Ways to Improve Your Child's Grades (2 of 10): Limit & Monitor Use of Social Media

 How Social Media Use Influences Academic Success

Parents increasingly need to recognize that  social media use and multitasking 

are here to stay while warning teens and tweens about their overuse and abuse.

Evelyn Smith

MS in Library Science, University of North Texas (2012)

Revised January 6, 2015

Children & Teens Use of Social Media

A Need to Set Limits

Research shows that parents should restrict TV viewing, Web surfing, texting, and video-gaming, making homework and a regular bedtime their children's first priorities.

Diaz, Yamalis, Evans, Lori, & Gallagher, Richard. (2011). Anti-social networking: How do texting and social media affect our children? A panel discussion by CSC clinicians at the Nightingale-Bamford School.  The Child Study Center.  About Our Kids.  Retrieved from http://www.aboutourkids.org/articles/antisocial_networking_how_do_texting_social_media_affect_our_children_panel_discussion_csc_

The average child between the ages of 8 and 18 uses social media, including computers, TV, and cell phones, more than six hours per day—four hours more (as of 2011) than five years previously.  Most of this time for teens is also spent multitasking. Meanwhile, kids between the ages of 11 and 14 averaged watching three to five hours of television daily while 1/3 of teens sent more than 100 text messages daily (Diaz, 2011, para. 8).

Beginning in preschool, the time spent watching TV has a negative effect on attention span, academic performance and adjustment in elementary and middle school. Excessive use of social media also badly affects grades, 47 percent of heavy users making a C average or lower (Diaz, 2011, para.11).

Viewing lots of television can also negatively influences thinking skills, attention span, emotions, and behavior.  The use of social media also can intensify bullying as well as being bullied (Diaz, 2011, para. 15 & 24-26).

To stem the tide of these negative influences, parents can take the following steps:

• Try to find a way for their teens and tweens to participate in social media while monitoring their access to it and setting limits.

• Know their children's passwords and regularly visit the Websites they are visiting. Keep cell phones, TVs, and laptops out of the bedroom at night to ensure that children and teens get enough sleep.
• Model good behavior; for example, putting away the i-phone and participating in family discussions at dinner time.
• Get kids involved in extracurricular activities that don’t involve the Internet, video games, or cell phones. 
• Discuss Internet etiquette and appropriate and safe texting behavior.
•  Know what their prodigy are reading, playing, listening, and watching as well as the friends they are texting 

     (Diaz, 2011, para.  28)

Sharif, Iman & Sargent, James D.  (2006, October 1).  Association between television, movie, and video game exposure and school performance.  Pediatrics, 118(4), e1061-e1070.  doi: 10.1542/peds.2005-2854.  [Abstract only].  Retrieved from http://pediatrics.aappublications.org/content/118/4/e1061.short

A cross-sectional survey of fifth- through eighth-graders living in the Northeastern United States looked at both weekday and weekend television and video game screen time, cable movie channel availability, and R-rated movie restrictions and parental-imposed curbing of television content and how well it correlated with self-reported school performance and found that school performance went down as weekday TV screen time went up while grades went up when restrictions increased.  Those middle school students whose parents occasionally let them watch R-rated movies significantly increased their chance of poor school performance; however, the amount of weekend-time watching TV or playing video games didn’t correlate with bad grades.  The researchers thus concluded that middle school students were more likely to succeed in school if their parents limited TV viewing and video games on weekdays.

____________

Monitoring & Limiting TV Viewing

Is Fundamental!

Watching TV too early can severely limit cognitive function, but

 preschoolers may also benefit from watching educational programming.

Although most research on the impact of TV viewing on scholastic performance in children is decades old, that doesn’t change the message that the majority of these studies send:  Preschool children from lower-socioeconomic families may benefit from watching a limited amount of educational programming daily, but TV shouldn’t be used as an electronic baby sitter particularly with children below the age two.  Other activities need to take priority over watching TV since it takes away from other more worthwhile things to do.  Even so, some fairly recent research suggests that the children of upper- and upper-middle class families are more likely to use TV for educational than entertainment purposes; thus, this more active viewing mode may mitigate some of the harmful effects of “vegging out” in front of the TV.

Moderation should be the motto here since parents need to limit TV viewing during the evening hours from early childhood through the teenage years, so it doesn't interfere with an established bedtime routine or take away from the time spent doing homework.  Here again, TV viewing more adversely affects children from working class families than the children of university-educated parents.  Statistics, however, prove that limiting TV to under two hours daily gives all children and teens a slight edge academically while children who watch the most TV make the worst grades, even if university-educated Tiger Moms and Dads are the most likely to insist that their children participate in a greater range of culturally enriching extracurricular activities. Even so, the TV needs to come out of the bedroom, and concerned parents need to monitor what their children watch for violence and sexual content as well as be on hand to discuss what their kids have seen and heard.

Dershewitz, Robert A. (2005, August 16).  Does TV viewing affect academic performance?  Journal Watch. Summary and Comment/ General Medicine. New England Journal of Medicine.  Retrieved from http://www.jwatch.org/jw200508160000004/2005/08/16/does-tv-viewing-affect-academic-performance

Robert A. Dershewitz reviews three articles found in the Archives of Pediatric Adolescent Medicine (2005, July) and lists a fourth article that comments on the negative effects of television viewing on the cognitive development of children and adolescents.

What is the effect of television viewing on children’s cognitive development? In three new studies, researchers explore this question.

In the first study, “The Remote, the Mouse, and the No. 2 Pencil: The Household Media Environment and Academic Achievement among Third Grade Students”, California researchers D. L. Borzekowski and T. N. Robinson surveyed a diverse group of 410 third graders and their parents and discovered that students with TVs in their bedrooms made significantly lower standardized test scores than those whose bedrooms didn’t come equipped with a TV while students who had access to a home computer scored higher than those without home computer access.  Furthermore, those students who lost or gained the use of home computers or bedroom TV’s during the school year showed a significant difference from their baseline test scores at the end of the academic year (Dershewitz, 2005, August, para. 1).

