Researchers at Cincinnati Children’s Hospital have shown an association between increased screen-based media use and lower microstructural integrity of brain white matter tracts that support language and emergent literacy skills in prekindergarten children.
There is a great deal of controversy surrounding the benefits of integration of technology into education and development in early childhood. Proponents argue that early use of video tools facilitates affordable and convenient engagement in learning opportunities for toddlers and children, and opponents argue that overuse of such tools actually results in delayed cognitive and social development. The researchers from Cincinnati Children’s Hospital who published this research in JAMA Pediatrics suggest that additional studies are necessary to further characterize potential physiological and developmental adverse effects of “screen time” on children.
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