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While Dr. Wartella has been researching the relationship between media (primarily television) and children for many years, the upsurge in marketing hype directed at families about new interactive technologies such as video game consoles and Internet-enabled home computers focused her attention on the issues related to these new media. While the vendors made extravagant claims about the educational value of these technologies, she knew from her own experiences that the claims made were far from proven. Her concern was crystallized when she was called by the U.S. Center for Disease Control, which was looking for information about the neuropsychological impact of different kinds of programming shortly after an incident in Japan where 700 children were sent to hospitals after having seizures induced by a pattern of flashing colors during an episode of Pokemon. When she investigated this issue further, it became very clear how little the academic and medical communities knew.
Little research has been done regarding the physical effects and health consequences of early information and communications technology use, but it is the most desperately needed. Dr. Wartella's recent attendance at a conference sponsored by the Johns Hopkins Center for Information Technology & Health Research, which brought together physicians, ophthalmologists, psychologists, communications experts, software designers and ergonomists, made her realize quite clearly that we know little about the health consequences of interacting with the current generation of technological hardware. Dr. Wartella points out that in the early days of every technology there is a great deal of discussion and study of these matters. In the case of children and new interactive media, however, these studies have not been adequately done, particularly with immersive technologies such as virtual reality (VR). There are some preliminary reports from ophthalmology researchers regarding potential negative consequences on eye development from early use of VDTs, VR, and other displays. Dr. Wartella feels this is particularly critical research, since children are so often the early adopters of these sorts of technologies. Dr. Wartella believes that many of the problematic physical aspects of technology use, whether by children or adults, can be overcome through proper design. Without additional research, however, we will never know what the best design is.
The hype about the cognitive consequences, both positive and negative, has never been adequately proven. Most of what has been done is, at best, preliminary and/or speculative. From the work of Patricia Greenfield (who was unavailable to be interviewed), we now understand that if you design specific video games to teach specific cognitive skills, like spatial skills, yes, they they can teach them effectively. It is a different story regarding the cognitive consequences of off-the-shelf software. Dr. Wartella raised many questions, but admitted we know few of the answers. "What are the long term cognitive consequences of using interactive media? How do we conceptual interactivity to make it the most effective for cognitive growth? Do they speed up development? Do they enable children who have difficulties acquiring certain cognitive concepts acquire them more easily? We don't have either theoretical models or research evidence. So we really don't know."
Some researchers have been exploring issues of identity and what it means to "meet" online; i.e. how much you can get a sense of another's identity and the difference between meeting online and in person for development of personal relationships. There has been a great deal of speculation about both the drawbacks and benefits, but we do not have enough of a research base. Because the research is not conclusive, counselors do not know how to guide parents about their children's media use. Child psychologists and psychiatrists are extremely concerned about children who are disturbed in other areas and the ways in which they use networked environments. Many children who have real adjustment problems in schools, who are isolates, seek out online worlds where they can take on multiple identities. It is not known whether this is therapeutic or a potential indication of an even deeper psychological issue. If it could be an issue, it is unknown where the line drawn between healthy and unhealthy uses should be drawn.
The entire area of children and interactive media is underfunded and consequently underresearched,. Dr. Wartella speculates that there are only two or three dozen people in the country exclusively studying children's use of media and technology. While many more do an occasional one-off study, few people are developing deep knowledge and expertise in any of these issues. Because many of the questions related to children's use of technology are not considered central questions to the individual fields of medicine, psychology, education, and communications, they are often neglected when financial support for research is limited. "It is my observation that that there aren't enough people out there actually studying these issues; most funding, at the federal level, at NSF and other places, that goes into studying children and technology is directed at in school uses of technology."
There is almost no research that is leading to guidance for parents about technology use outside of schools. While most of the hype is about the educational potential of technology, we know that children are increasingly spending their out-of-school time with technology and are facing more and more media exposure, as new media supplements, not displaces, older media forms. Parents are faced with the conflicting messages that their children must have access to technology to get a leg up, but that this access is dangerous, with all sorts of predators waiting for them. Research is not being done to provide solid, accurate information to counselors and parents about appropriate technology use and exposure, over either the short or long term. Dr. Wartella noted that there are about twelve ongoing longitudinal studies of child development, but that none of them take any measure of media or technology use.
There is a great deal of research being done by commercial entities, but this research, even when released, tells us little about the ultimate effects of the technology. Dr. Wartella points out that there are three kinds of research going on in the commercial sector: design research, used to develop the software itself; market research, which looks primarily at how appealing potential products are; and developmental outcomes research, about the positive or negative effects of product use. While the two former kinds of research are done in abundance, few companies do much of the latter. While it is in the collective social interest to examine these aspects, it is not in the interest of corporate entities to do so, particularly if they might show negative effects.
Ultimately, Dr. Wartella says, "we need combinations of good public and private work. I don't think this work can be done without the involvement of industry. Good things we learn need to lead to good products for kids, and if we find problems. . . those should be set into design issues. In fact, what I am most concerned about is how you move the knowledge gained in the university into action in the real-world." While the social science academic community does not currently have good models on how to develop mutually-beneficial relationships with industry, this critical link must be forged, because "academics need access to the latest technologies for research and designers need access to the research inform to develop strong, healthy designs."
Wartella, E., and N. Jennings. The role of computers in children's lives. The Future of Children: Children and Computer Technology, 10(2), 31-43, 2001.
Wartella, E., and N. Jennings. "Hazards and Possibilities of Commercial TV in the Schools." In D. G.Singer & J. L. Singer (Eds.), Handbook of Children and the Media. (pp. 557-570). Thousand Oaks, CA: Sage Publications, 2001.
Wartella, E. Developmental Aspects of Children's Learning from Interactive Media: A Research Review. Paper presented at the International Forum of Researchers on Young People and the Media, Sydney, Australia November 2000.
Wartella, E., B. O'Keefe and R. Scantlin. Children and Interactive Media: A Research Compendium, prepared for the Markle Foundation, October, 2000.
Wartella, E. "Electronic Childhood." Media Studies Journal 8:4, 33-43, 1994.
Wartella, E., and S. Mazzarella. "An Historical Comparison of Children's Use of Time with Media: 1920s to 1980s." In R. Butsch (Ed.), For Fun and Profit, 173-194. Philadelphia: Temple University Press, 1990.
Wartella, E. "Television, Cognition and Learning." In M. Manley-Casimir and C. Luke (Eds.), Children and Television, 3-14. New York: Praeger, 1987.
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