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  • Passive TV time vs. active computer time

    A worthwhile piece that needs to be read respectfully and carefully. The writer/mother begins with a vignette regarding an interaction with another mom who links together TV time and computer time and is adamantly against both. The writer begs to differ. She sees computer time as valuable and TVs not so much. She sees time with one as creative and interactive and the other as passive and inhibiting of creativity. Continue reading →

  • We are being controlled by media machines

    From my point of view, this is an article that states the obvious: we are being controlled my media machines. But perhaps some of its points are not that obvious to those who don't stop and think about the matter. All we need to do is sit in a room with a few of our friends or acquaintances. Someone is talking about a job scenario that's troubling, or a girlfriend who's stressful. The phone goes off. Or a text is recorded. Naturally the friend reaches for the phone... Continue reading →

  • Can the internet engage our emotions?
    Can the internet engage our emotions?

    An article that offers a complex and balanced approach. As the author points out, kids can learn a lot of valuable information from the internet. If given a task that involves the acquiring of knowledge about, say, the Vikings, they can learn a lot quickly. Continue reading →

  • Addicted to technology

    A sobering article about a UK psychologist working with children and adolescents who are "hooked on" media machines. Though the article is a bit cursory in terms of his definitions of media or internet addiction (see my articles in Psychology Today about the subject of internet addiction for more details), he has a very interesting way of treating the condition. Continue reading →

  • ADHD diagnosed in 18 times as many kids in the US, compared to France

    An article worth reading more than once in order to understand its deeper implications. The idea is that French child psychiatrists and therapists tend to diagnose Attention Deficit Disorder much less frequently than their American counterparts. The percentages are over 9% versus .5%. That is, American children are diagnosed with ADD about 18 times as frequently! This is a staggering statistic. Continue reading →

  • Screen time is also snack time
    Screen time is also snack time

    A worthwhile article that makes some well-known points, if with a few new twists. Another academic center has done research on kids and measured the connection between screen time and obesity. Only they've added in a new idea: contrasting the outcome of reading time versus screen time. The outcome: kids definitely do better in terms of weight if they read rather than veg in front of the tube. Continue reading →

  • Balancing screen time with human contact

    A thought-provoking article that deserves a careful read. More and more I have seen parents dealing with kids suffering from anger problems and sleep issues by turning to the media in the form of IPad and smart phones and touch screens to mollify their kids. In the short term it works. In the long term there are problems. Continue reading →