Contents
The unanimity of scientists leaves no room for doubt: the abuse of the TV screen is really dangerous for children. Expert opinions and a few tips to help mitigate the effects.
Frozen, with a motionless gaze fixed on the screen, deaf to words, unlike themselves — this is how television transforms our children. Many of them sit in front of the screen for hours, and parents know about it. And they feel guilty and worried at the same time: they are unable to tear their son or daughter away from the bewitching stream of TV pictures and at the same time intuitively guess about their destructive effect on the child’s psyche.
Until recently, parents’ fears had no serious basis. Scientists did not seem to be able to explain with certainty what the negative effects of high doses of television were. Experts disagreed, their findings were published predominantly in scientific journals, and most parents, in the absence of conclusive evidence and psychological advice, tended to succumb to blue screen spells instead of effectively resisting them.
Today, scientists around the world are unanimous: TV abuse harms, first of all, the neurons of the developing child’s brain, negatively affects the health and behavior of children.
The more a child watched TV in early childhood, the greater the risk that his performance in school will be lower.
“The TV introduces the child into a state close to a hypnotic trance, which is why children often seem to stick to the screen,” says child neuropsychologist Nikolai Voronin. — As soon as the TV is turned on, the beta brain waves that are characteristic of the waking state give way to slow alpha waves. This usually happens when falling asleep or in a state of calm wakefulness, when we close our eyes for a while.
As a result, attention becomes unfocused, vision and hearing seem to be turned off, critical perception of what is happening is dulled, and cognitive abilities are reduced. In addition, in children who abuse television viewing, the right hemisphere of the brain, which is responsible for emotional reactions, becomes more active, and the bewitching effect of television is enhanced. The latest findings of scientists give us a serious reason to think … and take urgent action.
TV binds the imagination
During long viewings, the child’s imagination is turned off. German pediatrician Peter Winterstein studied the drawings of five-six-year-old children for more than 17 years and found that the more time they spend in front of the screen, the less detail in their drawings and, in general, they are less expressive and voluminous. The most inveterate TV lovers have the proportions of the picture violated, it seems sketchy, inanimate1.
The scientist claims that the harm caused to the mental development of a small child by a TV is comparable to the harm from smoking during pregnancy.
It prevents them from concentrating
The ability to learn also suffers from addiction to the screen. The more television a child watches in early childhood, the greater the risk that their school performance will leave much to be desired. And the consequences will long remind of themselves.
So, New Zealand scientists conducted a study involving a thousand people who were observed for 30 years.2. The more often a person watched TV in childhood, the lower was his educational level in adulthood.
Excess audiovisual stimulation can thus provoke attention deficit and in some cases hyperactivity.3.
He disturbs their sleep
Nightmares, difficulty falling asleep, or nocturnal awakenings after watching a movie affect everyone from toddlers to teenagers. Sometimes they are caused by the environment in which the child grows up, but research suggests otherwise.
Thus, 13-year-olds who spend three hours in front of a screen every day experience noticeable difficulties with sleep, regardless of their emotional environment and sociocultural level.4. And these problems persist into adulthood.
It contributes to obesity
Most children who spend more than four hours in front of a screen daily are more obese than those who watch TV less than two hours a day. And those who reduce views without changing their diet lose weight5.
What’s the matter here? In the lack of physical activity and the constant temptation to have a snack in children sitting for hours in front of the screen. In advertising promoting high-calorie foods. And in the negative impact of TV on sleep: lack of sleep directly affects the mechanisms of digestion and absorption of fats. In addition, children get used to a sedentary lifestyle that persists into the future.
He develops in them a propensity for violence
In the United Kingdom and the United States, the link between television abuse and an increase in crime has been studied for nearly 20 years. The conclusions are disappointing for fans of thrillers and action movies.6.
Why — allow you to understand modern methods of brain imaging. The brain interprets the on-screen scene of violence in the same way as the real one: we feel anxiety, uncertainty, fear, and the limbic system (regulating emotions) includes reflexes of flight or activity (aggression).