In the second long, long longitudinal, “Association of Television Viewing During Childhood with Poor Educational Achievement”, New Zealand researchers R. J. Hancox, B. J. Milne, and R. Poulton followed a random group of 1,000 children from birth and found that increased TV viewing in childhood and adolescence correlated with significantly lower academic attainment by age 26 independent of socioeconomic status and intelligence test scores (Dershewitz, 2005, August, para. 2).

In the third study, “Children’s Television Viewing and Cognitive Outcomes: A Longitudinal Analysis of National Data”, researchers F. J. Zimmerman and D. A. Christakis discovered a negative effect on achievement scores of children at age six or seven when they were allowed to watch TV before age three.  However, testing of lower-class children at age six or seven showed that watching TV between the ages of three to five had a positive effect on  their achievement scores. All of which supports the American Academy of Pediatrics’ recommendation that children younger than two shouldn’t watch TV (Dershewitz, 2005, August, para. 3).

Comment

Dershewitz concludes that while all three articles note that TV viewing has an adverse effect on academic performance, TV in itself isn’t “inherently good or bad”.  Moreover, Dershewitz notes that all three studies don’t analyze the context and content of TV viewing, analyzing, for example, the effects of watching TV for educational versus entertainment purposes (Dershewitz, 2005, August, para. 4).


Citations  

Borzekowski, D. L. & Robinson, T. N.  (2005, July). The remote, the mouse, and the No. 2 pencil: The household media environment and academic achievement among third grade students. Archives of Pediatrics & Adolescent Medicine, 159, 607-13.  Retrieved from http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/?term=Borzekowski%2C+D.L.+%26+Robinson%2C+T.N.++(2005%2C+July).+The+remote%2C+the+mouse%2C+and+the+no.+2+pencil%3A+The+household+media+environment+and+academic+achievement+among+third+grade+students.

Chernin, A. R. & Linebarger, D. L.  (2005, July). The relationship between children’s television viewing and academic performance. Archive of Pediatric & Adolescent Medicine, 159, 687-9. Retrieved from http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/?term=Chernin%2C+A.+R.+%26+Linebarger%2C+D.L.++(2005%2C+July).+The+relationship+between+children%E2%80%99s+television+viewing+and+academic+performance

Hancox, R. J., Milne, B. J., & Poulton, R. (2005, July). Association of television viewing during childhood with poor educational achievement. Archives of Pediatrics & Adolescent Medicine, 159, 614-8. Retrieved from http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/?term=Hancox%2C+R.J.(2005%2C+July).+Association+of+television+viewing+during+childhood+with+poor+educational+achievement.

Zimmerman, F. J.  & Christakis, D. A.  (2005, July).  Children’s television viewing and cognitive outcomes: A longitudinal analysis of national data. Archives of Pediatric & Adolescent Medicine, 159, 619-25. Retrieved from http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/?term=Zimmerman%2C+F.+J.++%26+Christakis%2C+D.A.++(2005%2C+July).++Children%E2%80%99s+television+viewing+and+cognitive+outcomes%3A+A+longitudinal+analysis+of+national+data

____________

Francis, Jacinta. (2013, June 25).  Is television the key to academic success? Watching TV may make your children smarter.   In the Neighborhood.  Psychology Today.  Retrieved from http://www.psychologytoday.com/blog/in-the-neighborhood/201306/is-television-the-key-academic-success

University of London researchers have discovered a positive link between hours spent TV watching and children’s I.Q. scores, and although they admit that their results refute insightful opinion, they support evidence from another report that suggests TV viewing may improve the reading readiness of those children with “less-educated mothers”.  Nevertheless, they acknowledge that the study didn’t measure the type of TV programming these children watched (Francis, 2013, June 25, para. 2).

Although Francis confesses that she has used TV as a babysitter, she has tried to comply with the Australian Federal Government’s guidelines that recommend that children under age two watch no TV whatsoever while parents of preschoolers limit their TV viewing to only one hour a day—a stricter standard than the American Academy of Pediatrics is recommending, allowing children over two to watch TV for “less than two hours per day”.   Furthermore, while Francis doesn’t always succeed in meeting these criteria, reports linking TV viewing to attention deficit disorder, hyperactivity, language delays, and obesity prompt her to shut off the set (2013, June 25, para. 3).

More importantly, these findings are only part of a response to the argument that parental behavior has a greater effect on  academic performance than social class that  has sent researcher Alice Sullivan in search of the relationship between social class and mental acuity in 11,000 children from five to seven years (2013, June 25, para. 4).

Sullivan’s study suggests that the parents’ education and social class are the most likely factors to look at when predicting their children’s I.Q. scores as evidenced by research that showed that children of highly-educated parents with salaried positions scored significantly better on I.Q. tests than lower-class students, whose parents didn’t graduate from a university and only had casual employment.  Indeed, having parents with graduate degrees gave children “an advantage consistent with being over one-year older” than other students (2013, June 25, para. 5).

 Higher I.Q. scores in children also correlate with consistent routines—such as a set time for going to bed and eating meals--in addition to parental practices that nurture intelligence in young children: Reading aloud daily, visiting libraries, teaching reading skills, such as learning the alphabet, and breastfeeding (2013, June 25, para. 6).

In other words, the idea that lower-income children might benefit from watching TV in lieu of listening to their mom or dad read a story is thrown into this report as a reminder that parental behavior cannot always completely explain the differences in cognitive scores.  That’s not to say that preschool children whatever their social class will benefit from watching reruns for three hours a day (2013, June 25, para. 7).

References

Sullivan, Alice, Ketende, Sosthenes, & Joshi, Heather.  (2013, April 29).  Social class and inequalities in early cognitive scores.  Sociology, 47(6), 1187-1206. doi: 10.1177/0038038512461861.  [Abstract only]. Retrieved from http://soc.sagepub.com/content/early/2013/04/22/0038038512461861.abstract

Researchers used The Millennium Cohort Study to question the relationship between social class and academic success in primary school, concluding that while social class remains an important factor, parental behavior can’t account for all the differences in children’s cognitive scores.

