NCTCA2018

Children are inundated with digital media; they use it in their homes, in their schools, and often, in their free time as well. The 2014 Active Health Kids Canada Report Card on Physical Activity for Children and Youth awarded Canadian children and youth a grade of “F” for excessive sedentary behaviours, in part due to extensive screen time. With so much daily use of digital media, many are becoming increasingly concerned about its long term effects. For example, currently, we know that electronic media can negatively affect children’s sleep, memory, and learning. Additionally, intensive technology use has also been associated with physical health complaints such as musculoskeletal pain (i.e., neck-shoulder and low back pain often contributed to by computer use) and poor health status. With so many potential consequences to using technology, it might be tempting to suggest that children should not be using technology at all; however, this is not a practical solution; technology is not going away. In fact, when used appropriately, digital media can be an effective learning tool. In this session, I will provide an overview of the current research related to the impact of digital media on development and propose a practical approach that teachers can use when dealing with issues related to digital media and children.