But if the viewing of violent scenes becomes regular, the sensitivity to them is lost. So gradually the child gets used to violence and learns to reproduce it in cold blood. More often than not, children do this when the violence seems to go unpunished, and the abuser gets his way.
It changes a child’s mindset
Some degree of cruelty and injustice in TV pictures teaches children the right way to deal with negative feelings. But too much violence can infect them with aggression.
“Because of the acute sense of anxiety caused by scenes of violence, individual, personal thinking is replaced by group thinking,” says French psychiatrist and psychoanalyst Serge Tisseron. With all the consequences: the herd instinct, the cult of the leader, depersonalization, the activation of unconscious instincts.
Cartoons should be shown no earlier than three or four years, when children are already able to understand a simple plot, associate themselves with the hero
Anxiety also gives rise to fear of the adult world, where everyone is in a hurry to show cruelty towards others until they get ahead of them. So cruelty on the screen contributes to the popularization of violence in the group consciousness and ultimately hinders the personal development of the child, his ability to think independently.
«Watch with the kids!»
“My child only watches good cartoons!” No matter how wonderful cartoons or educational TV shows are, they are of little use if children look at the screen alone.
“Try not to leave your child alone with the TV until the age of seven,” says child psychologist Anna Berdnikova. — Carefully observe his reaction, explain and comment on what is happening on the screen. By listening to us, children learn to express their feelings. This contributes to the understanding of what is seen and builds trust between parents and children.”
Cartoons should be shown no earlier than three or four years, when children are already able to understand a simple plot, associate themselves with the hero, trying on his actions for themselves. (“I never get greedy like this little bear!”)
“Answer children’s questions and ask yourself (“Why did the clown paint one letter red and the other green?”), advises Anna Berdnikova, otherwise one misunderstanding will lead to another. The same applies to children’s educational television programs.
How to protect children from TV addiction
It is possible to save a child from television addiction. You just need to show character and a little common sense, experts say: psychologist Elena Smirnova, psychiatrist and psychoanalyst Serge Tisseron and child psychologist Anna Berdnikova.
- No TV until age 1 and no more than 1 hour a day until after adolescence. Such a strict regimen is recommended by the American Academy of Pediatrics. TV is strictly not allowed in the child’s room, regardless of age.
- Don’t turn on the TV until you leave for school. Children are overexcited from early TV viewing and mentally limp for almost the whole morning.
- Keep track of what programs your child watches and how much time they spend in front of the screen. According to various studies, children who watch only educational programs adapt more easily to society, do better in school and have a richer vocabulary. So it all depends on the parents — on their responsibility and authority.
- Convince by personal example. Parents who themselves suffer from telemania are unlikely to be able to wean their child from it. And it is necessary to do this, especially at a younger age — not only because of the harmful effects on the brain, but also because habits are acquired early.
- While giving preference to discussion, say “no” firmly. For example, it should be remembered that scenes of violence and gore in newscasts and documentaries are more traumatic than in feature films. Teenagers, of course, will demand that their parents trust them. But you can trust, provided that the child complies with the agreed restrictions.
- Observe what the child is excited about and talk to him about it. The best antidote is to educate the child in the correct perception of screen images, devoting him to technical details. Understanding how a TV picture is created allows you to protect yourself from it if necessary.
1 Pediatrician, 2006, vol. 37
2 «Association of Television Viewing During Childhood with Poor Educational Achievement». Archives of Pediatrics & Adolescent Medicine, 2005, vol. 159.
3 «Early Television Exposure and Subsequent Attentional Problems in Children». Pediatrics, 2004, vol. 113.
4 «Association Between Television Viewing and Sleep Problems During Adolescence and Early Adulthood». Archives of Pediatrics & Adolescent Medicine, 2004, vol. 158.
5 «Relationship of Physical Activity and Television Watching with Body Weight and Level of Fatness Among». The Journal of the American Medical Association, 1998, vol. 279; R. Viner, T. Cole «Television Viewing in Early Childhood Predicts Adult Body Mass Index». The Journal of Pediatrics, 2005, Vol. 147.
6 «Television Viewing and Aggressive Behavior During Adolescence and Adulthood». Science, 2002, vol. 295, № 5564.