Children using mobile phones at an early age see the world differently: Study

Pre-schoolers using the mobile phones or tablets at an early age see the world differently, according to a study. The children who frequently use a mobile phone or tablet miss the natuarl things like forest or the trees. Kids using mobile phones at an early age tend to focus more on the details and less on the big picture, according to the new study published in the journal Computers in Human Behaviour.

Children using mobile phones see world differently

The Alpha Generation Lab of Diagnostics and Therapy Excellence Programme at Eotvos Lorand University (Budapest) studies how the use of digital devices affects children's cognitive and socio-emotional development. Veronika Konok from Eotvos Lorand University (ELTE) in Budapest, the first author of the study said, "Focusing on the global picture helps us in perceiving the world in meaningful, coherent patterns, and not just as a bunch of unrelated spots. We automatically process the global pattern even if we intend to pay attention only to the details."

Read: Texas Schools, Stores Divided On Masks As Mandate Ends

Read: 'It Is Discrimination': UK's Holiday Parks Chain Bans Entry Of People With Irish Surnames

Children were given a game to play 

To conduct the study, the researchers gave the pre-schoolers a balloon shooting game to play for 6 minutes. Adam Miklosi from Eotvos Lorand University (ELTE) said that they found that children who played with a non-digital game showed the typical global focus. The results of the study showed that the type of experiences children meet matters a lot. Early exposure to digital devices has a significant long term effect. Krisztina Liszkai-Peres from ELTE, a co-worker of the group and second author of the publication said, “The atypical attentional style in mobile user children is not necessarily bad but different for sure, and we cannot ignore this for example in pedagogy.” The children need a new way of presenting educational material. Researchers say that children of the new generation would have more scientific know-how and less artistic and social skill. 

Read: Mississippi Congressman Palazzo Accused Of Misusing Funds

Read: Slovakia's Political Crisis Deepens As Coalition Partners Demand Cabinet Reconstruction