Exposing phones and tablets to infants might create serious changes to their development

One doesn’t need to take recourse to clinical studies to understand that the world has become increasingly technical. This implies that every single individual today is well-acquainted with modern technology to the extent that their very survival depends on it. While one can obviously state the many advantages that such proximity begets, one also needs to be aware of the problems that could surface. With more and more children being exposed to digital devices, it might not be a good idea if parents started exposing infants to phones. Sure- it would be a good call to impart knowledge about the latest technology to the future generation- but there is a correct time and place for it.

Interestingly, a recent study made the claim that spending excessive screen time during infancy can lead to several detrimental characteristic features and cognitive functions- which readily become apparent when the infant turns 8 years old. The team, rather than chalking this up to a rumor, actually looked at the data that was provided by 506 children who had enrolled in the Growing Up in Singapore towards Healthy Outcomes cohort study since their birth. When the kids were around 12 months of age, their parents were tasked with the duty of reporting the average amount of time they were exposing infants to phones on weekends and weekdays every week.

The data was then divided into four separate groups based on the amount of time that was spent- less than an hour, a couple of hours, two to four hours, and more than that. The brain activity of the child was also mapped through electroencephalography- which is a highly technical tool used in tracking brain activities. Children were also asked to partake in several cognitive tests that would measure their executive functioning, as well as their attention span.

Content created and supplied by: Toem (via Opera News )