The human brain is exceptionally malleable during early childhood and adolescence. Consequently, exposure to internal (e.g., body chemicals) and external (e.g., adverse experiences) events during these periods can redirect children’s neurodevelopment. This section of “Handbook of Children and Screens: Digital Media, Development, and Well-Being from Birth Through Adolescence” highlights research showing that digital media content, design, and context impacts the development of children’s cognition, attention, language, and imagination, though there is still much to learn. The authors also draw attention to the importance of considering these effects on the development of neurodivergent children. To advance our understanding of these relationships further, the authors acknowledge that more rigorous, interdisciplinary research is needed.
Recommendations
The following recommendations are excerpts from the "Digital Media, Cognition, and Brain Development" section of the “Handbook of Children and Screens: Digital Media, Development, and Well-Being from Birth Through Adolescence." This open access publication is free to download in full or by individual chapters via the links provided following the recommendations below.
- Facilitate family discussions about media use with open-ended questions.
- Recognize problematic digital media use in relation to content and context.
- Provide families with digital media intervention and resilience strategies tailored to their unique needs.
- Refer to ongoing research to consider how digital media use might impact children’s brains and cognitive development.
- Create rigorous guidelines for defining high-quality educational content and encourage families to prioritize this content.
- Complete education in neurodivergence and apply to patient media recommendations.
- Co-use digital media to provide children with helpful context.
- Be mindful of how background media can distract children.
- Encourage youth to engage with high-quality educational content and balance this with offline activities.
- Understand the limitations of digital education.
- Limit children’s exposure to violent or aggressive content.
- Create screen-free spaces and prioritize face-to-face interactions.
- Provide digital media literacy opportunities for children and encourage participation.
- Mindfully incorporate digital media in the classroom to supplement learning.
- Be mindful of neurodivergent children’s needs.
- Provide students at-risk for problematic digital media use with appropriate resources.
- Be informed of links between children’s digital media use and behavior.
- Invest in rigorous research exploring children’s digital media use and its impact on their development.
- Co-create evidence-based policies with researchers that reduce digital harm to children.
- Encourage media companies to share data with researchers.
- Take actions to limit youth access to online risks (e.g., persuasive designs).
- Provide funding for high-quality educational media content.
- Rework guidelines determining quality and age appropriateness of educational media.
- Be informed of links between children’s digital media use and behavior.
- Maximize use of child-centered design and minimize use of persuasive design.
- Share data with researchers to facilitate children’s well-being.
- Develop evidence-based content that promotes language learning and parent-child interactions.
- Prioritize universal accessibility, user safety, and flexible use.
- Use longitudinal designs to examine directionality and randomized controlled trials to test causality.
- Use rigorous, multi-method study designs and measures that capture the complexity and impact of digital media use on children.
- Enable comparisons across studies through shared definitions and methods.
- Facilitate interdisciplinary collaborations.
- Consider roles of content and context in digital media use outcomes.
- Prioritize neurodivergence in digital media use research and make these data accessible to key stakeholders.
Digital Media, Cognition, and Brain Development Section Chapters
Introduction to the Section on Digital Media, Cognition, and Brain Development
Heather Kirkorian, PhD
Digital Media, Cognition, and Brain Development in Infancy and Childhood
Heather Kirkorian, PhD, Rachel Barr, PhD, Sarah Coyne, PhD, Tiffany Grace-Chung Munzer, MD, Martin Paulus, MD, Moriah E. Thomason, PhD
Digital Media, Cognition, and Brain Development in Adolescence
Laura Marciano, PhD, Bernadka Dubicka, MD, PhD, Lucía Magis-Weinberg, MD, PhD, Rosalba Morese, PhD, Kasisomayajula Viswanath, PhD, René Weber, MD, PhD
The Short- and Long-term Effects of Digital Media Use on Attention
Susanne E. Baumgartner, PhD, Daphné Bavelier, PhD, Ine Beyens, PhD, Douglas Parry, PhD, Melina Uncapher, PhD, Anthony D. Wagner, PhD, Wisnu Wiradhany, PhD
Digital Media Use and Language Development in Early Childhood
Rebecca A. Dore, PhD, Mengguo Jing, PhD, Gemma Taylor, PhD, Sheri Madigan, PhD, Preeti G. Samudra, PhD, Annette S. Sundqvist, PhD, Ying Xu, PhD
Imagination, Creativity, and Play
Rebekah A. Richert, PhD, Koeun Choi, PhD, Tracy Gleason, PhD, Thalia R. Goldstein, PhD, Susan M. Sibert, PhD
Digital Media and Neurodevelopmental Differences
Meryl Alper, PhD, Alyssa M. Alcorn, PhD, Kristen Harrison, PhD, Jennifer A. Manganello, PhD, MPH, Rachel R. Romeo, PhD, CCC-SLP
Education Technology: Summary and Recommendations
Summary and Recommendations found in the "Handbook of Children and Screens: Digital Media, Development, and Well-Being from Birth Through Adolescence," Part Three: Digital Domains, Education Technology Section (pages 517-567)
Emerging Technologies: Summary and Recommendations
Summary and Recommendations found in the "Handbook of Children and Screens: Digital Media, Development, and Well-Being from Birth Through Adolescence," Part Three: Digital Domains, Emerging Technologies Section (pages 605-649)
Media Policy: Summary and Recommendations
Summary and Recommendations found in the "Handbook of Children and Screens: Digital Media, Development, and Well-Being from Birth Through Adolescence," Part Two: Research on How Media Influence Relationships, Family, Culture, and Society, Media Policy Section (pages 465-514)
Screens and Physical Health: Summary and Recommendations
Summary and Recommendations found in the "Handbook of Children and Screens: Digital Media, Development, and Well-Being from Birth Through Adolescence," Part One: Research Concerning Cognitive, Physical, Mental, and Psychosocial Impacts on Children, Screens and Physical Health Section (pages 61-116)
Problematic Use of the Internet: Summary and Recommendations
Summary and Recommendations found in the "Handbook of Children and Screens: Digital Media, Development, and Well-Being from Birth Through Adolescence," Part One: Research Concerning Cognitive, Physical, Mental, and Psychosocial Impacts on Children, Problematic Use of the Internet Section (pages 173-209)
Video Gaming, Violence, and Gambling: Summary and Recommendations
Summary and Recommendations found in the "Handbook of Children and Screens: Digital Media, Development, and Well-Being from Birth Through Adolescence," Part Three: Digital Domains, Video Gaming, Violence, and Gambling Section (pages 569-603)
Young Child Learning, Attention, and Screen Use | Heather Kirkorian, PhD
Unreal: Online Misinformation, Deep Fakes, and Youth
How can parents, caregivers, and educators help children think critically and develop skills to navigate misinformation and deep fakes in their digital lives?
Finding Words: Language Development and Screen Use
How does digital media exposure affect the development of language and communication skills in young children ages 0-5 years old?
ADHD, Children, and Digital Media
What information and tools should parents and caregivers know about to best support children with ADHD around media use and overuse?
Adolescent Brain Development and Social Media Use | Eva Telzer, PhD