouse safely outside, and free him from this world full of electronic pride.

I tiptoed down the stairs, being ever so careful, and bumped into St. Nick, who was especially cheerful.

“You’re the first human I’ve seen in years” old Nick said with a sigh, “Those Nannybots really all should die”.

“Gone are the real trees, the tinsel and bobbles…now all you have is fake trees and strobe lights that give me the wobbles”.

Santa told me a story, that went back years and years, about how Christmas used to be, with his eyes full of tears.

He said before Nannybots, Moms and Dads were all the rage, and that long ago they weren’t drugged, and their children they raised.

The parents played games with their kids, and got down on the floor, giving piggy backs and tickles, and much, much more.

I was shocked and amazed at the stories he told, and a feeling came over me that was really quite bold.

I asked Santa to help me get my parents out of bed, so they could listen to an idea I had dancing in my head.

But first Santa and I, we prepared the scene…for something so magical, real and serene.

We unplugged all devices, and along with the Nannybot, threw them out into the snow…that’s as far as they got.

When everything was ready and we slowed down our pace, we woke up my parents with snowballs to their face.

“What’s going on?” my Dad said with a roar, “Who took my cell phone, computer, iPad and X-box, and what is that on the floor?”

My Mom looked quite quizzical, as she gazed all around, and said “Johnny…what have you and Santa hidden under that mound?”

I showed them all the stockings and decorations so gay, and all the games hidden underneath the blanket that Santa had found deep in his sleigh.

I pleaded “Let’s do a day without drugs, or Nannybots, or things that plug in. Let’s jump on the bed, cut down a tree, and let the magic begin!”

My parents were in shock, but soon got excited, and my Dad screamed “Let’s just do it” as he grabbed me elated.

“From the mouth of babes” my Mom looked at me with delight…”Merry Christmas to all, and to all, a good night!”

Cris Rowan

The following ten step plan was designed by pediatric occupational therapist Cris Rowan for elementary school environments to enhance student attention and ability to learn. Supporting research can be located on the Zone’in Fact Sheet.

Click here to download the ten step plan.

There is a growing trend in the elementary school system to “refuse to use” new and largely unproven education technologies, sprouting a return back to teaching the basics. Frustrated by children who are unable to pay attention and learn, teachers are beginning to question the validity of using education technology, especially with young children. A kindergarten teacher recently told me that she refused to use Smart Boards in her classroom, following intense pressure from parents, her administration and colleagues. This teacher stated that she was more effective than any technology in teaching all subjects to her children, and reported she had grave doubts regarding any perceived benefits, as well as had concerns about inherent health risks of using education technology with her young students. This article presents five arguments for the restriction of education technology in elementary school settings, and proposes education systems adopt a cautionary approach when using technology with young children. This article is dedicated to pioneering educators and administrators who already see the damage education technology has caused to children’s learning.

Five Arguments for the Restriction of Education Technology in Elementary School Settings

1) Unproven Benefit

Research regarding short and long term benefits of education technology is either non-existent or fraught with conflict of interest. As well, the immense variability of technology usage is rarely considered. For example, the average child currently uses 7.5 hours per day of entertainment technology (Kaiser Foundation 2010), with consequent proven impairment to their ability to pay attention and learn (Christakis 2004). While use of education technology might have some benefit in a child who is a low user of entertainment technology, it likely worsens distractibility (and ability to learn) in a high user. Recent research conducted by the Seattle Children’s Research Institute indicates that 9 minutes exposure to fast paced cartoons resulted in impaired executive function in four year old children (Christakis 2011). A researcher with University of Iowa, found that children who use more than 4-5 hours per day of video games are short-circuiting neuronal tracks to their frontal cortex (Small 2008). Wide spread implementation of various forms of TeleEducation have never been researched, and the consequences are unknown at this time.

