>>> SCREEN TIME AND KIDS.
THE LARGEST LONG-TERM STUDY OF BRAIN DEVELOPMENT AND CHILD
HEALTH IN THE UNITED STATES IS UNDER WAY, AND SOME OF THE
ANALYSIS OF SCREEN TIME TIED TO THAT STUDY HAS BEEN RECENTLY
SHARED PUBLICLY.
YOU PROBABLY WANT TO LEARN THE IMPACTS THE STUDY FOUND.
WELL, WE WILL DIVE INTO SOME OF THE PRELIMINARY INFORMATION
SHORTLY.
BUT WHAT IS THE ROLE OF ONLINE MEDIA FOR YOUNG PEOPLE TODAY?
MELISSA DION, A MOTHER OF THREE, AND ERICA SHAR OF THE UNIVERSITY
OF MASSACHUSETTS AT AMHERST HAD LOTS TO SAY ABOUT THE ISSUE.
>> IT'S A COMPLICATED QUESTION.
IT'S VERY HARD THESE DAYS TO EXTRACT THE ROLE OF THE MEDIA
FROM OTHER PARTS OF LIFE.
THEY'RE SO EMBEDDED.
THE AVERAGE PERSON SPENDS ALMOST 50% OF THEIR LEISURE TIME WITH
VARIOUS MEDIA.
THE AVERAGE YOUNG PERSON -- >> THAT SEEMS SO HIGH.
>> IT'S ASTRONOMICAL.
THESE DAYS THE IDEA OF JUST TURN IT OFF, JUST PRETEN IT'S NOT
HAPPENING, YOU KNOW, HAVE YOUR IDEA AS A PARENT OR CARE GIVER
SHOULD BE WE DON'T DO THIS, IS GETTING MORE AND MORE
UNREALISTIC UNFORTUNATELY.
BECAUSE IT'S JUST A PART OF BREATHING.
>> AND YOU SAID 50% OF ADULTS, BUT THAT'S FOR KIDS TOO?
>> KIDS TOO, YES. >> 50% OF YOUR LEISURE TIME IS
SPENT IN SOME SORT OF SCREEN.
>> THAT'S RIGHT, AND EVEN MORE STAGGERING STATISTIC, AND THESE
ARE BRAND NEW DATA OUT IN 2018 FROM U.S. TEENS 13 TO 17 YEARS
OLD, WE ASKED THEM HOW MUCH TIME DO YOU SPEND WITH SOCIAL MEDIA
IN PARTICULAR, AND 45% SAID I'M ON IT NEARLY CONSTANTLY.
>> SO THAT'S INSTAGRAM, FACEBOOK AND THINGS LIKE THAT.
MELISSA, YOU'RE A MOM OF THREE, YOUR KIDS ARE AGINGS 6 TO 12,
BUT STILL THEY'RE VERY INTERESTED IN USING SOME TYPE OF
MEDIA.
HOW HAVE THEY APPROACHED YOU, DO YOU EVEN HAVE YOUR 6-YEAR-OLD
INTERESTED IN USING SOMETHING?
>> MORE SO LIKE MESSENGER, THAT'S ONLY TO KEEP IN CONTACT
WITH PEOPLE.
BECAUSE I WILL ALLOW THEM TO HAVE FULL ACCESS TO SOCIAL MEDIA
YET BECAUSE OF THEIR AGINGS.
RUR WON'T, NOT QUITE YET.
>> YES.
>> SO YOU HAVE A TABLET, BUT YOU'VE TALKED WITH THEM ABOUT
THE PARAMETERS AROUND THAT.
AND YOU KEEP SOME PRETTY STRINGENT PARENTAL CONTROLS,
RIGHT?
>> I DO.
>> HOW HAVE YOU SET THOSE UP?
>> I DID A LOT OF RESEARCH AND FIGURED OUT HOW TO DO IT ALL,
EVEN ON YOUTUBE, SO I HAD TO LEARN HOW TO BLOCK CERTAIN
THINGS, AND I DO GO IN AND ECONOMIC THE HISTORY.
>> DO YOU TALK OPENLY AROUND THAT AND SAY LOOK I'M GOING TO
CHECK X, Y AND Z?
>> ALL THE TIME.
>> WHAT DO THEY SAY WHEN YOU SAY THAT?
>> I KNOW, MOMMY.
SO I KNOW THEY KNOW NOT TO GO LOOK AT THINGS, BUT THEY ARE
ALSO 6 TO 12.
>> AND YOU'RE TEACHING THIS CONCEPT TO PEOPLE OLDER THAN
TEENAGERS BUT SNIL THEIR 20'S, WHAT'S THE DISCUSSION LIKE ABOUT
HOW SOCIAL MEDIA IS USED TODAY?