Strasburger, Victor C. et al. (2010, November 1).  Media education: Policy statement. Council on Communications and Media.  Pediatrics, 126(5), 1012-1017. doi: 10.1542/peds.2010-1636.  Retrieved from http://pediatrics.aappublications.org/content/126/5/1012.full

The American Academy of Pediatrics recognizes that exposing children and adolescents to the mass media, including television, movies, video and computer games, the Internet, music lyrics and videos, presents not only health risks but benefits as well. Media education can also potentially reduce the harmful consequences of these experiences and accentuate their positive effects [Abstract]. 

The Amount of Time Spent with Media

Children and adolescents living in the United States on average spend more time “engaged in various media”—more than seven hours each day, according to the Kaiser Family Foundation (2010)--than any other activity except sleeping.  TV, however, remains the “predominant medium” that captures the attention of younger and younger ages.  On a typical day, nearly 2/3rds of children younger than age two are watching TV for an hour and a half daily while 70 percent of American teens have a TV in their bedroom.  Thus, time spent with the media replaces creative, active, or social activities (Strasburger, 2010, November 1, para. 1).  

Media Effect on Aggressive Behavior

More than 2,000 studies prove that significant exposure to media violence increases the risk of aggressive behavior in children and adolescents since it desensitizes them to violence while accentuating the threat of violence.  For example, 90 percent of the top-grossing PG-13 rated films produced between 1999 and 2000 contained violence while news reports of crime and violence traumatizes young children (Strasburger, 2010, November 1, para. 2).

Media Effect on Obesity & School Performance

Research documents that increased TV use is a significant factor leading to obesity, and it also may lead to decreased school achievement.  New research is investigating if high levels of media use might contribute to attention-deficit hyperactivity disorder as well as sleep and eating disorders (Strasburger, 2010, November 1, para. 5).

Value of Media Education

Media education and media literacy can potentially reduce the harmful effects of the media if users understand the tenets of media education as well as limit their use of the media, making wise choices, selecting other creative ways to spend their leisure time, developing critical thinking and viewing skills, and understanding the political, social, economic, and emotional implications of accessing all types of media.  Successful media education ensures that users are less vulnerable to the negative effects of media exposure, lessening aggressive behavior, increasing sophisticated perceptions of advertising, bringing about a decline in the use of alcohol and tobacco, while bringing about better nutritional habits,  less obesity, and healthier body images as well as a decline in revealing photos sent via electronic devices.  While many schools make media education a part of their curriculum, this shouldn't relieve the media of its responsibilities (Strasburger, 2010, November 1, para. 7).

The American Academy of Pediatrics recommends less than two hours per day screen time   (Strasburger, 2010, November 1, para. 8).  Pediatricians should  also advise parents to 1) encourage a careful selection of TV programs, 2) watch TV with  their children and adolescents and discuss the content together, 3)  teach critical viewing skills, limit and focus time spent with the media, 4) avoid exposing young children and preteens to PG-13 and R-rated movies, 5) model appropriate media habits, 6) emphasize alternative leisure time activities,  7) create an “electronic media-free” environment in their children’s rooms,  and 8) not use the media as “an electronic baby-sitter”.  10) Children two and under also shouldn’t be watching any TV or videos since research shows that infants and toddlers heed to directly interact with their parents and caretakers to ensure healthy brain growth.  Exposing infants under 18 months to TV viewing risks a delay in language development while no studies laud the benefits of early TV viewing (Strasburger, 2010, November 1, para. 9). 

Schools need to insert media education into the curriculum, incorporating it into existing drug prevention and sex education units (Strasburger, 2010, November 1, para. 11).  Finally, Congress should mandate funding universal media education while the federal government and private foundations should increase the funding for media research (Strasburger, 2010, November 1, para. 12-13).

Gadberry, Sharon. (1980, Winter). Effects of restricting first graders' TV-viewing on leisure time use, IQ change, and cognitive style.  Journal of Applied Developmental Psychology, 1(1), 45-57. [Abstract only]. Retrieved from http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/0193-3973(80)90061-1

When parents of middle-class six-year-olds halved their children’s TV viewing and interacted with them during a six-week period for twenty minutes daily, they enhanced their children’s performance I.Q. and reading time particularly when compared with those children whose parents didn’t restrict their viewing time.

Gosline, Anna.  (2005, July). Watching TV harms kids' academic success. Life.  New Scientist.  Retrieved from http://www.newscientist.com/article/dn7626-watching-tv-harms-kids-academic-success.html#.UwBYEPldW_c

Studies suggest that too much time watching television reduces learning ability, academic achievement, and the likelihood of university graduation, although the quality of TV programming rather than the quantity is what really matters.  Decades of research, however, link TV watching with a plethora of vices: Aggressive behavior, early premarital sex, smoking, obesity, and poor academic performance. Consequently, the American Academy of Pediatrics recommends that children watch no more than two hours of TV daily and toddlers  and infants watch no TV at all (Gosline, 2005, July, para. 1-2).

Some research, nevertheless, shows that high quality educational TV programs can be a “boon for learning” while TV’s negative effects disappear when researchers factor the parents’ I.Q. and socioeconomic status into the equation (Gosline, 2005, July, para. 3). To determine the long-term effects of TV watching Robert Hancox and colleagues at the University of Otago in New Zealand studied the long-term effects of TV viewing in nearly 1,000 New Zealand children born in 1972 and 1973, gathering data on the number of hours the children spent in front of the TV at age 5, 7, 9, 11, 13, and 15, as well as re-evaluating app participants at age 26.

Drop Outs

Those pupils who watched the least TV between the ages of 5 and 11 had the highest probability of graduating from a university by age 26 regardless of I.Q. or socioeconomic status while those who watched the most TV—more than three hours per day—had the greatest chance of dropping out of school (Gosline, 2005, July, para. 4).  The effect of TV viewing, however, was strongest in those children with an average I.Q. because TV watching was  the least likely to influence those children with I.Q.’s on either end of the spectrum (Gosline, 2005, July, para. 5).  Similarly, Dina Borzekowski and associates of the John Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health discovered that those Northern California third graders who had a TV in their bedrooms watched more TV as well as did worse on standardized tests than their classmates who didn’t have their own TV (Gosline, 2005, July para. 6).