2) Replaces The Basics

Teachers now teach printing an average 10 minutes per day (Graham 2008). Children who struggle with printing have limited ability to output their knowledge, as every subject still requires printing skill. A child who can’t remember how to make their letters and numbers is a slow printer, channeling all their mental energy into production, as opposed to spelling and math. As frustration and embarrassment mount, many of these children are labelled with a learning disability and handed a laptop, when they really just need to be taught to print. The myth that computers will replace printing has not born true in education settings, and if as adults we are still printing, we should be teaching this essential skill to children. Children who screen read have reduced comprehension and memory, as well as increased distractibility over book readers (Mangen 2008). Half of grade eight children do not have job entry literacy (National Center for Education Statistics 2010). Every child has the right to learn how to print and achieve literacy.

3) Fiscally Irresponsible

School systems world wide are chronically under funded and struggling to operate with significant budget deficits. Crowded classrooms, hungry children, teacher burnout, and student behavior management problems, are just a few of the current issues facing education systems today. With research indicating that nature based settings and sensorimotor-based playgrounds enhance attention and learning (Kuo 2004, Kaplan 1995, Ratey 2008), misdirecting money toward unproven education technologies is not only fiscally irresponsible, but also is detrimental to a student’s ability to learn. Termed “The Learning Paradox”, diminishing returns on educational technology investments will inevitably result in the decimation and reorganization of education systems worldwide. A whole generation lost to illiteracy, yet they can push Apps around on a screen!

4) Detachment from Humanity

Long term impact of replacing the human element with a technological device on a child’s ability to form healthy attachments and learn, is unknown at this time. Empathy has declined by 40% in the past five years (Globe and Mail 2010). Social networking results in increased depression, anxiety, and isolation (Weisskirch 2011). As the incidence of adult internet addiction soars (Block 2008), anxiety becomes the fastest growing mental health concern in children. As humans connect more and more to technology, they are disconnecting from each other, resulting in a rise in attachment and behavior disorders which are increasingly diagnosed and medicated (Rowan 2010). To discount and devalue an empathetic and caring teacher’s impact on a child’s ability to behave, pay attention and learn, may result in irreversible harm to student mental health and academic performance. To thrive and survive, children need to form healthy attachments to other humans.

5) Potentially Dangerous

Early research indicates inherent risks to physical and mental health from use of wireless internet, cell phones and other technology devices (Emre 2011, Khurana 2009, Crofton 2001), yet schools proceed with escalating, unrestricted use (Fast Company 2010). Use of technology in a school based setting has a high risk:low benefit ratio, particularly with young children, and therefore warrants a cautionary approach. Waiting for education governments and researchers to produce long term evidence that these technologies are safe for young children will take time. In the interim, administrators and educators might consider curtailing or eliminating use of all technology in elementary school settings, with a mandate to return to proven teaching methods to optimize learning and ensure attainment of literacy. An immediate focus on removing technologies from the primary grades, and a redirection of teaching to the basics of printing, reading and math, would create sustainable futures and academic success for all children.

Written by Cris Rowan, pediatric occupational therapist and activist for children’s right to learn.

Cris Rowan, BScOT, BScBi, SIPT, Approved Provider by AOTA
CEO Zone’in Programs Inc.
6840 Seaview Rd.
Sechelt, BC V0N3A4
604-885-0986 p, 604-885-0389 f, 604-740-2264 c
crowan@zonein.ca
www.zonein.ca, www.virtualchild.ca, www.suncoastot.com
Author of “Virtual Child – The terrifying truth about what technology is doing to children”

Research References

Block, JJ. Issues for DSM – V: Internet Addiction. Journal of Clinical Psychiatry. 2008; 67 (5): 821-826.

Crofton K. (2011). Wireless Radiation Rescue: Safeguard Your Family from Electro-pollution. Global Wellbeing Books, United States.

Christakis DA, Zimmerman FJ, DiGiuseppe DL, McCarty CA. Early television exposure and subsequent attentional problems in children. Pediatrics. 2004; 113 (4): 708-713.

Christakis DA. The Effects fo Fast-Paced Cartoons. Pediatrics. September 12, 2011; Available at:

http://pediatrics.aappublications.org/content/early/2011/09/08/peds.2011-2071.full.pdf

Emre M, Cetiner S, Zencir S, Unlukurt I, Kahraman I, Topcu Z. Oxidatvie stress and apoptosis in relation to exposure to magnetic field. Cell Biochemistry and Biophysics. 2011; 59 (2): 71-77.

