A groundbreaking new study about the impact of screen time on adolescent brains has many parents concerned.
The study, conducted by the National Institute of Health (NIH) is called The Adolescent Brain Cognitive Development (ABCD) Study.
The study, conducted at 21 research sites around the country, will use advanced brain imaging over time to observe the effects of screen time and other factors on developing adolescent brains.
Emily Cherkin, founder of The Screentime Consultant, understands screen time and kids.
“I come to this work not just as an educator but also as a parent,” she told Fox News.
As a former teacher for more than a decade, and a mother of a 10-year-old and a 7-year-old, her focus turned to technology and the effect it has on kids.
“I have said repeatedly, this is the hill I’m gonna die on; I firmly believe that I’m fighting for my children’s cognitive and social-emotional health,” Cherkin said.
“Smartphone[s] came out 11 years ago, and the iPad is only six years old, we don’t have longitudinal data to say what long-term impacts are,” she said.
That is, until now.
The NIH’s ambitious study on adolescent brain development in relation to screen time will observe 11,874 youth participants, ages 9-10 for a decade.
MRI’s will track brain development.
Early results indicate that spending more than seven hours daily on smartphones and tablets may change the structure of a child’s brain.
This doesn’t surprise Cherkin.
“I think parents and schools are up against a big challenge to figure out what is the balance, what is enough,” she said. “When kids are spending time on screens, it is time spent not doing something else.”
Finding that balance starts at home, according to Cherkin.
“How does technology fit into that value?” she asked. “So, does that mean that mom and dad get to be looking at their social media or texting during dinner? Because that’s modeling for your kids.”
Maybe it’s time to put down our smartphones too.
“It’s very easy to tell our kids to turn off devices and stop looking at their social media, when in fact, we adults are pretty culpable of all the screen time stuff,” she said.
Cherkin advocates a “less is more” attitude for both parents and kids.
“The benefit of face-to-face communication, you can’t replace that,” she said. “You can’t teach empathy through an app.”