Sesame Street

Although Frederick Zimmerman and Dimitri Christakis from the University of Washington in Seattle discovered that three-year-olds who watched the most TV turned in the poorest performances on reading and math tests at age six and seven, they also found that preschool children age three to five benefited from TV viewing possibility because a large number of children’s educational programs targeted this age group (Gosline, 2005, para. 7).  

Nevertheless, an accompanying editorial written by Ariel Chernin and Deborah Linebarger of the University of Pennsylvania cautions that these studies don’t separate the effects of educational and entertainment programming. TV viewing time, of course, takes time away from creative play, reading, and homework, but “as their editorial notes, “It is not the amount of viewing that matters but the content of what is viewed” (Gosline, 2005, para. 8-9).  

Thus, Chernin and Linebarger argue that parents should encourage quality, educational programming.  Alas, however, Barry Milne, of the Institute of Psychiatry in London, recognizes that “the type of TV kids actually do watch is not good for them” (Gosline, 2005, para. 10).

Keith, Timothy Z., Reimers, Thomas M., & Fehrmann, Paul G., et al.   (1986, October).  Parental involvement, homework, and TV time: Direct and indirect effects on high school achievement. Journal of Educational Psychology, 78(5), 373-380. [Abstract only]. doi: 10.1037/0022-0663.78.5.373.  Retrieved from http://psycnet.apa.org/journals/edu/78/5/373/

Researchers examined the effects of TV time, homework, and parental involvement in 28,051 high school seniors selected from the 1980 High School and Beyond Longitudinal Study and determined that homework had a positive effective on student performance while TV watching was detrimental.  While parental involvement in this stage in the students’ schooling had no direct effect on their achievement, it did influence how much time they spent on homework.

Kirkorian, Heather L., Wartella, Ellen, & Anderson, Daniel R. (2008, Spring).  Children and electronic media, 18(1). Future of  Children. Retrieved from http://futureofchildren.org/publications/journals/article/index.xml?journalid=32&articleid=56&sectionid=246

Early Media Use and Academic Achievement

Critics who disparage the use of the TV as an electronic baby sitter point out that it displaces beneficial activities like outdoor play, homework, and reading.  However, historically, TV originally displaced other earlier forms of entertainment—reading comic books, listening to the radio, and going to the movies.  Therefore, TV for the most part doesn’t necessarily replace “educationally valuable activities” except perhaps when young children are learning to read in the early elementary grades.  The effect of the new media on academic achievement, however, is much less clear, since multitasking users can access different media platforms at the same time (Kirkorian, 2008, Spring, para. 1).

Multiple studies link the negative effect of excessive TV viewing with academic achievement, noting that those students who watch the least television do best in school, although the associations are “often quite small”.  Here again, while TV viewing may lower academic achievement, academically-challenged children may focus on watching TV as their primary leisure time activity.  Additionally, a third variable might be thrown into the equation, since children from lower income families, who often come home to an empty house, watch more TV as well as score lower on achievement tests than children from higher-income families (Kirkorian, 2009, Spring, para. 2).  Thus, findings such as these indirectly underline the positive influence of after school athletic and tutoring programs.

Admittedly, a detailed analysis of the relationship between TV viewing and academic achievement isn’t straight forward, for a meta-analysis of 23 separate studies shows only a -.05 curvilinear association between the two.  In other words, a moderate amount of TV viewing of between one to two hours a day didn’t really effect academic performance; however, research definitely linked higher rates of TV watching with decreasing academic achievement (Kirkorian, 2009, Spring, para. 3).

Moreover, when determining how much TV viewing to allot children, parents need to consider the viewer’s age.  Few studies have analyzed the association between later academic achievement and TV viewing in infants and toddlers, although one study found a negative association between TV viewing before age three, even as it also noted that first graders did better on achievement tests if they had watched TV as preschoolers (Kirkorian, 2009, Spring, para. 4).

Most studies also don’t distinguish between the kind of programming watched, so the negative effect of watching TV on academic achievement might be partially mediated by watching educational programming.  One report, for example, found that moderate TV watchers and high academic achievers were more likely to watch educational programming while heavier TV viewers preferred watching TV for entertainment (Kirkorian, 2009, Spring, para. 4).  Thus, if parents discuss the content of TV programs with their children, this might turn a program viewed only for entertainment into a teaching moment.

Indeed, one extensive study found a positive link between viewing educational programming at age five with better grades in high school English, math, and science as well as a host of other positive variables, such as favoring reading as a leisure time activity and becoming involved in extracurricular activities.  Another longitudinal study correlated the effect of TV viewing from six to thirty months of age with the type of programming watched.  For example, research linked later gains in vocabulary and expressive language with watching Blue’s Clues and Dora the Explorer,  thus contradicting earlier studies that have warned against allowing children to watch TV before age two.  But the same study found that watching Teletubbies had an unfavorable effect on academic achievement (Kirkorian, 2009, Spring, para. 5). Similarly, longitudinal research has clearly shown a negative associate between early exposure to video violence and academic achievement (Kirkorian, 2009, Spring, para. 6).

The effects of watching entertainment TV are less clear than those of watching educational TV since some studies connect watching entertainment TV with poor academic performances. Information learned from entertainment also doesn’t have the cumulative, long-term benefit that watching educational programming does (Kirkorian, 2009, Spring, para. 7).

As for determining the effects of interactive video games and the Internet, researchers only look for correlations and not causation and seldom base their findings on actually observing young children, even though one study has established a link between video game use and its detrimental effects on academic achievement in adolescents while other reports show a positive association between academic success and the use of a home computer (Kirkorian, 2009, Spring, para. 8).

After studies control for parents’ income and education, however, they fail to find significant links between TV viewing and declines in academic performance if TV viewing is kept to one to two hours a day since school performance declines as excessive TV viewing (of more than two hours daily) increases.  Educational programming also appears to be associated with academic achievement while TV viewed only for entertainment as well as violent content has a negative effect.  Further studies need to systematically assess the effects of video games and computers, although educational programs and games can positively influence academic performance (Kirkorian, 2009, Spring, para. 9).