Fast Company Magazine. (April, 2010). “A” is for App. By Anya Kamenetz.

http://www.fastcompany.com/magazine/144.

Globe and Mail. (2010). By Zosia Bielski. Today’s college kids are 40-per-cent less empathetic, study finds. June 1, 1010. Available at: http://www.theglobeandmail.com/life/work/todays-college-kids-are-40-per-cent-less-empathetic-study-finds/article1587609/

Graham S, Harris K, Mason L, Fink-Chorzempa B, Moran S, Saddler B (2008) How Do Primary Grade Teachers Teach Handwriting? A National Survey. Reading and Writing: An Interdisciplinary Journal. 2008: 21;49-69.

Kaiser Foundation Report. 2010. Retrieved on April 30, 2010 from

http://www.kff.org/entmedia/upload/8010.pdf.

Kaplan S. The restorative benefits of nature: Toward an integrative framework. Journal of Environmental Psychology. 1995; 15: 169-182.

Khurana VG, Teo C, Kundi M, Hardell L, Carlberg M. Cell phones and brain tumors: a review including long-term epidemiologic data. Surgical Neurology, 2009; 72 (3), 214-215.

Kuo FE, Faber Taylor A. A Potential Natural Treatment for Attention-Deficit/Hyperactivity Disorder: Evidence from a National Study. American Journal of Public Health. 2004; 94(9):1580-1586.

Mangen, A. (2008). Hypertext fiction reading: haptics and immersion. Journal of Research. 31(4):404-419.

National Center for Education Statistics (2010). United States Department of Education: Institute of Education Sciences. Available at: http://nces.ed.gov/pubsearch/pubsinfo.asp?pubid=2000071

Ratey JJ, Hagerman E (2008). Spark: The Revolutionary New Science of Exercise and the Brain. Little, Brown and Company, New York.

Rowan, C. (2010). Unplug – Don’t Drug: A Critical Look at the Influence of Technology on Child Behavior With an Alternative Way of responding Other Than Evaluation and Drugging. Ethical Human Psychology and Psychiatry. 12 (1): 60-67.

Small G, Vorgan G. iBrain: Surviving the technological alteration of the human mind. 2008. Harper Collins, New York, NY.

Weisskirch RS. No Crossed Wires: Cell Phone Communication in Parent-Adolescent Relationships. Cyberpsychology, Behavior and Social Networking on June 27, 2011 Available at: http://www.liebertpub.com/contentframe.aspx?code=PTwO51UJtdLXj4PbCAd%2b9O61QLd6H8GZ41xAX4QUr60XXFuL5J4PBhXzkH8HkRY27oEZ3lftKxPpFPzhIlWKeUmYqZytBcNc9vU%2b8cVSO9c%3d

CBC Radio One Rex Murphy’s Cross Country Checkup interviews Cris Rowan on the impact of technology on the developing child. Cris’s interview starts at 58:16 min into show.

http://www.cbc.ca/checkup/

Four critical factors for ensuring optimal child development and learning ability are movement, touch, human connection, and nature.

1. Movement builds cardiovascular health, which in turn prevents diabetes and obesity. Movement also builds a strong core necessary for attaining motor coordination needed to achieve literacy. Movement reduces anxiety and depression, as well as optimizes arousal states necessary for attention and learning.
2. Touch produces a well adjusted child who is comfortable in their skin, and able to “self soothe” in different situations and environments. Children lacking in touch have delayed development, and are often highly anxious and agitated, or alternatively, withdrawn and repressed.
3. Children who have functional attachments with their parents are more comfortable with self exploration and are able to give and receive love and affection. Dysfunctional attachments are marked by overly involved “helicopter” parents, or alternatively, parents who ignore or neglect their children. Children who have never formed functional attachments with their parents have difficulty socializing with peers, are often socially immature, and frequently isolate themselves from others.
4. Nature is sensory soothing and attention restorative. Children who regularly access nature have reduced incidence of ADHD, as well have manageable behaviour and can learn. Children who lack access to nature have more difficulty paying attention and learning, and demonstrate more problematic behaviours and learning disorders.