>> I THINK THAT MY COLLEGE STUDENTS AT U. MASS AND
ELSEWHERE, AS WELL AS THE NATIONAL DATA ABOUT TEENAGERS IN
GENERAL, REALLY SHOW THAT YOUNG PEOPLE ARE PRETTY TORN ABOUT THE
ROLE OF SOCIAL MEDIA AND CELL PHONES IN THEIR LIVES.
THEY RECOGNIZE A LOT OF POSITIVES, AND THERE ARE A LOT
OF POSITIVES, THE CONNECTIVITY IS EXTRAORDINARY.
THEY USE IT TO CONNECT WITH FAMILY MEMBERS, PEOPLE ABROAD OR
FAR AWAY OR IN THE MILITARY, SO THE CONNECTIVITY IS AMAZING AND
WONDERFUL.
BUT THEY ALSO RECOGNIZE REAL DRAWBACKS.
SO SOMETIMES THEY WISH THAT THEY DIDN'T GROW UP IN SUCH A MEDIA
SATURATED LIFE, AND THEY DO KNOW THAT THERE ARE DISADVANTAGES AS
WELL.
AND THE BIGGEST ONE THAT THEY LIST AS WELL AS WHAT RESEARCHERS
ARE INTERESTED IN IS ENCOUNTERING MEANNESS AND
NASTINESS AND BULLYING AN LINE.
THE RECENT STATISTICS ON THAT SHOW ABOUT 40% OF YOUNG PEOPLE
HAVE ENCOUNTERED BULLYING ONLINE.
IT'S GETTING SO COMMON.
>> WE'VE SEEN THAT AS A REAL CHALLENGE IN MASSACHUSETTS WHERE
LAWS HAVE BEEN PASSED AROUND KEEPING KIDS AWAY FROM BULLYING
OR PUNISHMENT FOR BULLYING.
YOU'RE A NURSE AT AN AREA SCHOOL.
WHAT ARE KIDS DISCUSSING ABOUT WAYS THEY'RE
BEING IN CONTACT THROUGH SOCIAL MEDIA, DOES IT COME UP AT SCHOOL
OFTEN?
>> IT DOES, BECAUSE MOST THINGS ARE PUT ON SOCIAL MEDIA BY THE
STUDENTS.
JUST LIKE MANY PEOPLE AT HOME, BUT THE STUDENTS COME TO ME AND
TALK TO ME ABOUT THINGS THEY SAW ON SOCIAL MEDIA THAT HAPPENED,
WHETHER OUTSIDE THE SCHOOL OR IN THEIR COMMUNITY, AND IT BOTHERS
THEM.
>> GOOD AND BAD?
>> ABSOLUTELY, YES.
>> SO THERE'S A SENSE THAT THERE'S JUST 24-7 BROADCASTING
OF PERSONAL DETAILS SOMETIMES, YES.
I KNOW THAT THERE'S THE NATIONAL INSTITUTES OF HEALTH IS IN THE
MIDST OF A LARGER STUDY, AND THERE'S BEEN SOME REPORTING
ABOUT VARIOUS SMALL ASPECTS, I'LL HAVE US TALK A LITTLE ABOUT
IT.
BUT THE FULL STUDY HAS YET TO BE PUBLISHED.
BUT THERE WAS A RECENT FINDING, AS PART OF THAT LARGER STUDY, IT
FOUND TWO DIFFERENT THINGS.
ONE WAS THAT GREATER SOCIAL MEDIA USE, AND WE'RE TALKING
ABOUT INSTAGRAM OR FACEBOOK, THINGS LIKE THAT, WAS ASSOCIATED
WITH SOME POSITIVE EFFECTS, INCREASED PHYSICAL ACTIVITY AND
LESS FAMILY CONFLICT, AND FEWER SLEEP PROBLEMS.
THEN ON THE OTHER SIDE THE STUDY FOUND THAT KIDS WHO USE GENERAL
MEDIA, WHETHER THAT'S TV, THE INTERNET, VIDEO GAMES, REPORTED
THAT THEY WERE PRONE TO HAVING WORSE SLEEP AND MORE FAMILY
CONFLICT.
WHAT DO YOU MAKE OF THIS INFORMATION?
>> I THINK IT'S REALLY EARLY DAYS TO PUT TOO MUCH CREDENCE IN
THESE DATA.
WE HAVE TO READ THE STUDY IN ITS ENTIRETY, AND IT HAS YET TO
APPEAR IN PRINT.
BUT I THINK IT'S REALLY INTERESTING.
MY OWN READING OF THE RESEARCH LITERATURE ISES THAT YES, YOU
CAN FIND POSITIVE EFFECTS, IT'S NOT A ONE-SIDED STORY.
THERE ARE ABSOLUTELY SOME REAL ADVANTAGES TO LIVING WITH THESE
DEVICES FOR US AS ADULTS AND FOR YOUNG PEOPLE AS WELL.