Neuman, Susan B. (1988).  The displacement effect: Assessing the relation between television viewing and reading performance.  Reading Research Quarterly, 23(4), 414-440. doi: 10.2307/747641. [Abstract only]. Retrieved from http://psycnet.apa.org/psycinfo/1989-11416-001

After reviewing eight-statewide reading assessments as well as a secondary analysis of the 1984 National Assessment of Educational Progress, that even though there wasn’t much difference in scholastic achievement when parents allowed children to watch between one and three hours of TV per night, if the students watched more than four hours of television daily, “the effects were negatively increasingly deleterious”.  Furthermore, TV viewing time took away from the time spent in leisure reading, sports, and socializing with friends, so  most students balanced the time they needed to devote to their studies with the demands placed upon their time by social activities.

Owens, Judith, Maxim, Rolanda, & McGuinn, Melissa et al.  (1999, September 1).  Television-viewing habits and sleep disturbance in school children. Pediatrics, 104(3), pp. e27. [Abstract only].  Retrieved from http://pediatrics.aappublications.org/content/104/3/e27.short

After the parents of 495 children in kindergarten through fourth grade in three public schools completed two surveys assessing their children’s sleep habits and their TV viewing, researchers correlated at least one sleep disturbance, including resisting going to bed, delaying the onset of sleep, not enough time spent sleeping, anxiety associated with sleep, parasomnia, waking up during the night, and daytime sleepiness, with the children’s viewing practices—increased TV viewing both at night and during the day as well as the presence of a TV in the child’s bedroom.

Ridley-Johnson, Robyn, Cooper, Harris, & Chance, June. (1983, May-June). The relation of children's television viewing to school achievement and I.Q.  The Journal of Educational Research, 76(5), 294-297.  [Abstract only].  Retrieved from http://psycnet.apa.org/psycinfo/1984-13415-001

After surveying the grades and Lorge-Thorndike Intelligent tests of 290 fifth through eighth graders, researchers discovered that those children who limited TV watch did better in school and had higher I.Q.’s than the other students.  Those middle school students who spent more time watching TV had lower grades in reading as well as lower intelligent scores.  Those students with better grades in math preferred to watch sports, family, game, and cartoon scores.

Bottom Line:  To ensure that elementary and secondary students get plenty of sleep each night, limit their night time TV viewing and keep the TV [as well as the computer and cell phone] out of the bedroom at least an hour before bedtime as well as during the night].

Williams, Patricia A., Haertel, Edward K, & Geneva D. Haertel et al.  (1982, March 20).  The impact of leisure-time television on school learning: A research synthesis.  American Educational Research Journal. 19(1), 19-50. doi: 10.3102/00028312019001019.  [Abstract only].  Retrieved from http://aer.sagepub.com/content/19/1/19.short

After surveying 23 educational and psychological articles, dissertations, assessments and surveys, reviewers determined that heavy TV viewing beyond 10 hours a week correlated with a negative effect on learning. Intensive TV viewing is also more likely to have a negative effect on girls and children with high I.Q.’s.  Thus, parents of girls and boys that evidence intelligence should set a limit on TV watching.

Zimmerman, Frederick, J. & Christakis, Dimitri.  (2005, July). Children’s television viewing and cognitive outcomes: A longitudinal analysis of national data.  Archives of Pediatrics & Adolescent Medicine, 159(7), 619-625.  doi:10.1001/archpedi.159.7.619. http://archpedi.jamanetwork.com/article.aspx?articleid=486070#Abstract

Even though American children average watching about 2.2 hours of television a day before age three, findings suggest that their parents should comply with the American Academy of Pediatrics guidelines that children younger than age two not watch any TV since each hour of TV watched before age three lowers intelligence test scores.  Nevertheless, viewing of educational TV programs like Sesame Street shows some improvement in early academic success when compared to those preschool children who are allowed to watch non-educational television.

Thus, for the preschool set, the American Academy of Pediatric recommends no TV viewing for very young children and only “high-quality, age-appropriate viewing thereafter” for preschoolers.  Children from low socioeconomic backgrounds, however, may benefit from limited, largely educational TV viewing. 

Admittedly, the parents’ educational background often targets how children watch TV since “high achieving” families frequently use TV to complement school work while parents of “low achievers”  may unfortunately substitute entertainment TV programming for learning.  Even so, a randomized trial found that when TV watching was reduced over a six-week period, six-year-old children showed a “modest, but significant improvement in performance I.Q. and attention time”.    But those six-year-old children who learned about storytelling and narratives only through TV and video games were less likely to develop reflective and interpretative skills as well as to develop imagination and creativity.

___________

Social Media & Texting:

Moderation Is Key

Excessive texting can lower grades while listening to music

can help young adults and teens co

Texting during lectures doesn’t help high school and university students retain the information they need to learn; however, parents and teachers should take into account learning styles before they attempt to change study habits.  So if teens and young adults are keeping their grades up, their well-meaning elders shouldn't rush in to try to correct the situation.  Instead educators are increasingly turning to social media to raise students’ grades or to help them schedule important academic obligations.

Nevertheless, social media addiction (or spending up to 12 hours a day texting and visiting social media Websites) significantly lowers grades.  Meanwhile, texting among preteens actually shows an increased phonological awareness and a playful attitude toward language while it increases the vocabulary of elementary-school-age pupils. 

Even though texting and tweeting won’t go away, high school and university students also need to understand the importance of taking time off from always being available, engineering downtime into their schedules and ensuring that they get sufficient uninterrupted sleep nightly. Hence, limited texting plans and agreed upon downtime will most probably make for happier, smarter, and more well-adjusted teenagers and young adults.  Students headed for college in particular need to be warned that excessive use of social media during their freshman year will cause their grades to drop.