When a child’s access to movement, touch, human connection, and nature are restricted or limited, development and learning will be impaired. As children’s brains develop more rapidly when they are younger, exposure to these critical factors for development are most important in the early years. When children are allowed to ride bikes, run and jump, play imaginary games, shout and laugh out loud, climb trees, roll around on the grass, and access challenging playgrounds – development is optimized and learning becomes easier. Technology restricts and limits critical factors for child development, which is why our Canadian and American Pediatric Associations recommend no technology exposure for ages 0 – 2 years, and only 1 – 2 hours per day for children ages 2 – 12 years. Early use and overuse of technology is resulting in deprivation of movement, touch, human connection, and nature, with profound consequences to children’s physical, mental, social and academic performance. Children now use an average of 7.5 hours per day of home-based entertainment technology, with an additional unknown amount used at school, 4 – 5 times the total amount recommended by pediatric experts. One in three children now enter school developmentally delayed, one in four are obese, and one in six has a diagnosed mental illness. When we know that technology use significantly limits four critical factors for child development and learning, we can now more readily understand the significance of technology’s impact on young children.

Today’s toddlers are readily handed iPads by well meaning parents, who have been told by well meaning educators, who have been told by technology manufacturers, that these devices will optimize their learning and ensure their long term success. The benefits of using technology for educational purposes are to date largely unproven, and the risks are only now receiving research attention. Long term effects of 24/7 exposure of electromagnetic radiation on young, developing children has never been studied, despite early research showing potential harm to adults. Children’s brains contain more fluid than adult brains, and are consequently more likely to be affected by electromagnetic radiation, and therefore use of Smartboards, cell phones, and wireless internet with young children would warrent caution.

Research shows that children’s brains develop in accordance with exposure to environment and activity. The old adage “you are what you do” applies well to early brain development. As the job of the developing brain is to become more efficient, development results in a “pruning” of tracks to brain areas that are not frequently used. Studies show that high usage of technology by children has resulted in a “short-circuiting” of neurons to the underutilized frontal cortex. Known for controlling impulses and facilitating executive function, loss of the frontal cortex increases distractability and limits learning, yet schools continue to escalate technology use. Impulsivity seems to be the trademark of technology on our children, as repeated ‘stimulus’ and ‘response’ actions restrict higher brain development needed for attention and learning. As technology evolves, and the brain makes and rewires itself to accommodate high speed and diverse yet meaningless information, it appears that our “progressive” race will unfortunately become more and more decerebrate.

So many questions go unanswered, as everyone blindly hops on the “technology train” and speeds off into oblivion with children falling off unseen and unheard. In the absence of an attentive parent, children are forming unhealthy attachments to devices. Schools are rapidly removing the human element from teaching without any studies to show how this impacts on children’s ability to learn. Devices have become an interface between humans, and the individual now perceives they can live and survive without their “pack”. As these lonely and neglected children cry out in protest, education and health professionals increasingly diagnose and medicate “problematic” behaviours, or alternatively lock them in hastily built “seclusion” or “safe” rooms. Continuing to ignore technology overuse as a causal factor for problematic child behaviour, obesity, developmental delay, sleep disorders, mental illness, aggression, and learning impairments, is negligent, and results in quick fix and ineffective solutions.

If you feel moved by concepts and questions posed in this article, please consider joining together with others to form Balanced Technology Management Teams in your local communities. Ensuring managed balance between technology use and healthy activity, will help optimize development and eventually achieve sustainable futures for all children.

For more information, please visit www.zonein.ca and www.virtualchild.ca websites, or contact author of this article Cris Rowan, pediatric occupational therapist and child development specialist at crowan@zonein.ca.

Research references are located on the Zone’in Fact Sheet at www.zonein.ca.

