Parents' concerns about children's media use study

 Parents' concerns about children's digital media use were investigated using data from semi‐structured interviews with 17 parents of children ages five to 11 at three branches of a U.S. urban public library system. Data were analyzed using collaborative inductive thematic analysis and analyzed with the lens of culturally‐constructed anxieties about new media. The most common concerns included worries about exposure to inappropriate content, worries about digital media taking up time that children would otherwise spend engaging in more meaningful activities, concerns about safety and privacy, and worries about negative effects on children's behaviors, attitudes, and social skills. Further analysis showed parents' deeper concern for children's healthy development to underlie these narrower concerns. The authors conclude with the recommendation to shift the framing of discourse around parenting with digital media from risk protection to digital media education.

Agosta, D. et al. (2024). :We were beaten down": Parents' concerns about children's digital media use. Proceedings of the Association for Information Science and Technology.  

DOI: 

10.1002/pra2.1003

ADHD and Digital Media in Teens

A new study published in the JAMA medical journal revealed that there is a connection between the development of attention deficit hyperactivity disorder symptoms in teenagers and how much they used digital media. The study that linked the disorder to digital media exposure involved 2,587 students in 10 high schools across Los Angeles County in California. When the study started in the fall of 2014, the students were 15 to 16 years old and showed no significant ADHD symptoms. Follow-up data was then collected in the spring and fall of 2015 and 2016. While the results of the study showed a plausible link between ADHD symptoms among teens and their digital media usage, parents should not panic and cut off teenagers from technology. The study did not establish whether digital media causes ADHD symptoms to develop or if teenagers who develop ADHD are more prone to heavy digital media usage.

Ra, C. K., Cho, J., Stone, M. D., De La Cerda, J., Goldenson, N., Moroney, El., Tung, I., Lee, S. S., & Leventhal, A. M. (2018). Association of digital media use with subsequent symptoms of Attention-Deficit/Hyperactivity Disorder among adolescents. JAMA, 320(3), 255–263. http://dx.doi.org/10.1001/jama.2018.8931

Association of Digital Media Use and ADHD Symptoms

This study published in in JAMA suggests that such frequent use of digital media by adolescents might increase their odds of developing symptoms of attention deficit hyperactivity disorder. In this longitudinal cohort survey study of adolescents aged 15 and 16 years at baseline and without symptoms of ADHD, there was a significant association between higher frequency of modern digital media use and subsequent symptoms of ADHD over a 24-month follow-up.

Ra, C. K., Cho, J., Stone M. D., De La Cerda, J., Goldenson, N. I., Moroney, E., Tung, I., Lee, S. S., & Leventhal, A. M. (2018). Association of digital media use with subsequent symptoms of Attention-Deficit/Hyperactivity Disorder among adolescents. JAMA, 320(3), 255–263. https://dx.doi.org/10.1001/jama.2018.8931

Increased Use of Media and Technology by Teachers

According to a survey by Grunwald Associates LLC, educators are not limiting their searches to classroom content. They also are seeking ways to improve and grow professionally. Teachers increasingly are using the Internet to access instructional strategies and opportunities for professional development, collaboration and inspiration.

Key findings include:

-       The Internet is quickly becoming the source for media-based instruction, with streaming and downloading of content surging.

-       Teachers believe that a variety of technology devices and Web-based systems help them do their jobs better and help them to engage students in learning.

-       Teachers see great educational potential in smart, portable devices, including laptops, tablets, e-readers and handhelds.

-       Teachers are joining online professional communities to connect, collaborate and share resources with other teachers.

Even more encouraging, the survey provides evidence that teachers are increasingly skilled at integrating digital media and technology into instructional practice and professional development.

Deepening Connections (2011). Teachers increasingly rely on media and technology. Bethesda, MD: Grunwald Associated LLC. http://www.grunwald.com/pdfs/PBS-GRUNWALD_2011_ANNUAL_ED_TECH_STUDY.pdf