THE SLEEP THING IS INTERESTING, THERE'S A LOT OF RESEARCH THESE
DAYS ABOUT SLEEP AND HOW SCREENS IN GENERAL CAN DISTURB SLEEP,
AND MOST OF THAT SEEMS TO POINT IN THE DIRECTION THAT A SCREEN
LIT UP WITH THE BLUE LIGHT IN FRONT OF YOUR FACE RIGHT BEFORE
YOU GO TO SLEEP, AND ALL OF THE EMOTIONS AND THOUGHTS AND
FEELINGS THAT CAN REGISTER FOR YOU, IS PROBABLY GOING TO BE
DISRUPTIVE TO YOUR SLEEP AND NOT NECESSARILY A BOON TO YOUR
SLEEP, WHICH THESE DATA SEEM TO HAVE FOUND.
SO I'D REALLY LIKE TO DISSECT THESE DATA, BUT WE CAN'T QUITE
DO THAT YET.
>> HAVE YOU BEEN ABLE TO SIFT THROUGH AND SEE IF THE KIDS ARE
USING FACEBOOK, INSTAGRAM OR PLAYING VIDEO GAMES, DO YOU
NOTICE A DIFFERENCE IN EITHER THE WAY THEY REACT OR MOOD OR
THINGS LIKE THAT?
>> WITH MY 12-YEAR-OLD WE HAD TO CUT OFF ELECTRONICS, AT 8:00 AT
NIGHT BECAUSE IF NOT THEN HE'S GOING TO BE UP HALF THE NIGHT.
SO WHEN WE DECREASE HIS ELECTRONICS AT 8:00, WHICH IS A
LOT OF YOUTUBE, HE WAS SLEEPING A LOT BETTER.
>> INTERESTING.
>> TO GO BACK TO THAT IDEA OF FAMILY CONFLICT, THAT I CAN SEE.
I THINK PEOPLE USE THESE DEVICES TO TELL FOLKS WHEN THEY'RE GOING
TO BE HOME, SET EXPECTATIONS ABOUT I'M STAYING LATE AT LOW
AND SO'S HOUSE, MAYBE EVEN WORK THROUGH SOME THORNY PROBLEMS.
ONE OF MY SISTER'S SONS WOULD SHARE THINGS WITH HER THROUGH
TEXT BECAUSE IT WAS -- SO SOME PEOPLE ARE BEING HELPED
BY THESE TOOLS.
>> HOW DO YOU AS A PARENT BALANCE OR HELP YOUR KIDS
BALANCE THE USE OF SOCIAL MEDIA, THE USE OF SCREENS IN GENERAL,
DO YOU TALK ABOUT THAT?
>> I BASICALLY JUST TELL THEM, YOU HAVE TO HAVE A BREAK FOR
NOW.
I EXPLAIN THAT IT IS TOO MUCH FOR THEIR BRAIN, THAT IT'S
OVERSTIMULATION, I'M VERY OPEN WITH MY KIDS, I LET THEM KNOW
WHY I'M DOING THINGS.
I EXPLAIN, YOUR MIND NEEDS TO REST RIGHT NOW, GO READ A BOOK,
GO UNWIND.
>> DO SOMETHING ELSE.
>> EXACTLY.
>> HOW ABOUT FOR YOU AS A PROFESSOR IN THE CLASSROOM?
WHAT'S IT LIKE?
>> IT'S REALLY DISTRACTING, IT REALLY IS.
AND I TRY TO SAY I DIDN'T REALLY GET INTO THIS PROFESSION TO
POLICE THE STUDENTS, IT'S THE LAST THING I WANT TO DO.
BUT WHEN I WALK AROUND, THE YOU KNOW, PEOPLE'S INSTANT MESSAGES
ARE PINGING OFF AND I SEE SOMETHING ON THEIR SCREEN THAT
HAS NOTHING TO DO WITH THE TOPIC IN CLASS.
I THINK YOU DO HAVE TO SAY, YOU HAVE TO CHECK THESE DEVICES AT
THE DOOR, UNLESS YOU'RE GOING TO USE THEM AS A TOOL DURING THE
CLASS FOR SOME KIND OF INFORMATION GATHERING, BUT IT'S
REALLY INCREASINGLY, AGAIN IT'S JUST SORT OF, I DON'T EVEN THINK
THE STUDENTS ARE THAT SHEEPISH ABOUT IT, IT'S PRETTY BRAZEN,
THAT'S HOW THEY LIVE THEIR LIVES.
SO THE PHONE IS THERE, IT LIGHTS UP, IT'S GOT MESSAGES, MESSAGES,
OF COURSE IT'S GOING TO CAPTURE THEIR ATTENTION FOR SOME OF THE
TIME.
>> APPRECIATE YOU COMING IN TO CHAT, THANKS SO MUCH.