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Your Child's MindTrusting God's Design to Guide Your Child's Development |
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Understanding the effects of TV and media on the developing brain is difficult because we are all living immersed in a media and technology saturated world. It is difficult to see the forest for the trees. Ravi Zacharias in his book Deliver Us from Evil explains that, "Cultural immersion is an all-consuming hold of culture as it becomes the source of thinking and feeling in its members. So engulfing is this power that we cannot discuss the essential theme of our culture at its crossroads without being locked in it ourselves. We are in it, and we are hard-pressed to find a fulcrum outside of it with which to leverage a shift." It is easy to forget or fail to recognize the profound power that media wields during brain development. Mr. Rogers, from the PBS program Mr. Rogers Neighborhood, was interviewed shortly before his death. He understood the power of media when he stated, " You know, the space between our mouth and the peoples' ears or eyes who receive what we make, that is Holy Ground. The space between the television screen and whoever happens to be receiving it, I consider that very Holy Ground. A lot... A lot happens there." Media is so trusted and commonplace that we have given it the privilege to be present in every part of our lives. It would be worthwhile to be prayerful about 2 Corinthians 11:14. "And no wonder, for Satan himself masquerades as an angel of light." Re-read this verse in context with the surrounding Bible passages. Also, for interest, look up the original Greek word for "Light" in this verse. There are several facets to brain development that are important to review in order to understand the effects of media. As mentioned in the section on early childhood development, the development of neural networks in the early years is dependent on stimulation and use. That is the focus of early childhood enrichment. It becomes important to pay attention to which networks are developing during play and activities. It also becomes important to pay attention to which pathways may not develop due to the amount of time spent in front of a screen. Learning happens more effectively when there is movement involved in the task. There is another process in brain development that is occurring at the same time as neural network development. That is the process of myelination. Myelination is the process by which the glial cells of the brain coat the neural networks in myelin which makes them very fast, efficient and more permanent. Once myelination occurs other neural networks cannot input easily into those connections. Myelination happens in the back (posterior) part of the brain first and progresses gradually toward the front (anterior). As certain areas of the brain myelinate, the brain becomes equipped to master the developmental stages correlating with the function in that part of the brain. The myelination of the pre-frontal cortex (the area under your forehead) is the last and final stage in this process and this occurs during the teen years. The pre-frontal cortex, as we'll learn in the section on the teen brain, is responsible for our critical thinking and complex decision making. This is key! This means that the critical thinking part of the brain develops after age 8. How is TV and media processed before that time? It is processed by the emotional centers of the brain because those are the parts that are already developed and ready to process incoming information. A child before age 8 finds it difficult to tell the difference between real and fantasy. It is difficult for them to understand the motives behind violence or cruelty. They process and store away images in the emotional centers of the brain without being able to discriminate and store them in a truthful way. Because of this, some scientists would ban TV before the age of 8. The American Academy of Pediatrics recommends no TV before the age of 2 and less than 2 hours per day of total screen time after age 2. They recommend: 1) teaching critical viewing skills, 2) limiting and focusing time spent with media, 3) being good media role models, 4) emphasizing alternative activities, 5) creating an electronic media-free environment in children's rooms, and 6) avoiding use of media as an electronic baby sitter. One of the best websites for current research on media is the National Institute on Media and the Family at www.mediafamily.org They offer an email newsletter, community education resources and tip sheets for parents. Research on the effects of viewing violence reveals that it makes us more fearful. It makes us desensitized to the human pain of violence. And, it teaches us violence as a learned response to conflict. There is interesting research in the News section of this website that suggests that the effects of TV, independent of violent content, may increase aggression. Recent research suggests that the lighted screen, with its fast paced programming used to keep us watching, may have its own effects on the developing brain independent of the content of the programming. Please see the News section of the website for information on obesity, attention and aggression. |
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