Heavy Screen Time Appears To Impact Childrens' Brains: Study
Umer Jamshaid Published December 13, 2018 | 03:57 AM
Washington, Dec 10 (APP - UrduPoint / Pakistan Point News - 10th Dec, 2018 ) :Researchers have found "different patterns" in brain scans among children who record heavy smart device and video game use, according to initial data from a major ongoing US study.
The first wave of information from the $300 million National Institute of Health (NIH) study is showing that those nine and 10-year-old kids spending more than seven hours a day using such devices show signs of premature thinning of the cortex, the brain's outermost layer that processes sensory information.
"We don't know if it's being caused by the screen time. We don't know yet if it's a bad thing," said Gaya Dowling, an NIH doctor working on the project, explaining the preliminary findings in an interview with the CBS news program 60 Minutes.
"What we can say is that this is what the brains look like of kids who spend a lot of time on screens.
And it's not just one pattern," Dowling said.
The NIH data reported on CBS also showed that kids who spend more than two hours a day on screens score worse on language and reasoning tests.
The study -- which involves scanning the brains of 4,500 children -- eventually aims to show whether screen time is addictive, but researchers need several years to understand such long-term outcomes.
"In many ways, the concern that investigators like I have is, that we're sort of in the midst of a natural kind of uncontrolled experiment on the next generation of children," Dimitri Christakis, a lead author of the American Academy of Pediatrics' most recent guidelines on screen time, told 60 Minutes.
Initial data from the study will begin to be released in early 2019.
The academy now recommends parents "avoid digital media use -- except video chatting -- in children younger than 18 to 24 months."
Recent Stories
President calls for further strengthening of Pakistan-UK trade, economic ties
President for better marketing, projection of gemstone industry of Pakistan
26% increase on tobacco tax can reduce PKR 300bn in health cost
China keen to launch uplift projects for Gwadar’s local population: Senator
Pakistan to bring perpetrator of Dasu terrorist attack to justice soon: Lin Jian
Financial crisis at UK's biggest water supplier worsens
French parliament backs bill against hair discrimination affecting black women
Poland raids Russian spy network: security services
Commissioner directs officials to prepare for Shaheed Zaulfiqar Ali Bhutto's ann ..
UK greenhouse gas emissions fell 5.4% in 2023: data
Pakistan's total liquid foreign reserves reach $ 13.42 billion
European stock markets head into Easter break with slight gains
More Stories From World
-
Pakistan to bring perpetrator of Dasu terrorist attack to justice soon: Lin Jian
4 minutes ago -
Financial crisis at UK's biggest water supplier worsens
4 minutes ago -
French parliament backs bill against hair discrimination affecting black women
3 minutes ago -
Poland raids Russian spy network: security services
3 minutes ago -
UK greenhouse gas emissions fell 5.4% in 2023: data
3 minutes ago -
Haiti situation 'cataclysmic': UN
1 hour ago
-
Profits fall for China's top chipmaker as sanctions bite
1 hour ago -
Portugal awaits new government after hung polls
1 hour ago -
China willing to work with Pakistan to enhance capability of tackling security challenges: Col Wu Qi ..
2 hours ago -
Haiti situation 'cataclysmic': UN
2 hours ago -
Detectives return to French village to solve missing toddler mystery
2 hours ago -
Japan Moon probe survives second lunar night: space agency
2 hours ago