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Addendum

January 6, 2015



Bertsche, Rachel. (2015, January 6). Smartphones in kids' bedrooms are worse than TV study says. Yahoo! Parenting. Retrieved from https://www.yahoo.com/parenting/smartphones-in-kids-bedrooms-are-worse-than-tv-107339749462.html

University of California Berkeley researchers have discovered that upper-elementary and middle school children who sleep in the same room with a cellphone smartphone or i-pod on average went to bed 37 minutes later than those who didn't do so while children who slept in a room with a TV got only 18 minutes less sleep than children whose rooms didn't have a TV, even though they on average also delayed bedtime by 31 minutes (Bertsche, 2015, January 6, para. 1).

This study of fourth- and seventh-graders found that 54 percent of all children survey slept near a smartphone—a troubling statistic since the ling that these phones emit disturbs sleep. The results of this study hence elicit a practical suggestion that parents should keep all “screen media” out of their children's bedrooms and prohibit all TV viewing, computer and cell phone use in the hour before bedtime (Bertsche, 2014, January 6, para 2). The American Academy of Pediatrics also recommends that children spend no more than two hours daily in front of a “recreational screen”, and to ensure that children don't violate this curfew, one authority even recommends charging cell phones overnight in the parents' bedroom closet else they suffer from psychological dependency (Bertsche, 2014, January 6, para. 3-5). Additionally, parents need to establish rules for using cell phones when they first furnish their children with them (Bertsche, 2014, January 6, para. 6).

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Barks, Amanda, Searight, H. Russell, & Ratwik, Susan.  (2013, February). Effects of text messaging on academic performance.  Journal of Pedagogy and Psychology “Signum Temporis”, 4(1), 4–9.  doi: 10.2478/v10195-011-0039-0.  [Abstract only].  Retrieved from

http://www.degruyter.com/view/j/sigtem.2011.4.issue-1/v10195-011-0039-0/v10195-011-0039-0.xml

Researchers randomly assigned university students who frequently text message during lectures into two sets, allowing one group to send and receive messages during class while the other group abstained from doing so. Those students who texted during the lecture turned in a “significantly poor performance” on a test of the material presented in the lecture compared with the group that didn’t send or receive text messages. Barks, Russell, and Ratwik thus hypothesized that “frequent task shifting . . . contributed to their poor performance”.  The findings of the study thus contradict the students’ contention that texting while attending a lecture doesn’t’ detract from their attention. Rather they support a ban on text messaging during lectures.

Bennett, Sue, Maton, &  Kervin, Lisa.  (2008, February 5).  The ‘digital natives’ debate: A critical review of the evidence.  British Journal of Educational Technology, 39 (5), 775–786. doi: 10.1111/j.1467-8535.2007.00793.x. [Abstract only].  Retrieved from http://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1111/j.1467-8535.2007.00793.x/abstract?deniedAccessCustomisedMessage=&userIsAuthenticated=false

Digital natives are not necessarily imbued with the sophisticated technical skills and learning preferences that older adults believe they have, and they are far from being empirically and theoretically informed.

Castleman, Benjamin L. Castleman & Page, Lindsay C.  (2013, April). Summer nudging: Can personalized text messages and peer mentor outreach increase college going among low-income high school graduates? National Partnership for Educational Access Research Brief. Harvard University.  Retrieved from https://npeac.memberclicks.net/assets/summer%20nudging.pdf

Text messaging of lower-income high school grads who have been accepted in a two- or four-year college is a more cost effective and efficient way of stemming summer melt of recent high school students who wouldn't otherwise matriculate than more expensive peer mentoring outreach programs are as shown in randomized trials performed for the Dallas I.S.D., the Boston-non-profit organization, uAspire, and the Mastery Charter Schools of Philadelphia (Castleman, 2013, April, para. 1-2 & 4).

Texting intervention, resulting in a three percent increase in enrollment at two-year colleges and 4.5 percent at senior colleges, sent a series of eight to ten text messages reminding grads to complete various tasks, such as logging on to their intended college’s Website to access paperwork or registering for orientation (Castleman, 2013, para. 7-8).  Moreover, students who qualified for the free lunch program and those achievement scores and GPA fell in the middle range were 4.9 percent more likely to enroll in a two-year college at the end of the summer following graduation  than those students who didn’t receive text messages (Castleman, 2013, para. 9).

The retention rate for matching  program participants with college-aged peer mentors from the same high school was 4.5 percent.  Although this program resulted in significantly higher rates of interaction with high school seniors and cost much more to implement, the additional effort and cost didn’t translate into higher rates of college enrollment (Castleman, 2013, para. 11-13 & 15).

Collins, Nick. (2013, April 12).  Texting 'lowers students' grades'.  The Telegraph.  Retrieved from http://www.telegraph.co.uk/education/universityeducation/9990370/Texting-lowers-students-grades.html

A study of 483 freshman women attending an American university revealed that they spend almost 12 hours a day in media-related activities, including texting, social networking, surfing the Web, and watching TV—all of which lowered their grades--while reading newspapers and listening to music improved their academic performance (Collins, 2013, April 12, para. 1-2 & 4). Hence, instead of changing student behavior, professors should integrate helpful social media into academic study, according to Jennifer Walsh of the Miriam Hospital of Rhode Island (Collins, 2013, April 12, para. 3 & 15).

The young women surveyed averaged between 11.8 and 12.1 hours daily accessing different types of media, but this total didn’t reflect how much time they spent multitasking; for example, listening to music while reading an assignment.  Social networking, listening to music, texting, and browsing took up to two hours a day during the school term (Collins, 2013, April 12, para. 4-5).  Over two semesters, “heavy use of mobile phones” as well as a steady diet of social networking, and viewing films and TV led to a decline in the women’s grade-point-average (Collins, 2013, April 12, para. 6-7).  Since those who spent the most time on their mobile phones had the lowest grades and those who spent time social networking also reported spending less time on assignments, researchers speculated that mobile phone use and social networking might distract students from concentrated on academic tasks and disrupt their preparation for class (Collins, 2013, April 12, 8-9). 

By way of contrast, those students who spent their time reading newspapers (presumably online) had higher grades.  Here researchers speculated that this might reflect their conscientiousness. Similarly, listening to music improved young adults’ study habits, for it made studying more appealing (Collins, 2013, April 12, 10-13).

