Teens & Tech-Encourage them to Get Outside?

Balance breadth and focus in intellectual development

From the pencil to the satellite dish, every technological advance shapes young minds. How does the Internet do so? Unfortunately, research on that question is in its early stages, and expert opinions vary.

Many highly regarded scientists are concerned. UCSF’s Adam Gazzaley believes that our brains didn’t evolve for nonstop interactivity, while Stanford’s Clifford Nass warns that multitasking has lingering cognitive costs. Some say heavy Internet use renders our thinking more superficial, less rigorous.

On the other hand, Harvard’s Steven Pinker argues that the Internet makes us smarter, and technology scholar Cathy Davidson believes multitasking might be creating rich new cognitive maps. The Internet may enhance creativity in music and graphic arts, in particular.

Parents may find it easier to navigate these controversies with information about how brains develop.

Real-time play and real-life interactions are needed for children to explore, discover cause-and-effect, and lay the foundations of social skills, moral development, self-regulation, agency, and creativity. For this reason, I am wary of heavy Internet use in early childhood. It’s better to expose children to a variety of activities.

By the early teen years, the brain begins to specialize. Unused neurons are pruned for more efficient processing, and the number of connections between them increases. Teen thought becomes more abstract and integrated and logical; creativity and competency increases. Whatever teens are doing—from vegging on the couch to building robots—can become more firmly established in their brains at this time.

So, for teens, I suggest supporting their focus on their emerging interests—including online interests—while still encouraging reflection, analysis, creativity, spaciousness, a quiet mind, and quickness. The more tools, the better.