01/31/2019
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The issue of children playing too many video games has been a concern of parents for as long as the devices have been on the market. Too much screen time can lead to a lack of exercise, outdoor activity, and fresh air. Studies have connected staring at screens with negative effects on school performance, behavior, and health. Since the advent and widespread adoption of mobile devices, the average child now stares at screens for the majority of his or her day. Author Nicholas Kardaras comments on this occurrence and gives parents tools for breaking the cycle in his new bestselling book.
Nicholas Kardaras’ book, Glow Kids: How Screen Addiction is Hijacking Our Kids – And How to Break the Trance, published on August 9, 2016, delves into the topic of too much screen time and its effects on children. Kardaras is a psychotherapist, the executive director of the Dunes East Hampton, and an assistant professor at Stony Brook University. Yahoo! News recently wrote an article discussing this book and its messages to parents. Rather than relying on others’ research on the topic, Kardaras gleaned most of the information in his book on personal experiences with patients.
The Yahoo Kids News article dives into this problem, comparing it to a chicken-and-egg dilemma. Introverted kids are drawn to games and electronic devices, and therefore don’t learn to be social. It’s an endless cycle in which the child comes out as the main person affected. Some parents have discovered terrible transformations in their children when they are exposed to screens for long hours of the day. Kardaras mentions one such mother, Barbara McVeigh.
McVeigh says her son became uncharacteristically violent when she tried to take away his electronic device, striking her. He may have an undiagnosed condition that triggered the behavior, but Kardaras believes the screen time plays an important part in perpetuating the cycle. Children with ADHD, depression, or other disorders may be attracted by virtual reality and reward-based games. They allow the child to isolate himself socially, limiting development. Glow Kids looks at ongoing studies into “screen addiction” and its potential adverse effects on social growth.
The Yahoo! News article discusses Kardaras’ new book in more detail, citing a paper by psychologist Andrew K. Przybylski, “Electronic Gaming and Psychosocial Adjustment” to expound further on the subject of games and early childhood development. Przybylski’s study found that children who played video games for only one hour per day had better psychosocial adjustment than those with high engagement. In contrast, children who played for three hours or more per day suffered negative impacts, including over stimulus and the inability to develop social and coping skills.
Screens are certainly impacting the world’s youth – and not for the better. Discover all the things Kardaras has discovered in his years of hands-on experience and in-depth research. Glow Kids is one of the first books published that includes studies of children who have interacted with screens since birth, and offers insightful information about screen addiction, developmental health, and preventative methods. Read the Yahoo! News story for details.