Klass, Perri. (2009, October 12).  18 and under: Texting, surfing, studying?  Health.  New York Times.  Retrieved from http://www.nytimes.com/2009/10/13/health/13klas.html?_r=0

University and high school students who think they are successfully completing assignments while sending and receiving text messages mistakenly believe they are multitasking.  However, according to Dimitri Christakis, a professor of pediatrics at the University of Washington, “The truth is you don’t really multitask, you just think you do”, for the brain simply can’t handle “two high-level cognitive things.  What you are actually doing  . . .  is oscillating between the two” (Klass, 2009, October 12, .para. 5 & 7). Teenagers and young adults, however, because of their youth may possess greater mental dexterity (Klass, 2009, October 12, para. 9).  To mitigate against the adverse effects of reading and texting at the same time, good study habits need to be instilled among these digital natives since part of successful adult functioning is matching one’s task to its context, even as older adults come to terms with electronic multitasking (Klass, 2009, October 12, para. 12-13).  

Accordingly, Perri Klass asked a 20-something-year-old medical student son how he fitted social media into his study habits.  The son noted that when studying to memorize he still fitted instant messaging into his schedule, for he looked at it every once in a while, although otherwise it was a bit like a movie going on in the background (2009, October 12, para. 14-15).    He even conducted an experiment in which he discovered that when periodically text messaging he could read with 80 percent efficiency, which also meant that he could read for longer periods of time.  Similarly, another medical student talked about listening to lecture notes while working out on an elliptical machine (Klass, 2009, October 12, para. 16 & 17).   

That means as long as students are doing well in their studies, parents should give them some latitude as to how they process information (Klass, 2009, October 12, para. 19). Even so, Kerri  believes that something is lost if one can't enjoy reading something without any distractions or writing while listening to an inner voice (2009, October 12, para. 20).

Phillips, Suzanne. (2009). Teens sleeping with cell phones: A clear and present danger.  This Emotional Life.  Adolescence Blog.  PBS.  Retrieved from

http://www.pbs.org/thisemotionallife/blogs/teens-sleeping-cell-phones-clear-and-present-danger

The statistic that four out of five teens sleep with their cell phones should concern parents since it reflects an “on call” status that imposes an obligation as well as a psychological addiction that could jeopardize, physical, emotional and cognitive functioning (Phillips, 20009, para. 1-3). 

Obligation

Teens and young adults nevertheless feel peer pressure “to be available” 24/7 when self-esteem depends on social acceptance.  This also means that their friends often feel insulted if they don’t answer their cell phones immediately even when they wake them up in the middle of the night (Phillips, 2009, para. 4-6).

Sleep Deprivation
 

As parents of new born babies can testify, sleep disruption and the hyper-vigilance of always being on call can exact an “undue physical and emotional cost” (Phillips, 2009, para. 7).  Furthermore, medical research underlines the importance of teens getting nine hours of sleep a night else they suffer from loss of memory, impaired performance and alertness.  Lack of REM sleep can also cause irritability, anxiety, and depression in addition to reducing concentration and creativity.  Therefore, parents need to know whether their texting teens are actually sleeping or if they need help “protecting their sleep” (Phillips, 2009, para. 8).

Dr. Mercola. (2014, June 26).   Sleep and technology don’t mix.  Why you need to set an electronic curfew.  Mercola.com.  Retrieved from http://articles.mercola.com/sites/articles/archive/2014/06/26/sleep-electronicgadgets.aspx?e_cid=20140626Z1_DNL_art_2&utm_source=dnl&utm_medium=email&utm_content=art2&utm_campaign=20140626Z1&et_cid=DM47148&et_rid=565695743

Approximately 95 percent of adults and 75 percent of children in the United States have at least one electronic device in their bedroom that interferes with their sleep-wake cycle (Mercola, 2014, June 26, para. 1-2).  Following a natural circadian cycle not only helps with morning alertness and memory retention, but it also regulates melatonin levels  that guard against cancer, diabetes, Alzheimer’s, and heart disease. 
 

The Texting Trap

Teens who use their cell phones to text are 42 percent more likely to sleep with their phones than those who don’t use their phones to text message (Phillips, 2009, para. 10). Moreover, obsessive text messaging results in a physiological response similar to heroin addiction since the instant gratification and elation produced by text messaging floods the pleasure centers of the brain while negative responses require the user to engage in even more texting to maintain an emotional high. Addictive texting and being on call during the night jeopardizes sleep, impairs cognitive functioning, and engenders cell phone dependency (Phillips, 2009, para. 11-13).

Protective Factors

Participation in extracurricular activities as well as having other physical, intellectual, creative, and spiritual outlets provides alternate routes to self-esteem, so the sense of self doesn’t necessarily depend on the text messages they do or don’t receive (Phillips, 2009, para. 14-16).

Deprivation of Domains of Influence

Part of growing up means that adolescents separate themselves from their parents and establish friendships with peers, but these relationships shouldn’t replace parental influence since parents still need to have a say in their  children's school and career situations (Phillips, 2009, para. 17-18).  However, a lack of balance in either direction—over dependence on parents or over reliance on peers--leaves adolescents vulnerable.. Accordingly, keeping up a 24/7 connection with peers deprives teens of a separate family domain (Phillips, 2009, para. 19-20).

 “Out of Calling Range”

Teens need to be out of range during certain times as parents impose rules like no texting during dinner.  Parents also need to take the time to model appropriate behavior; for instance, giving driving lessons or planning a family trip (Phillips, 2009, para. 21-22).

Planning vs. Policing

Teens can benefit when they and their parents plan “open spaces” without texting or calling, so they will most probably like calling plans that offer limited hours of texting since this means limited use by teens (Phillips, 2009, para. 22-23).  Additionally, discussing and planning cell phone use works better than policing cell phone activity. For example, prohibiting cell phone use after a certain time at night might actually give teens an “out” (Phillips, 2009, para. 24-25).

The Benefit of Disconnection

Cognitive function also benefits from downtime since when the brain isn’t stimulated, it synthesizes information, makes connections between ideas, and fosters a sense of personal self.  Thus, parents need to guarantee their adolescent children a sense of privacy, balance, and space away from a high-tech, interconnected world (Phillips, 2009, para. 28-29).

