Significant Improvment in Nonverbal Communication when Digital Media is Removed
When you see a child in 2018 whether 17, 12, 8 ,5 and even 6 months of age handling mobile devices that are almost always have the wifi and 4G , you can help but think what has happened? Is there repercussions of this we are not yet aware of but are seeing in our children already?
No doubt that more and more children are not developing social skills which when it comes to human interaction can cause huge problems. We are losing communication.
In a recent study results showed
improvements in development of positive interpersonal skills when digital media was removed.
At UCLA scientists found that when you removed smart phones, tv and any digital screen time from sixth graders for just 5 days , that they were able to understand human emotions better while and increased ability to read emotions.
As a parent I know face to face time is important in a healthy child's development. When you limit this you are losing time to create important communication skills.
The study mention was done with sixth graders from Southern California. There were two groups the first 51 lived together for 5 days at a scenic nature and science camp. While 54 stayed home then attended the camp after the study was done. At this camp they restrict all electronic devices.
The study had to start with a baseline of facial recognition of photos and videos. They presented each child with 48 pictures of emotions , happiness , sadness, anger and fear. They were also presented with videos showing human interactions.
They study showed that the children had a remarkable improvement in there capabilities to distinguish nonverbal cues. At the beginning of he five days they could not.
This shows an obvious fact that media devices that we are letting babysit, educate and entertain does not teach nonverbal cues.
I hope this encourages you to spend more time face to face and less time face to screen.
-Much love to you all
I only use my mobile phone for work, emergencies, and the occasional text message.
Probably 10 minutes a day, at most. I've never been a fan of staring at small screens for long periods of time.
I prefer to speak with people face to face, even a short conversation can reveal tremendous amounts of information compared to other forms of communication.
That is great to hear. I alway turn my airplane mode when not in use and also turn of wifi. I also don't let my kids use smart devices.
They play video games which is limited but no iPhones , iPad, or laptops.
I tell everyone who is staring at these devices for extended periods of time. "That device owns you"
These toys were designed for children to use, and that is the intent, get them hooked when they are young, kind of like fast food.
Peer pressure also works unusually well, even your kids don't have them, their friends will, and they will feel like they're missing out.
To Many people their phones are like prisons. Luckily I don't have to worry about my kids in public school because I homeschool so I'm teaching them that life doest revolve around a device in hand but that experiences and people matter more.