Technology Slows Ability To Recognize Emotions
There is an interesting study done that looked at children and their interactions with digital media. Did you know the more a child is connected, the less skill he has at being able to recognize emotions in others?
As they surmise, you cannot learn about human interaction by watching it on a screen. You have to experience it firsthand. I agree with that completely.
How much time does your child spend a day, or a week playing video games, using a cell phone, tablet or watching TV?
Check out this article.
Many thanks to MF for the story!
Is the reason children don’t learn social cues well from screens due to the screens themselves, or is it due to a lack of genuine social cues in the content on those screens? Actors and writers of content aimed at children (especially animated content) are probably not all that consistently knowledgeable at making sure their facial expressions, phrasing, voice pitch and body language are congruent with the emotions and thoughts they are trying to express. If children were instead to watch game shows (for example), where real people are faced with tough decisions and experience a wide range of emotions in real time would they still not pick up those cues simply because the kids saw it all play out on a screen?
I don’t think so because its not age appropriate. Kids won’t understand adult conversations nearly the same. I think interaction with one’s peers is essential.
I have done some work with kids n the 10 year-old age range that have trouble reading other people’s emotions r picking up normal social cues. I had alot of success by taking thier pictures, like when I knew they were happy, and showing it back to them so they knew how they also appeared to others. Then working on thier own smile & hello n a mirror went a long ways! It did help them n thier peer group make some friends.
Interesting Remi. I read in ‘The Psychology of Influence’ about work done with shy children. When they were shown videos of other similar aged children joining in and playing with others it helped the shy children be more social and the results were permanent. People are influenced by social proof and this connects with Eyes comment about peers having greater influence on us than people that are unlike ourselves.
Our children need much more stimulation from interacting with the people in their lives. They can’t get the emotional intelligence and wisdom about life on a computer. They are smart in a lot of ways by spending time on their computers, but that kind of smartness won’t help them navigate their lives and relationship with other people. Computers shouldn’t be used as a babysitter, and our children need exercise, and they need to use their imaginations by acting out life in play with their own peer groups.