Plester, Beverly, Wood, Clare, & Bell, Victoria. (2008, October 28).  Txt msg n school literacy: does texting and knowledge of text abbreviations adversely affect children's literacy attainment? Literacy, 42(3), 137-144.  doi: 10.1111/j.1741-4369.2008.00489.x.  [Abstract only].  Retrieved from http://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1111/j.1741-4369.2008.00489.x/abstract?deniedAccessCustomisedMessage=&userIsAuthenticated=false

Eleven-and twelve-year old students who used their mobile phones to send three or more text messages a day had significant lower scores in written language skills than those that didn’t text message. However, when asked to write a text message, these same students showed a greater skill at using text abbreviations and also were more likely to display a better verbal reasoning ability.  Researchers also found a positive correlation between spelling ability and a performance on a translation exercise.  Moreover, students who displayed better writing skills texted more.

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FYI: Texting Abbreviations & Acronyms

Komnado, Kim. (2014, December 27). Essential texting acronyms every parent needs to know. Fox News. Retrieved from http://www.foxnews.com/tech/2014/12/27/essential-texting-acronyms-every-parent-needs-to-know/?intcmp=ob_homepage_tech&intcmp=obnetwork

List of texting acronyms. (2014). TextMessage.com. Retrieved from http://www.how-to-text-message.com/texting-acronyms.php

Texting symbols. HowtoTextMessage.com. Retrieved from http://www.how-to-text-message.com/texting-symbols.php

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Monitor children and teens' video gaming.

Weekday Video Gaming Lowers Grades Violent Video Games Cause Aggression

Research since the 1980s has emphasized the connection between violent video games and aggressive acts, resulting in kids that are more likely to fight with their peers, talk back to teachers, and generally do worse in school, so it shouldn’t take a Sandy Hook massacre to warn parents to monitor their children’s use of video games.  Children who limit video game playing to weekends only also do better in school.

Dominick, J. R. (1984).  Videogames, television violence, and aggression in teenagers.  Journal of Communication, 34(2), 136-147.  doi: 10.1111/j.1460-2466.1984.tb02165.x.  [Abstract only].  Retrieved from http://www.safetylit.org/citations/index.php?fuseaction=citations.viewdetails&citationIds%5B%5D=citjournalarticle_46192_20

This study of 250 tenth- and eleventh-graders in northeast Georgia sought to determine how violent TV shows and video games influenced both school performance and aggression.  Male video game players scored higher in aggression as well as in self-esteem, showing a relationship between self-esteem and game playing, although heavy video-gaming playing correlated with low-self-esteem.  The study also associated the amount of time spent playing video games with the amount of time spent watching TV in both girls and boys, and those adolescents who watched lots of violent TV also spent more time playing violent video games.  

Research additionally linked video game playing with aggressive delinquency in boys even when parents limited violent TV viewing. Girls won played video games were also much more aggressive.  .No relationship existed between school performance and social economic status in male students, but statistics found a significant inverse relationship between the time spent playing video games and the socioeconomic status of female students. 
   

Bottom Line:  Students who play a lot of video games are more likely to display aggressive, delinquent tendencies.

Gentile, Douglas, A., Lynch Paul J., Linder, Jennifer Ruh, et al. (2004, February).  The effects of violent video game habits on adolescent hostility, aggressive behaviors, and school performance. Journal of Adolescence, 27(1), 5-22. [Abstract only]. http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/j.adolescence.2003.10.002

A study of 607 eighth-and ninth-graders in four different schools found that adolescences who play more violent video games argue with teachers more frequently, are more likely to get into physical fights, and perform poorly in school, thus confirming a growing body of research that links violent video games with aggressive thinking, attitudes and behavior.

Sharif, Iman & Sargent, James D.  (2006, October 1).  Association between television, movie, and video game exposure and school performance.  Pediatrics, 118(4), e1061-e1070.  doi: 10.1542/peds.2005-2854.  [Abstract only].  Retrieved from http://pediatrics.aappublications.org/content/118/4/e1061.short

A cross-sectional survey of fifth- through eighth-grade students living in the Northeastern United States, looked at both weekday and weekend television and video game screen time, cable movie channel availability, and R-rated movie restrictions and parental-imposed curbing of television content and how well it correlated with self-reported school performance and found that school performance went down as weekday TV screen time went up while grades went up when restrictions increased.  Those middle school students whose parents occasionally let them watch R-rated movie significantly increased their chance of poor school performance; however, the amount of weekend-time watching TV or playing video games didn’t correlate with bad grades.  The researchers thus concluded that middle school students were more likely to succeed in school if their parents limited TV viewing and video games on weekdays. 

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Of course, young adults can also put social media to good use!

Free Young Adult E books. (2011, December). Goodreads. Retrieved from http://www.goodreads.com/list/show/14913.Free_Young_Adult_E_Books

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Other blog pages in the Ways to Improve Your Child’s Grades series:

Let me know what other topics you want to explore, so you can improve your child's grades!

Make sure your child has a regular bedtime and enough sleep.  Ways to Improve Your Child’s Grades. (2014, January 18).   Retrieved from http://evelynelainesmith.blogspot.com/2014/01/ten-ways-to-improve-your-childs-grades.html

Make sure your child participates in aerobic exercise daily:  Students who regularly exercise make better grades.  (2014, March 8). http://evelynelainesmith.blogspot.com/2014/03/ways-to-improve-your-childs-grades-3-of.html

Read to your child daily:  Read aloud and along with children to ensure their success.  (2014, July 11).  Retrieved from http://evelynelainesmith.blogspot.com/2014/07/ways-to-improve-your-childs-grades-4-of.html 

 Give your child social skills training:  Teaching manners and social skills doesn’t stop at age seven. (2014, July 18). Retrieved from

http://evelynelainesmith.blogspot.com/2014/07/ways-to-improve-your-childs-grade-5-of.html

Teach your child time management skills:  Perfect your child’s time management skills. (2015, February 6).  Retrieved from http://evelynelainesmith.blogspot.com/2015/02/ways-to-improve-your-childs-grades-6-of.html