The majority of brain development occurs during the ages of 0 to 3 years. This rapid rate of development happens largely in relation to the child’s environment. If the infant’s environment is nurturing, predictable and offers critical factors to promote development, the infant attains optimal physical, mental and social growth necessary to achieve academic success. If the infant’s environment is one of sedentary and isolative technology use, combined with limited touch and human connection, the infant’s development will be impaired, consequently affecting all aspects of their future success. Animals are born fully developed, with horses achieving running ability within hours of birth. For human infants, coordinated running may take up to two years, providing they move.

In order for children to achieve adequate motor milestones, the Canadian Paediatric Society and the American Academy of Pediatrics has recommended NO technology use for infants 0-2 years, and 1-2 hours per day for toddlers and children. Yet over 25% of infants and 75% of children have a technology device in their unsupervised bedrooms, and children are now averaging 7.5 hours per day entertainment technology. It has been estimated that 10% of children have a technology addiction. Every time a child plugs into a device, they get a hit of dopamine, a neurotransmitter that provides the child with a high and euphoric feeling, a bit like cocaine. The more this child shoots, stabs, stomps and slices their opponents while playing violent video games, the more dopamine their brain produces, offering more fuel to the fire. Adrenalin and cortisol levels stay at a chronically high state in this child’s system, effects of which we know little, and slowly but surely over time the child becomes addicted. The 21st century is the first time in the history of humankind to witness children with addictions.

I encourage adults (parents AND teachers) to think in terms of a risk to benefit ratio when considering exceeding expert guidelines for technology use. The risks are obesity, developmental delay, sleep deprivation, anxiety, depression, aggression, unsociability, attention deficit, and low grades. The benefits are entertainment, escape, immediate gratification, babysitting, and soothing. While the benefits might seem very attractive to parents and teachers at first glance, long term usage of technology for these reasons can be problematic to say the least. As the dopamine hits keep coming, the usage escalates, creating a monster where there used to be a child. All too soon, the device has wedged its way in between adult and child, an interface which limits human connection and interaction. The adult and child lose their ability and desire to engage in face to face communication, further fuelling the addiction, In the absence of the parent, the child`s only choice is to attach to a device. Technology is predictable, pleasurable, and there whenever you need it. A quick fix at best, this disconnection from humanity is not good for child nor adult, and exacerbates problematic behavior to a level requiring intensive management.

So this summer, when the kids are rangy and adults want some peace, take a deep breath and say “Not now, I want to play with you!“ Grab a frisbee, football, or even just yourself and get outside into nature`s great healing aspects, and have some fun with your kids. While studies show one in three parents find play boring, or don`t know how to play with their children, that`s not YOU! You remember all the fun you had without any toys, just your imagination and a few other kids is a great recipe for a great time.

Best of luck and have an AWESOME summer!!!

Cris Rowan, OT (Reg), BScOT, BScBi, SIPT
CEO Zone’in Programs Inc. and Sunshine Coast Occupational Therapy Inc.
6840 Seaview Rd. Sechelt BC V0N3A4
604-885-0986 O, 604-740-2264 C, 604-885-0389 F
crowan@zonein.ca
websites: www.zonein.ca, www.virtualchild.ca, www.suncoastot.com
Author of “Virtual Child – The terrifying truth about what technology is doing to children”

One in three children now enter school developmentally delayed (Kershaw 2009). While delayed child development associated with overuse of technology, is unlikely to cause species demise in and of itself, when considering the secondary effects of delayed development on family socioeconomic status and academic performance, species demise could become a future reality. Suboptimal sensory, motor and cognitive development in children impacts on their achievement of literacy, which in turn impacts on a child’s completion of high school. Failure to complete high school affects job acquisition and future potential as a wage earner, to say nothing of the economic impact of high school “drop-outs” on the community as a whole. Failure to complete high school also affects attractiveness for human mating and formation of eventual partnerships, affecting overall species productivity and endurance.

One in four children have obesity (Tremblay, 2007). Obesity secondary to technology overuse is associated with diabetes and cardiovascular disorders, both affecting species endurance and well being. One in six children has a diagnosed mental illness (Waddell, 2007). Child mental health impairment, associated with technology overuse, impacts on species productivity and well being. Poor communication skills and social isolation, both traits causally related to technology overuse in children, have a negative impact on species prowess and ability to find a mate. Unsuitability for mating will limit human ability to form meaningful relationships necessary to form partnerships and raise a family. Inability to secure a life partner and raise a family affects species propagation, and hence affects overall human sustainability through impacting endurance and well being.

