Too much screen time slows down children's brain development
/New research has revealed how “screen time” actually changes the brain development of a small child at the physiological level.
The researchers discovered that the more young children spent times looking at screens (e.g. iPads, smartphones, etc), the slower was the development of the “white matter” in their brains, compared to kids who spent less “screen time”.
The “white matter” is the part of the brain which is responsible for language, other literacy skills, and the process of mental control and self-regulation.
This was most pronounced during the first 5 years of a child’s life.
In addition, the researchers had the children undergo a series of cognitive tasks (e.g. remembering the names of objects). They discovered that the children who spent more time on screens had a reduced mental ability compared to children who spent less time on screens.
