We, as a culture, are not only engaged in screens most of the day, but we are also often using multiple screens at the same time.
In Screenagers, Dr. Dimitri Christakis, Director of Child Development at Seattle Children’s Hospital, says:
"The brain isn’t actually capable of multitasking. In fact, your brain oscillates attention from task 1 to task 2. The young nimble adolescent brain can oscillate back and forth very quickly, but it comes at a cost. One study looked at children and had them watch either a very rapidly-sequenced tv program or a slowly sequenced program or play with crayons and then tested right afterward their cognitive ability and found that the kids who watched the rapidly-paced program performed more poorly than the other two. Overstimulation tires the brain and it tends to function not as well."
Our kids are very accustomed to having several screens out at once. I notice when my family watches a movie at home that they have their phones out and go will go back and forth between screens.
Photo by casenbina/iStock / Getty Images
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Learn more about showing our movies in your school or community!
Register your interest in bringing our new movie to your school or community
Learn more about showing our movies in your school or community!
Join Screenagers filmmaker Delaney Ruston MD for our latest Podcast
Learn more about our Screen-Free Sleep campaign at the website!
Our movie made for parents and educators of younger kids
Join Screenagers filmmaker Delaney Ruston MD for our latest Podcast
Register your interest in bringing our new movie to your school or community
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We, as a culture, are not only engaged in screens most of the day, but we are also often using multiple screens at the same time.
In Screenagers, Dr. Dimitri Christakis, Director of Child Development at Seattle Children’s Hospital, says:
"The brain isn’t actually capable of multitasking. In fact, your brain oscillates attention from task 1 to task 2. The young nimble adolescent brain can oscillate back and forth very quickly, but it comes at a cost. One study looked at children and had them watch either a very rapidly-sequenced tv program or a slowly sequenced program or play with crayons and then tested right afterward their cognitive ability and found that the kids who watched the rapidly-paced program performed more poorly than the other two. Overstimulation tires the brain and it tends to function not as well."
Our kids are very accustomed to having several screens out at once. I notice when my family watches a movie at home that they have their phones out and go will go back and forth between screens.
Photo by casenbina/iStock / Getty Images
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We, as a culture, are not only engaged in screens most of the day, but we are also often using multiple screens at the same time.
In Screenagers, Dr. Dimitri Christakis, Director of Child Development at Seattle Children’s Hospital, says:
"The brain isn’t actually capable of multitasking. In fact, your brain oscillates attention from task 1 to task 2. The young nimble adolescent brain can oscillate back and forth very quickly, but it comes at a cost. One study looked at children and had them watch either a very rapidly-sequenced tv program or a slowly sequenced program or play with crayons and then tested right afterward their cognitive ability and found that the kids who watched the rapidly-paced program performed more poorly than the other two. Overstimulation tires the brain and it tends to function not as well."
Our kids are very accustomed to having several screens out at once. I notice when my family watches a movie at home that they have their phones out and go will go back and forth between screens.
Photo by casenbina/iStock / Getty Images
I've been noticing the ways I can be rude, in person and on my phone. This week I share two recent examples of my own, plus why correcting myself out loud strengthens self-awareness. The talk that follows isn't about your kid. It's about you going first.
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An Oakland library has started lending out sports equipment and games alongside books, so families can borrow gear to use at nearby parks. It is a reminder that borrowing and lending between families is a simple way to fill a summer afternoon without a screen, while quietly modelling generosity and humility. We are out of practice at asking, but the person on the other end is usually glad to help.
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E-readers are convenient, but there are three reasons to lean toward paper books this summer. First, e-readers are screens, and the pull of everything else you could do on one makes it harder to stay immersed. Second, a large meta-analysis found people understand and remember slightly better on paper, especially with longer texts. Third, easy access to endless book samples makes it too tempting to jump ship rather than work through the slower parts, since reading, unlike TikTok, is about delayed gratification.
READ MORE >for more like this, DR. DELANEY RUSTON'S NEW BOOK, PARENTING IN THE SCREEN AGE, IS THE DEFINITIVE GUIDE FOR TODAY’S PARENTS. WITH INSIGHTS ON SCREEN TIME FROM RESEARCHERS, INPUT FROM KIDS & TEENS, THIS BOOK IS PACKED WITH SOLUTIONS FOR HOW TO START AND SUSTAIN PRODUCTIVE FAMILY TALKS ABOUT TECHNOLOGY AND IT’S IMPACT ON OUR MENTAL WELLBEING.