Rising use of psychotropic medication with young children to treat behavior disorders associated with technology overuse has the potential to negatively impact all three sustainability factors – endurance, productivity, and well being. While child aggression may have been advantageous to species longevity 100 years ago, in the 21st century child aggression is now coupled with developmental delay, impulsivity and illiteracy, making this trait far less attractive when considering overall species sustainability.

The ability of a child to adapt to sensory responses in their environment emerges early in life as a protective and discriminative mechanism, and as children grow they typically become better at tolerating uncomfortable sensory stimuli by applying strategies to self regulate. Sensory over-responsivity reflects a failure to achieve a balance between sensitization and habituation, and can affect many aspects of a child’s ability to function in both home and school settings. The impact of technology overuse on a developing child’s sensory system, and that sensory system’s ability to adapt and habituate to technological stimuli is unknown at this time.

Possibly the profound rise in child mental and behavioral disorders reflects the fact that children are not adapting to the chaotic and hyper stimulated world of technology as well as we might think.

The ability to relate in meaningful ways with other human beings, to be able to empathize and sympathize with others, really sets the human species distinctly apart from the animal species. As empathy requires human relatedness, one might ask the question “What will be the end result of technology’s progression toward isolation of the human species?” Sedentary, detached, angry, obese, over-stimulated and isolated, how much longer can the new millennium child attempt to adapt to this unhealthy lifestyle, and at what point is the human species no longer sustainable? The physical and mental status of the parent is also a crucial factor for determining how well the child will fare. Parent obesity, mental illness, addictions, social isolation, and aggression, all conditions associated with technology overuse, have the potential to have profound effects on the endurance, productivity, and well being of the next generation. Long durations of attachment to technology effectively “detaches” parents from their children, not only impacting on the parent’s ability to provide sustenance such as food, shelter and clothing, but also negatively impacting on the life sustaining effects of healthy attachment formation between parent and child.

In conclusion, evidence suggests that parents and schools allow young children extended periods of unrestricted access to various forms of technology which is harmful to their physical, mental, social and academic development. Further evidence suggests parents are increasingly presenting their children to physicians for assessment of complex behavior disorders that may be linked to the physical inactivity and sensory over-responsivity inherent in the overuse of technology, or related to the “detached” state of the parent.

Health and education professional routine monitoring of technology use through application of a Technology Screen would be a start toward achieving eventual Balanced Technology Management, and consequently serve to improve the health and academic performance of children. Implementation of the school-based Creating Sustainable Futures Program, and formation of community-based Balanced Technology Management Foundation Teams, would ensure species sustainability. Children with high technology usage may benefit from a technology “unplug” trial of one to three months prior to costly behavior diagnosis and potentially harmful prescription of psychotropic medication. Educators may consider implementation of school-based media literacy programs, which have proven effective in reducing technology use and obesity. Recommendations for family disconnection from technology and reconnection with each other and nature, would go a long way toward reversing these worrisome societal trends.

There is a lot of work to be done, and quickly, if we are to turn the tide and start taming the powerful force that technology is exerting on our lives. Each and every one of us would be wise to ask of ourselves “Who is driving the ship? Technology or me?”

For more information on the impact of technology on children, buy Cris Rowan’s book Virtual Child – The terrifying truth about what technology is doing to children www.virtualchild.ca available at Amazon.com.

Cris Rowan, OT (Reg), BScOT, BScBi, SIPT
CEO Zone’in Programs Inc. and Sunshine Coast Occupational Therapy Inc.
6840 Seaview Rd. Sechelt BC V0N3A4
604-885-0986 O, 604-740-2264 C, 604-885-0389 F
crowan@zonein.ca
websites: www.zonein.ca, www.suncoastot.com
Author of “Virtual Child – The terrifying truth about what technology is doing to children”